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Handedness in homosexual and heterosexual men in the Kinsey interview data

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Abstract

The relationship between sexual orientation and handedness in a large sample of men was examined. Subjects were 6544 nondelinquent men interviewed by the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction from 1938 to 1963. Subjects were classified as either homosexual (n=1004) or heterosexual (n=4579). Results failed to demonstrate a difference in handedness, with both groups having rates of non-right-handedness (i.e., 11–12%) approximately equal to establish norms. These findings do not replicate some recent studies indicating an increased level of non-right-handedness in homosexual men.

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This manuscript was completed while the first author was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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Bogaert, A.F., Blanchard, R. Handedness in homosexual and heterosexual men in the Kinsey interview data. Arch Sex Behav 25, 373–378 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02437580

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