I have blogged previously on how some studies have shown that there is a link to having older brothers. A new study of nine million people in the Netherlands has been of much higher quality than previous studies, and confirms them. They note:
The “fraternal birth order effect” is one of the most well-documented patterns supporting a biological origin of human sexual orientation. This longstanding hypothesis proposes men’s propensity for homosexuality increases with the number of older biological brothers they have.
This effect has been attributed to a mother’s immune reaction to proteins produced by a male foetus. The proteins enter the mother’s bloodstream and trigger the production of antibodies that influence the sexual development of subsequent children.
These maternal antibodies accumulate over successive pregnancies with male foetuses, which means men with more older brothers are more likely to experience same-sex sexual attraction.
Their findings are:
Click to view
So this is pretty conclusive that the hypothesis is correct. Now it isn’t the only factor, but definitely a significant one.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders
4 comments:
Maybe. Or maybe they envy older brothers and that envy evolves to same sex attraction.
Contrary to what most people think, antibodies aren't specific, rather they are very promiscuous. This and the fact that "immune reactions" could only explain a maximum of 29% of same-sex attraction should raise doubts about the usefulness of this latest paper.
That the sexual identity categories have been found to be fluid and not static shows and that other explanations are needed.
Same-sex attraction is a choice to interpret subjective feelings in a specific manner that favours a specific identity that is based upon feelings. However these feelings can also be interpreted in other ways.
A lack of substantial healthy same-sex relationships and/or unconditional love from parents within critical developmental periods has been shown to leave many individuals with profoundly disordered attachment patterns and severely unmet emotional needs that become sexualised at puberty.
Addressing these emotional problems through healthy non-sexual same-sex relationships often diminishes same-sex attraction by fulfilling the unmet emotional needs and reducing the intensity of the feelings. For many people simply understanding the root origin of these feelings is sufficient to significantly decrease their intensity and the importance they attribute to them.
Some might argue - this all smacks of the typical bullshit an older brother would say.
Antibodies are actually highly specific Anonymous @9.17, in contrast to your view, and it is homosexuals who tend to be promiscuous.
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