Sexual Orientation and Body Proportions New Research on Bone Growth in Homosexuals and Heterosexuals
Body proportions in homosexuals and heterosexuals have been
studied and differences have been discovered by researchers at the
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP), Western University
of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA. The study is published in the January
2004 issue of the scientific journal “”Hormones & Behavior.””
James T. Martin, professor of physiology and behavioral science
at COMP, and Duc Huu Nguyen, now at the University of California, Irvine,
authored the article based on their research funded by a grant from
Western University of Health Sciences.
According to Martin, they measured body proportions in
homosexuals and heterosexuals and found that gay men have relatively
shorter arms and legs than heterosexual men and that lesbians have
relatively longer arms and legs than heterosexual women. The study was
conducted at 24 different sites in Utah, Washington, D.C., West Virginia
and southern California. A total of 514 persons were examined for the
study.
The researchers believe their data supports the concept that the
actions of androgens and estrogens, which controls both bone growth and
sexual differentiation of the brain, differs between gay and straight
persons during early development. Boys who later become gay may have had
lower levels of sex steroids prior to puberty than other boys, whereas
girls who later become lesbians may have had higher levels of sex
steroids prior to puberty than other girls.
Martin summarizes that they have shown that long bone growth,
occurring before puberty, varies with later sexual orientation. This
research adds to the growing body of research on the differences between
gay and straight men and women.