In October 2003, a team of English researchers announced that they had found "powerful new evidence that sexual orientation is Ôhard-wired' in the human brain before birth."47
Dr. Qazi Rahman of the University of East London and Dr. Veena Kumari and Dr. Glenn Wilson of the Institute of Psychiatry said they found sex differences in the startle response -- the eye blink in response to loud noises.48
The authors found that women had a lesser "prepulse inhibition of the human startle response (PPI),"49 that is, they blinked more readily than men, and that lesbians blinked less readily than other women. They used small samples, and, more significantly, found no difference between homosexual men and heterosexual men. Yet they gave the impression that their findings indicated that homosexuality is a pre-born condition.
"Because the startle response is known to be involuntary rather than learned, this strongly indicates that sexual orientation is largely determined before birth," said a press release from the University of East London.50
Dr. Rahman said in the release, "These findings may well affect the way we as a society deal with sexuality and the issues surrounding sexual orientation."
But the researchers themselves introduce some cautionary notes in the study:
Although prenatal factors may be possible precursors to the neurobehavioral profiles observed in lesbians and gay men, whether neural differences underlie sexual orientation per se, or are a consequence of homosexual or heterosexual behavior, is yet to be determined.51
They also write: "Neuroanatomical and neurophysiological variations between heterosexuals and homosexuals may be due either to biological factors or to the influence of learning."52
The team concluded that: "Our results show, for the first time, that PPI relates to sexual orientation and that homosexual women show a robust cross-sex shift. Homosexual women showed a masculinized PPI that was no different from that of heterosexual men. … Homosexual men did not differ from heterosexual men."53
Dr. Halstead Harrison, an associate professor emeritus in the Atmospheric Science Department of the University of Washington, reviewed the study, noted the small sizes of the test groups (14 lesbians and 15 heterosexual women, and 15 each of homosexual and heterosexual men) and the statistical methods, and concluded: "Data presented by Rahman et al. do not confidently support their finding that homosexual women exhibit a male-type startled-blink reflex."54
Harrison further stated that "no significant differences were detected."
As far as the blink reflex being utterly innate or somewhat trainable, he responded to an interviewer, "Now, that's an open question."55 Dr. Harrison also said he would have liked to have seen the complete data on the series of tests to see whether the subjects' responses would change with repetition. This would indicate whether the PPI is entirely innate.
In his conclusion, he said: "This Comment should not be construed as falsifying the hypothesis that homosexual and heterosexual women display different prepulse startle-inhibition reflexes. That conjecture may turn out to be so, but the present data do not confidently support it."
In 1999, Dr. Qazi Rahman compiled a brief review of several studies purporting to show a link between neuroanatomy and sexual orientation.56
He wrote: "The emerging neuroanatomical account suggests that, in some key neural substrates, homosexual men show a trend toward female-typical neuroanatomy as compared to heterosexual men."57
Rahman also said, "Lesbians excel at some tasks which favor heterosexual males."
As in the eye-blinking study, Rahman struck a cautionary note: "But is neuroendocrine differentiation a cause or a consequence of behavior? … In addition, the differential development posited may not be causal but correlational."
Rahman noted that, "Differential reinforcements from inputs in the psychosocial milieu to these sex-atypical behaviors makes the Ôpre-homosexual child' view the same sex as Ôexotic' (i.e., different from one's self), which later in puberty becomes the object of eroticization."58
As some developmental psychologists have observed, some children may be less inclined to exhibit classic gender role differences, and this may set them up for the type of reactions from peers (or even parents), such as rejection or teasing, that make them vulnerable to developing same-sex attraction.59
One glaring problem with Rahman's article is that he uncritically cites many of the studies that were thoroughly debunked by researchers such as Columbia's Byne and Parsons. These include studies by LeVay, Hamer, Allen, Gorski, Bailey and others.
Rahman wraps up his piece this way:
To conclude, it is important to illustrate that neurobiological differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals are by no means decisive. Nonetheless, the several independent findings of neuroanatomical differences in sex-atypical directions are not easily refutable. [Editor's note: Yes, they are. Byne and Parsons, among others, saw to that.] Unfortunately, evidence currently available is limited and largely correlational in nature. Owing to this, it is not possible for alternative developmental processes associated with sexual orientation to be excluded.60
Determining whether something has a biological cause is difficult, and locating a specifically genetic link is even more so. The handful of studies that purportedly add up to incontestable "proof" that homosexuals are "born that way" are inconclusive at best and, as Dr. Rahman notes, "largely correlational in nature." In some cases, such as the twins studies, the evidence strongly indicates that early environment is more likely the dominant factor to have produced homosexual desires.
