Sexual

Orientation
Tommy Maher
 Sexual orientation is determined

Thesis by many factors like epigenetics

and brain structure.
Differences in Brain Structure
Differences based on sex
● Straight men and lesbians tend to have
a larger left hemisphere
● Straight women and gay men tend to
have more symmetrical brains or have a
larger right hemisphere
● Male brains have more connections
within hemispheres.
● Female brains have more connections
between hemispheres.
Amygdala
● Gay men and straight women have

strong links between the amygdala and

other regions involved with emotions.

(Stein, 2008)

● Gay women and straight men have

strong links between areas involved with

motor function. (Stein, 2008)

Anterior commissure
● Structure that connects left and right

temporal cortices

● Larger in straight women and gay men

than in straight men and lesbians

(Swaab, 2008)

● Involved with language and cognitive

abilities
Hemispheric symmetry
● People who are attracted to women

tend to be more left-brained (Olson,

2012)

○ Better at thought-oriented tasks

● People who are attracted to men tend to

rely on both hemispheres equally or to

be more right-brained (Olson, 2012)

○ Better with emotions

INAH 3
● A group of cells in the hypothalamus
● About twice as large in heterosexual
men than in heterosexual women and
homosexual men (Swaab, 2008)
● No information on the size of these cells
in homosexual women
● The size of these cells in transgender
people corresponds with their gender
identity rather than the gender they
were assigned at birth (Garcia-Falgueras
and Swaab, 2008)
Genetic & Family Differences
Epigenetics
● Modifications to DNA

● Can turn genes “on” or “off”

● Genes for sexual attraction from mother

are not “turned off” in gay men

● Studies and research on this topic aren’t

very thorough yet

Birth Order
● Men with more older brothers are more

likely to be gay (Sieczkowski, 2013)

● With each older brother the chance of

being gay increases by ⅓

● The first-born son has about a 3%

chance of being gay

● The fourth-born son has about a 6%

chance of being gay

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di-wiGSF7LE
What I take away
● People don’t choose their sexual

orientation.

● There are structural differences in the

brains of heterosexuals and

homosexuals.

● A lot more research needs to be done

before we have a complete

understanding of this topic.

Bibliography
Sieczkowski, Cavan. “Men With Older Brothers More Likely To Be Gay? Study Expanding To Biological Origin.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 5 Sept. 2013,

www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/05/men-older-brothers-gay_n_3873772.html.

“Brain Study Shows Differences Between Gays, Straights.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 23 June 2008,

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/22/AR2008062201994.html?sid=ST2008062202006.

Garcia-Falgueras, Alicia, and Dick F. Swaab. “Sex difference in the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus: relationship to gender identity | Brain | Oxford Academic.” OUP Academic, Oxford

University Press, 2 Nov. 2008, academic.oup.com/brain/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/brain/awn276.

“Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation.” Psych Central, 17 July 2016,

psychcentral.com/lib/gay-straight-and-the-reason-why-the-science-of-sexual-orientation/.

“Homosexuality may be caused by chemical modifications to DNA.” Science | AAAS, 26 July 2017,

www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/10/homosexuality-may-be-caused-chemical-modifications-dna.
Bibliography
Lewis, Tanya. “How Men's Brains Are Wired Differently Than Women's.” LiveScience, Purch, 2 Dec. 2013, www.livescience.com/41619-male-female-brains-wired-differently.html.

TheAdvocateMag. “New Theory Says Sexual Orientation Determined by Brain Hemisphere Dominance.” ADVOCATE, Advocate.com, 6 Aug. 2012,

www.advocate.com/health/2012/08/06/new-theory-says-sexual-orientation-determined-brain-hemisphere-dominance.

Park, Alice. “What the Gay Brain Looks Like.” Time, Time Inc., 17 June 2008, content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1815538,00.html.

Pepper, Michael Sean, and Beverley Kramer. “What Do We Know About the Science of Sexual Orientation?” Slate Magazine, 11 June 2015,

www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/06/11/the_science_of_sexual_orientation_the_latest_on_genes_chromosomes_and_environmental.html.

Swaab, Dick F. “Sexual orientation and its basis in brain structure and function.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, National Acad Sciences,

www.pnas.org/content/105/30/10273.full.

“The Neuroanatomy of Homosexuality.” Boston University, www.bu.edu/thenerve/archives/spring-2010/reviews-spring-2010/homosexuality/.