Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Hormonal Component of Homosexuality

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

  • 130 Accesses

Synonyms

Courtship orientation; Intercourse sexual orientation; Partner preference; Sexual preference

Definition

Sexual orientation is defined as “an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes” (APA 2008).

Introduction

Sexual preferences are focused to be expressed during the whole process of courtship and mating. Thus, depending toward which gender those behaviors are aimed to, a person may be defined as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. In this sense, sexual orientation has a motivational (desire) compound and also a behavioral component (courtship behavior). In homosexual persons both components (motivational and behavioral) are orientated toward their same sex group. These feelings are expressed during all the life span, while the behavior might be expressed or not. Psychological research (questionnaires, tests) through many years and in different historical periods has demonstrated that sexual orientation ranges along a...

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • APA. (2008). Answers to your questions: For a better understanding of sexual orientation and homosexuality. Available: http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation.aspx.

  • Auer, M. K., Fuss, J., Höhne, N., Stalla, G. K., & Sievers, C. (2014). Transgender transitioning and change of self-reported sexual orientation. PloS One, 9, e110016.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Earp, B. D., Wudarczyk, O. A., Sandberg, A., & Savulescu, J. (2013). If I could just stop loving you: Anti-love biotechnology and the ethics of a chemical breakup. American Journal of Bioethics, 13, 3–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engel, K. C., Männer, L., Ayasse, M., & Steiger, S. (2015). Acceptance threshold theory can explain occurrence of homosexual behaviour. Biology Letters, 11, 20140603.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Falgueras, A., & Swaab, D. F. (2010). Sexual hormones and the brain: An essential alliance for sexual identity and sexual orientation. Endocrine Development, 17, 22–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gooren, L. (2011) Is there a hormonal basis for human homosexuality? Asian J Androl, 13, 793–4.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hahn, A., Kranz, G. S., Sladky, R., Kaufmann, U., Ganger, S., Hummer, A., Seiger, R., Spies, M., Vanicek, T., Winkler, D., Kasper, S., Windischberger, C., Swaab, D. F., & Lanzenberger, R. (2016). Testosterone affects language areas of the adult human brain. Human Brain Mapping, 15, 1738.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinsey AC, Pomeroy WR, Martin CE (1948) Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • LeVay S. (1991) A difference in hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men. Science, 253(5023), 1034–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Puts, D. A., Jordan, C. L., & Breedlove, S. M. (2006). O brother, where art thou? The fraternal birth-order effect on male sexual orientation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103, 10531–10532.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Savic, I., Garcia-Falgueras, A., & Swaab, D. F. (2010). Sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation. Progress in Brain Research, 186, 41–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Swaab, D. F., & Hofman, M. A. (1990). An enlarged suprachiasmatic nucleus in homosexual men. Brain Research, 537(1–2), 141–148.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thienel, M., Heinrichs, M., Fischer, S., Ott, V., Born, J., & Hallschmid, M. (2014). Oxytocin’s impact on social face processing is stronger in homosexual than heterosexual men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 39, 194–203.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wingfield JC, Jacobs J, Hillgarth N. (1997) Ecological constraints and the evolution of hormone-behavior interrelationships. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 807, 22–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

I thank Prof. Dr. D. F. Swaab for his witted teaching of the method and precise orientation in study and research. For his generous explanations about how to switch on the light of knowledge and his confidence about my capacity to see and find the forward right track. Also I thank very much to Dr. Jenneke Kruisbrink for her literature resource help.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Alicia Garcia-Falgueras

Authors
  1. Alicia Garcia-Falgueras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alicia Garcia-Falgueras .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Abertay University, Dundee, Scotland

    Christopher Watkins

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Garcia-Falgueras, A. (2021). Hormonal Component of Homosexuality. In: Shackelford, T.K., Weekes-Shackelford, V.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_3371

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation