Hand Preference, Sexual Preference, and Transsexualism

Archives of Sexual Behavior volume 30, pages565–574(2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Atypical handedness patterns, i.e., persons being less exclusively right-handed, have been found previously in large samples of male and female homosexuals and in small samples of male and female transsexuals compared to controls. The posited role of prenatal androgen influencing both cerebral hemispheric dominance and psychosexual development warrants further study with large samples of transsexuals. 443 male-to-female transsexuals and 93 female-to-male transsexuals were studied for their use of the right or left hand in six common one-handed tasks. Both male and female transsexuals were more often nonright-handed than male and female controls were. Results suggest an altered pattern of cerebral hemispheric organisation in male and female transsexuals.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Imperial College School of Medicine at Charing Cross, Gender Identity Clinic, Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom

    Richard Green

  2. University of Califonia, Los Angeles, California

    Richard Green

  3. MRC, Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

    Robert Young

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Green, R., Young, R. Hand Preference, Sexual Preference, and Transsexualism. Arch Sex Behav 30, 565–574 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011908532367

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  • handedness
  • cerebral dominance
  • transsexualism
  • homosexuality