To What Extent are Prenatal Androgens Involved in the Development of Male Homosexuality in Humans?

ABSTRACT

Endocrine variations, including possibly reduced exposure to androgens, may contribute to the development of male homosexuality, with animal models demonstrating same-sex mate preference with altered exposure during prenatal or early postnatal development. As similar studies in humans are impossible, indirect physical and cognitive measures of androgen exposure are used. Some studies suggest that physical measures affected by prenatal androgens, including the index-to-ring finger ratio, growth indices, and facial structure, are more “feminine” in gay men. Gay men also exhibit significant childhood gender non-conformity and a “feminized” anatomical and functional brain pattern in sexual arousal, as well as domains such as language, visuospatial skills and hemispheric relationships. However, many of these results are equivocal and may be confounded by other factors. Research has also been hampered by inconsistencies in the reporting of sexual orientation and the potentially unrepresentative populations of gay men studied, while additional complexities pertaining to gender conformity and sexual role may also influence results.

KEYWORDS:

• Androgens
• prenatal environment
• male homosexuality
• sexual orientation development
• physical features
• cognitive domains
• animal models
• human endocrine studies
• masculinization
• feminization

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Bainbridge, and mentor, Dr. Monson, for all the support they showed me throughout this project, and Professor Melissa Hines from the Cambridge University Department of Psychology for her expert opinion.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was not supported by any grants.