Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Environmental Factors Predicting Same-Sex Attraction

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Evolution of Same-Sex Attraction

Abstract

The evidence from family and twin studies reviewed in Chap. 2, makes a strong case that the development of same-sex attraction has also an environmental component, meaning that, whether individuals develop same-sex attractions, depends partially on exposure to specific environmental factors. Accordingly, in the present chapter I will discuss possible environmental factors. In particular, I will argue that there is no evidence that dysfunctional relationships with parents affect the development of same-sex attraction, while there is some mixed evidence that early same-sex sexual experiences may play a role in developing same-sex attraction in adult life. However, there is solid evidence that homosexuality in men is predicted by the number of older brothers: The more older brothers a man has, the higher the chances are that he would be homosexual. I will also discuss epigenetics - the study of the processes that underlie developmental plasticity that bring about persistent developmental effects - and how they could potentially provide insights on how environmental factors contribute to the development of same-sex attraction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alanko, K., Santtila, P., Harlaar, N., Witting, K., Varjonen, M., Jern, P., et al. (2010). Common genetic effects of gender atypical behavior in childhood and sexual orientation in adulthood: A study of Finnish twins. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 81–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anway, M. D., Cupp, A. S., Uzumcu, M., & Skinner, M. K. (2005). Epigenetic transgenerational actions of endocrine disruptors and male fertility. Science, 308, 1466–1469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Apostolou, M. (2020). Does fraternal birth order predict male homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexual orientation with same-sex attraction? Evidence from a Greek-speaking sample from Greece. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49, 575–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, J. M., Vasey, P. L, Diamond, L. M., Breedlove, M. C., Vilain, E. & Epprecht, M. (2016). Sexual orientation, controversy, and science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 1, 45–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, J. M., Dunne, M. P., & Martin, N. G. (2000). Genetic and environmental influences on sexual orientation and its correlates in an Australian twin sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 524–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, J. M., & Zucker, K. J. (1995). Childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation: A conceptual analysis and quantitative review. Developmental Psychology, 31, 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayer, R. (1981). Homosexuality and American psychiatry: The politics of diagnosis. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, A. P., Weinberg, M. S., & Hammersmith, S. K. (1981). Sexual preference: Its development in men and women. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R. (2004). Quantitative and theoretical analyses of the relation between older brothers and homosexuality in men. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 230, 173–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R. (2018a). Fraternal birth order, family size, and male homosexuality: Meta-analysis of studies spanning 25 years. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R. (2018b). Response to commentaries: Meta-analysis of probability samples and other new evidence. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 49–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R. (2018c). Older brothers and older sisters odds ratios in 36 samples of homosexual males [letter to the editor]. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 829–832.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R., & Bogaert, A. F. (1996a). Biodemographic comparisons of homosexual and heterosexual men in the Kinsey interview data. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 25, 551–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R., & Bogaert, A. F. (1996b). Homosexuality in men and number of older brothers. American Journal Psychiatry, 153, 27–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R., & Bogaert, A. F. (2004). Proportion of homosexual men who owe their sexual orientation to fraternal birth order: An estimate based on two national probability samples. American Journal of Human Biology, 16, 151–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R., & Lippa, R. A. (2007). Birth order, sibling sex ratio, handedness, and sexual orientation of male and female participants in a BBC internet research project. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 163–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, R., Zucker, K. J., Siegelman, M., Dickey, R., & Klassen, P. (1998). The relation of birth order to sexual orientation in men and women. Journal of Biosocial Science, 30, 511–5199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumenthal, M. (2004, December 14). Her Kinsey obsession. AlterNet. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/story/20744/her_kinsey_obsession.

