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Womb environment ‘makes men gay’
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/5120004.stm
A man’s sexual orientation may be determined by conditions in the womb, according to a study.
Previous research had revealed the more older brothers a boy has, the more likely he is to be gay, but the reason for this phenomenon was unknown.
But a Canadian study has shown that the effect is most likely down to biological rather than social factors.
The research is published in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Anthony Bogaert from Brock University in Ontario, Canada, studied 944 heterosexual and homosexual men with either “biological” brothers, in this case those who share the same mother, or “non-biological” brothers, that is, adopted, step or half siblings.
He found the link between the number of older brothers and homosexuality only existed when the siblings shared the same mother.
The amount of time the individual spent being raised with older brothers did not affect their sexual orientation.
‘Maternal memory’
Writing in the journal, Professor Bogaert said: “If rearing or social factors associated with older male siblings underlies the fraternal birth-order effect [the link between the number of older brothers and male homosexuality], then the number of non-biological older brothers should predict men’s sexual orientation, but they do not.
“These results support a prenatal origin to sexual orientation development in men.”
He suggests the effect is probably the result of a “maternal memory” in the womb for male births.
A woman’s body may see a male foetus as “foreign”, he says, prompting an immune reaction which may grow progressively stronger with each male child.
The antibodies created may affect the developing male brain.
In an accompanying article, scientists from Michigan State University said: “These data strengthen the notion that the common denominator between biological brothers, the mother, provides a prenatal environment that fosters homosexuality in her younger sons.”
“But the question of mechanism remains.”
Andy Forrest, a spokesman for gay rights group Stonewall, said: “Increasingly, credible evidence appears to indicate that being gay is genetically determined rather than being a so-called lifestyle choice.
“It adds further weight to the argument that lesbian and gay people should be treated equally in society and not discriminated against for something that’s just as inherent as skin colour.”
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/5120004.stmPublished: 2006/06/27 09:44:27 GMT
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3 Replies
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I have known this theory for some time and to me it suggests that to be gay is simply a part of nature, and always was.
The mother ,without knowing it, may be benefiting the daughters as carriers of her genes rather than the sons.
Her daughters will have a brother with feminine traits who will not only be around to help her but will help to reduce the sexual competition in her immediate tribe which can fragment the social support she needs.
It doesnt necessarily matter that he doesnt breed. He has helped his sisters and they carry on the same tendencies to produce gayness in younger sons.
More support for this theory is in research that suggest gayness comes down from the maternal ancestors. If you’re gay and have a gay uncle he will be your mothers brother.
I hope this helps. -
I dont think there is any real answer as one theory will prove something then new evidence will throw the original theory out the window with the new evidence being more than an exception.
My theory is that if a mother has a son, then another son she will think ‘ok i have two boys i would really like a girl’ to balance things up (and if you ask any mother in this situation she would no doubt tell you this im 99% sure).Im not sure exactly what studies have been done to support this theory (if any) but apperantly a mother can control the hormones (male or female) that are provided to the unborn child, of course she cant decide/change the sex of the baby so if she is to have a third boy but was hoping for a girl then she would provide this boy with a certain level of female hormones.
which in turn would effect the sexual orientation and explain the girly boy syndrome! -
Monique,
thankyou for your helpfull contribution on this.
It is amazing how many theories one can amass when working on these questions. I’ve been letting them pile up untill I can find theories which can be used to link them.
Siobhan.