As Dr. Satinover emphasizes, correlation does not mean something is causative. Basketball players are tall, so height correlates with playing basketball, he notes. But there is no "basketball-playing gene." Efforts to turn some interesting correlations into causal factors have not been successful and yet have been misused to advance a political agenda.
Perhaps the best way to describe the situation is this, as paraphrased from Dr. Satinover: Some people may be predisposed because of genetic, prenatal hormonal influences or other physical or brain differences to have personalities that make them vulnerable to the environmental factors that can elicit homosexual desires. So is homosexuality biological? Not in the way that popular media and homosexual activists have presented it.
Extremely shy and artistic young boys, for instance, who are not affirmed in their masculinity by a caring father, might be at risk for homosexuality. It's not because of a homosexual "gene," but because of an interrupted process of achieving secure gender identity. This can make some boys who crave male affirmation an easy mark for seduction into homosexuality. A similar pattern can be seen in girls who don't fit classic gender profiles, need feminine affirmation, and are targeted by lesbians who play upon the girls' emotional needs.
Such children's vulnerability is all the more reason to protect them from early exposure to homosexual influences. The Boy Scouts of America, for instance, is right to screen out as troop leaders those men who desire other males sexually. The Scouts do so not out of bigotry, or a belief that all homosexual men molest boys. They do so out of genuine concern for the health and well-being of the boys in their charge, including those who might be sexually vulnerable.
Americans for too long have been pummeled with the idea that people are "born gay." The people who most need to hear the truth are those who mistakenly believe they have no chance themselves for change. It is both more compassionate and truthful to give them hope than to serve them up politically motivated, unproven creations like the "gay gene."
(This paper is a revised and updated version of "Born & Bred: The Debate Over the Cause of Homosexuality" (last updated in June 2000) by former Concerned Women for America staff writer Trudy Chun.)
1 D.F. Swaab and M.A. Hofman, Brain Res. 537 (1990): 141-48, as cited in Dennis McFadden and E.G. Pasanen, "Comparisons of the auditory systems of heterosexuals and homosexuals: Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions," Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 95 (March 1998): 2709-13. [Back]
2 Simon LeVay, "A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure Between Heterosexual and Homosexual Men," Science Vol. 253 (1991): 1034-37. [Back]
3 D.H. Hamer, S. Hu, V.L. Magnuson, N. Hu and A.M.L. Pattatucci, Science 261(1993): 321-27, as cited in McFadden. [Back]
4 B.J. Sigesmund, "Let Your Fingers Do the Talking," Newsweek "Web Exclusive," 31 March 2000. [Back]
5 McFadden and Pasanen. [Back]
6 "Sexual orientation 'hard-wired' before birth - startling new evidence revealed in the blink of an eye," press release, University of East London (UEL), England, October 2, 2003, reporting on findings by the UEL's Dr. Qazi Rahman, along with the Institute of Psychiatry's Dr. Veena Kumari and Dr. Glenn Wilson. In terms of eye-blink reactions to sudden loud noises, "The team discovered significant differences in the response between male and female, and heterosexual and homosexual subjects." Rahman: "The startle response is pre-conscious and cannot be learned." [Back]
7 Qazi Rahman, "Comments on the Neuroanatomy of Human Sexual Orientation and Proposed Neuroendocrine Hypotheses," Contemporary Neurology (1999): Number 2A: http://mitpress.mit.edu/jrnls-catalog/cont-neuro.html. [Back]
8 Robert L. Spitzer, "Can Some Gay Men and Lesbians Change Their Sexual Orientation?", Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 32, No. 5, October 2003: 403-417. [Back]
9 See, for instance, Charles Socarides, A Freedom Too Far: A Psychoanalyst Answers 1,000 Questions About Causes and Cure and the Impact of the Gay Rights Movement on American Society (Phoenix, Arizona: Adam Margrave Books, 1996), pp. 115-155, particularly pp. 151-152. [Back]
10 Laura Sessions Stepp, "Partway Gay? For Some Teen Girls, Sexual Preference Is a Shifting Concept," The Washington Post, January 4, 2004, p. D-1. [Back]
12 Lisa M. Diamond, "Was it a phase? Young women's relinquishment of lesbian/bisexual identities over a 5-year period," Journal of Personality & Social Psychology (in press as of 2004). [Back]