  • Bogaert, A. F. (2003). Interaction of older brothers and sex-typing in the prediction of sexual orientation in men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32, 129–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F. (2006). Biological versus nonbiological older brothers and men’s sexual orientation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 103, 10771–10774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F., Blanchard, R., & Crosthwait, L. E. (2007). Interaction of birth order, handedness, and sexual orientation in the Kinsey interview data. Behavioral Neuroscience, 121, 845–853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F., & Skorska, M. (2011). Sexual orientation, fraternal birth order, and the maternal immune hypothesis: A review. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 32, 247–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F., Skorska, M. N., Wang, C., Gabrie, J., MacNeil, A. J., Hoffarth, M. R., et al. (2018). Male homosexuality and maternal immune responsivity to the Y-linked protein NLGN4Y. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115, 302–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burri, A., Cherkas, L., Spector, T., & Rahman, Q. (2011). Genetic and environmental influences on female sexual orientation, childhood gender typicality and adult gender identity. PLoS One, 6, e21982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cantor, J. M., Blanchard, R., Paterson, A. D., & Bogaert, A. F. (2002). How many gay men owe their sexual orientation to fraternal birth order? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 63–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso, F. L. (2005). Cultural universals and differences in male homosexuality: The case of a Brazilian fishing village. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 103–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso, F. L. (2009). Recalled sex-typed behavior in childhood and sports preferences in adulthood of heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual men from Brazil, Turkey, and Thailand. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 726–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cedar, H., & Bergman, Y. (2012). Programming of DNA methylation patterns. Annual Review of Biochemistry, 81, 97–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawood, K., Bailey, M. J., & Martin, N. G. (2009). Genetic and environmental influences on sexual orientation. In Y.-K. Kim (Ed.), Handbook of behavioral genetics (pp. 269–279). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dickins, T. E., & Rahman, Q. (2012). The extended evolutionary synthesis and the role of soft inheritance in evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 279, 2913–2921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, L., & Blanchard, R. (2001). Birth order, sibling sex ratio, and maternal miscarriages in homosexual and heterosexual men and women. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 543–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fejes, F. (2008). Gay rights and moral panic: The origins of America’s debate on homosexuality. New York, NY: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin, T. B., Russig, H., Weiss, I. C., Gräff, J., Linder, N., Michalon, A., et al. (2010). Epigenetic transmission of the impact of early stress across generations. Biological Psychiatry, 68, 408–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hare, E. H., & Moran, P. A. P. (1979). Parental age and birth order in homosexual patients: A replication of Slater’s study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 178–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jablonka, E., & Raz, G. (2009). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance: Prevalence, mechanisms, and implications for the study of heredity and evolution. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY, 84, 131–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M. R. (1962). The role of infantile sexuality in early object relations in female homosexuality. In M. R. Khan (Ed.), Alienation in perversion (pp. 56–119). New York: International University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, M., Green, J., Osborn, D. P. J., Arkell, J., Hetherton, J., & Pereira, E. (2005). Family size in white gay and heterosexual men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 117–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klingenschmitt, G. J. (2014, September 30). Growing number of child molestation cases? Dr. Paul Cameron on pedophilia. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkv0ScTOZUg&;feature=youtu.be

  • Långström, N., Rahman, Q., Carlström, E., & Lichtenstein, P. (2010). Genetic and environmental effects on same-sex sexual behavior: A population study of twins in Sweden. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 75–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, D. S. (2015). The developing genome: An introduction to behavioural epigenetics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ngun, T. C., & Vilain, E. (2014). The biological basis of human sexual orientation: Is there a role for epigenetics? Advances in Genetics, 86, 167–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., Knopik, V. S., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2012). Behavioral genetics (6th ed.). London: Worth Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, Q., Clarke, K., & Morera, T. (2009). Hair whorl direction and sexual orientation in human males. Behavioral Neuroscience, 123, 252–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rakyan, V. K., Chong, S., Champ, M. E., Cuthbert, P. C., Morgan, H. D., Luu, K. V., et al. (2003). Transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic states at the murine Axin(Fu) allele occurs after maternal and paternal transmission. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100, 2538–2543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, W. R., Friberg, U., & Gavrilets, S. (2012). Homosexuality as a consequence of epigenetically canalized sexual development. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY, 87, 343–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rieger, G., Linsenmeier, J. A., Gygax, L., Garcia, S., & Bailey, J. M. (2010). Dissecting “gaydar”: Accuracy and the role of masculinity–femininity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 124–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, G., Kim, R. M., Kolundzija, A. B., Rieger, G., & Sanders, A. R. (2010). Biodemographic and physical correlates of sexual orientation in men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 93–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, E. (1962). Birth order and maternal age of homosexuals. Lancet, 1, 69–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweet, T., & Welles, S. L. (2012). Associations of sexual identity or same-sex behaviors with history of childhood sexual abuse and HIV/STI risk in the United States. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 59, 400–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanderLaan, D. P., & Vasey, P. L. (2011). Male sexual orientation in independent Samoa: Evidence for fraternal birth order and maternal fecundity effects. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 495–503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vasey, P. L., Vander Laan, D. P., Gothreau, L. G., & Bartlett, N. H. (2011). Traits of separation anxiety in childhood: A retrospective study in Samoan men, women, and fa’afafine. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 511–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Menelaos Apostolou

Authors
  1. Menelaos Apostolou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Apostolou, M. (2020). Environmental Factors Predicting Same-Sex Attraction. In: The Evolution of Same-Sex Attraction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53925-2_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation