Is Homosexuality Hormonally Determined

Bibliographic Data

ID3660061
AuthorsLynda Birke (corresponding author), Lynda I A Birke
Year1981
Volume6
Issue4
Pages35-50
Publication date1981-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1300/j082v06n04_03
PMID7341669
OpenAlexW1966083494
LanguageEN
Citations received10

This paper suggest there is insufficient evidence to conclude that homosexuality has endocrine bases. The search for hormonal correlates occurs within a model that views homosexuality as a medical problem requiring biological explanations and a program of treatment or prevention. This search is heavily rooted in popular conceptions of gender-appropriate behavior, as well as in naive concepts of the significance of hormonal changes. Two kinds of hormonal study are considered here. Researchers may either (a) investigate hormone levels in adult populations or (b) investigate hypotheses of behavioral determination by prenatal hormones. Much of the latter information derives from animal studies, commonly on the laboratory rat. This paper questions the validity of assumptions underlying these studies--assumptions about the behavior of the laboratory rat itself and, more importantly, about the legitimacy of this animal as a model for human behavior. It is suggested that, although such hypotheses are naive, their current popularity arises from their potential role in "controlling" homosexuality

Developmental psychology · Homosexuality · Hormone · Legitimacy · Popularity · Psychoanalysis · Endocrinology · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior · Psychology · Sexual Differentiation and Disorders · Social Psychology

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