Psychology

» Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen - # of brothers cause homosexuality?

Wrote an article called Sibling Rivalry, and included some evidence that homosexuality is caused by number of brothers! What do you think? My hubby is the youngest of 4 brothers, and thinks it's ludicrous (his initial reaction).

http://psychology.suite101.com/article.c...

» jcredmond - # of brothers cause homosexuality?

In response to # of brothers cause homosexuality? posted by LauriePK:

There may well be a biological factor at play in determining someone's sexual orientation but human sexuality is much more complicated than that. We can't assume things about a man who happens to have several older brothers, LOL!

-- posted by jcredmond

» pink101 - # of brothers cause homosexuality?

In response to # of brothers cause homosexuality? posted by LauriePK:
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I htink homosexuality in men is caused by poor sexual identity in childhood.
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Perhaps exacerbated by heavy disrespect for the father's role in the family structure by the mother?
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Boys look to their mother for sexual identity like girls look to the father. When the father is seen as a negative role model, the son wants to please the mother.
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Check it out.
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Just my personal opinion.
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Mama's little baby boy is often discouraged in his sexual development. It's a double bind--he's damned if he likes his father so he turns homosexual to avoid displeasing his mother. He cannot win.
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-- posted by pink101

» Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen - # of brothers cause homosexuality?

In response to # of brothers cause homosexuality? posted by pink101:

I'm really interested in the biological underpinnings, especially because of stereotypical homosexual behavior. The cliches exist for a reason, because there's some truth in it.

In writing an article about male body image, I discovered that men who struggle with self-image are more likely to be gay. Hetero males don't struggle as much with body image.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1...

Maybe it's the chicken or the egg question.

» pink101 - # of brothers cause homosexuality?

In response to # of brothers cause homosexuality? posted by LauriePK:

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Lemmee put a bee in your bonnet.
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From what I've read in various places, human beings are motivated to increase certain hormone and chemical levels through the process of observation. If I see a guy and a gal kissing, my levels regarding the desire to kiss a girl go up. It's a matter of the chicken and the egg then, isn't it? Do testosterone levels go up because we see something that exites us?
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You might just take that phenomenon into consideration.
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-- posted by pink101

» redback - # of brothers cause homosexuality?

In response to # of brothers cause homosexuality? posted by LauriePK:

Fascinating.

"...The cliches exist for a reason, because there's some truth in it."

These cliches might create the germ of an idea to hypothesise about it all, maybe maybe...to seek a research grant etc. Who knows...truth waiting for the evidence to back it up surely can't be unique to this topic.

I haven't heard about the higher incidence of disclosed/reported homosexuality among male siblings nor female siblings for that matter. Not even sure sufficient sample is reported to make any statistical analysis worthwhile. What I've understood is the anecdotal stuff like one in four males are homosexual ergo any four men I see counting myself, must include one gay man...and I know I'm not so the three other men have increased odds. Otherwise, there are 2 in the other group of 8 men. Some cliches may imply more truth than others.

"...the finding that the odds of male homosexuality increases with each additional older brother..."
(An abstract from a book providing no great detail but refers to the "fraternal birth order effect")

So, I wonder how many brothers before the odds are too overwhelming so mum should stop having kids if a gay son is beyond her ken?

It takes a male to create a male homosexual so every time a male is born, the odds have no option but to increase? Rate, prevalence, odds, first son OK as he generally only carries the gene etc...and context?

I suspect many gays slip below the radar. I understand the gay activists in the USA reckon they represent 10% of the population so are a political force to be reckoned with. How many mums have 10 sons?

Can you please clarify what you mean by struggling with self image? Is this being forced to live up to (or pains to hide from) the "camp" image of say our famous Oxford Street or instead an attention to sartorial elegance unbefitting a heterosexual?

-- posted by redback

» pink101 - # of brothers cause homosexuality?

In response to # of brothers cause homosexuality? posted by redback:
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I think it's easy to see that older brothers can impose their power on the younger ones.
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In ancient biblical times, older brothers had all the rights and younger brothers were left, more or less, to fend for themselves. I think Laurie might be on to something, actually. Don't you?
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-- posted by pink101

» Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen - struggling with self-image

In response to # of brothers cause homosexuality? posted by redback:

Hmm...good question about self-image. I hadn't thought of it in those terms - I think of it as simply "how we see ourselves." I suppose a gay man can struggle with either of your suggestions, depending on who he is, who he's surrounded by, and how comfortable he is with his sexuality.

My boss's marriage recently broke up, and he introduced me to his new boyfriend a week later. I was a little surprised, to say the least. He's the youngest of 3 or 4 boys. This is strictly anecdotal, and I didn't think of him until now, but it fits.

It's gotta be different for everyone - different reasons driving the same inclinations. But we like to explain the bell curve of human behavior, don't we?