3750:100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Twin, Bisexuality, Heterosexuality
Document Summary
Thought of as a continuum sexual attraction toward: members of opposite sex (heterosexuality, members of the same sex (gay and lesbian, or both (bisexuality, no sexual attraction to anyone (asexual) Orientation is not a dichotomous construct nor do individuals neatly t into one category or another. Being raised by a gay or a lesbian parent does not signi cantly affect sexual orientation. Identical twins are more likely to both have a gay orientation than fraternal twins (genetic) Men who have older brothers (and share a mother) are more likely to be gay. May be due to maternal immune system response while male baby is growing in the womb. Levay found differences in the hypothalamus of gay and heterosexual men. Found that a part in the brain was twice as large in straight men compared to gay men. Being gay is not a mental, social, or emotional disorder : it is a sexual orientation.