13 William Byne and Bruce Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation: The Biologic Theories Reappraised," Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 50, March 1993: 228-239. [Back]
14 Letter from William Byne to Dean Hamer, 2 July 1993, as quoted in Chandler Burr, A Separate Creation: The Search for the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation (New York, New York: Hyperion, 1996), p. 81. [Back]
15 Natalie Angier, quoted in Charles W. Socarides, "A Freedom Too Far," (Phoenix, Arizona: Adam Margrave Books, 1995), p. 94. [Back]
16 Simon LeVay, quoted in A. Dean Byrd, Ph.D., Shirley E. Cox, Ph.D., and Jeffrey W. Robinson, Ph.D., "The Innate-Immutable Argument Finds No Basis in Science," 2002, the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, http://www.narth.com/docs/innate.html. [Back]
17 Jeffrey Satinover, M.D., Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Hamewith Books, Baker Books, 1996), p. 38. [Back]
18 Phoebe Dewing, Tao Shi, Steve Horvath and Eric Vilain, "Sexually dimorphic gene expression in mouse brain precedes gonadal differentiation," Molecular Brain Research, Vol. 118, Issues 1-2, 21 October 2003: 82-90. [Back]
19 Reuters, "Study says sexual identity is genetic," 20 October 2003. [Back]
20 E-mail correspondence, 21 October 2003. [Back]
23 Quoted in David Nimmons, "Sex and the Brain," Discover, Vol. 5, No. 3 (March 1994): 64-71 and cited in A. Dean Byrd, Ph.D., Shirley E. Cox, Ph.D., and Jeffrey W. Robinson, Ph.D., "The Innate-Immutable Argument Finds No Basis in Science," National Association of Research and Therapy for Homosexuality Web site, http://www.narth.com/docs/innate.html, downloaded 12 January 2004. [Back]
24 E. Byne, "The Biological Evidence Challenged," Scientific American (May 1994): 50-5. [Back]
26 D. Gelman, D. Foote, T. Barrett, M. Talbot, "Born or Bred," Newsweek, 24 February 1992, 46-53. [Back]
27 Pat McBroom, "Sexual Experience May Affect Brain Structure," Berkeleyan campus newspaper (University of California at Berkeley), 19 November 1997 (http://www.urel.berkeley.edu/berkeleyan/1997/1119/sexexp.html). [Back]
28 Dean Hamer, The Science of Desire (New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), p. 82. [Back]
29 From speech in Salt Lake City in Lili Wright, "Science of Desire Is Topic for 'Gay Gene' Finder," Salt Lake Tribune, 28 April 1995. [Back]
31 "Evidence for Homosexuality Gene," Science, Vol. 261, 16 July 1993: 291. [Back]
32 Joyce Price, "Federal Cancer Lab Hunts for Gay Gene," The Washington Times, 3 April 1994. [Back]
34 Dean H. Hamer, George Rice, Neil Risch, and George Ebers, et al. "Genetics and Male Sexual Orientation" (Technical Comment), Science 285 (6 August 1999: 803a. [Back]
35 J. Michael Bailey, Richard C. Pillard, "A Genetic Study of Male Sexual Orientation," Archives of General Psychiatry 48 (1991): 1089-96. [Back]
36 Satinover, Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth, p. 85. [Back]
39 T. Lidz, "A Reply to 'A Genetic Study of Male Sexual Orientation'" [letter], Archives of General Psychiatry 50 (1993): 240. [Back]
41 Stanton L. Jones, "The Incredibly Shrinking Gay Gene," Christianity Today, 4 October 1999, p. 53. [Back]
45 "Male hormone levels in womb may affect sexual orientation, study says," CNN.com, health, 29 March 2000, (http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/03/29/gay.fingers/index.html). [Back]
46 Private communication with the author. [Back]
47 "Sexual Orientation 'hard-wired' before birth - startling new evidence revealed in the blink of an eye," press release, University of East London, England, 2 October 2003. [Back]
48 Qazi Rahman, Veena Kumari, and Glenn D. Wilson, "Sexual Orientation-Related Differences in Prepulse Inhibition of the Human Startle Response," Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol. 117 (5): 1096-1102. [Back]
50 Press release, "Sexual orientation 'hard-wired' before birth." [Back]
54 Halstead Harrison, "A Technical Comment on the paper, 'Sexual Orientation-Related Differences in Prepulse Inhibition of the Human Startle Response,'" University of Washington Web site, 15 December 2003, http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~harrison/reports/rahman.pdf. [Back]
55 Telephone interview with Patrick Henry College senior and Culture & Family Institute intern Jeremy Sewall, 8 March 2004. [Back]
56 Qazi Rahman, "Comments on the Neuroanatomy of Human Sexual Orientation and Proposed Neuroendocrine Hypotheses," Journal of Contemporary Neurology, The MIT Press, Vol. 1999, No. 2A. [Back]
59 Numerous references to this phenomenon are reported throughout Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D., Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality (Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1991). [Back]
60 Rahman, op. cit., p. 3. [Back]
1, 2,