Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ethical implications of scientific research on the causes of sexual orientation

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Health Care Analysis Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this article, we evaluate the status of current biological research into sexual orientation and examine the relevance of such research on the legal and social status of gay men and lesbians. We begin with a review of hormonal, neuroanatomical and genetic studies of sexual orientation. We argue that the scientific study of sexual orientation is, at best, still in its infancy. We turn then to the ethical and social implications of this research. We argue that even if scientists could explain how sexual orientation develops, no significant ethical conclusions would follow. Further, we suggest that the current emphasis on finding a biological basis for sexual orientation is potentially harmful to lesbians, gay men and other sexual minorities in various ways (although perhaps it is in some ways potentially helpful as well).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Swaab, D. F. and Hoffman, M. A. (1990). An enlarged suprachiasmatic nucleus in homosexual men.Brain Research 537, 141–148.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. LeVay, S. (1991). A difference in the hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men.Science 253, 1034–1037.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Allen, L. S. and Gorski, R. A. (1992). Sexual orientation and the size of the anterior commissure in the human brain.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 89, 7199–7202.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Zhou, J., Hoffman, M. A., Gooran, J. G. and Swaab, D. F. (1995). A sex difference in the human brain and its relation to transexuality.Nature 378, 68–70.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bailey, J. M. and Pillard, R. (1991). A genetic study of male sexual orientation.Archives of General Psychiatry 48, 1089–1096.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bailey, J. M., Pillard, R., Neale, M. and Agyei, Y. (1993). Heritable factors influence sexual orientation in women.Archives of General Psychiatry 50, 217–223.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hamer, D., Hu, S., Magnuson, V., Hu, N. and Pattatucci, A. (1993). A linkage between DNA markers on the X chromosome and male sexual orientation.Science 261, 321–323.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Bailey, J. M. and Pillard, R. (1991). Are some people born gay?The New York Times December 17, A19.

  9. Byne, W. (1995). Science and belief: psychobiological research on sexual orientation.Journal of Homosexuality 28, 303–344.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Oosterhuis, H. (1991). Homosexual emancipation in Germany before 1933: two traditions. In,Homosexuality and Male Bonding in Pre-Nazi Gérmany, ed. by H. Oosterhuis and H. K. Kennedy, Harrington Park Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Herrn, R. (1995). On the history of biological theories of homosexuality.Journal of Homosexuality 28, 31–56.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Watanabe, T. and Iwata, J. (1989).The Love of the Samurai: A Thousand Years of Japanese Homosexuality, GMP, London.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Boswell, J. (1980).Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Herdt, G. H. (1984). Semen transactions in Sambia culture. InRitualized Homosexuality in Melanesia, ed. by G. H. Herdt, University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L. (1984). Psychoendocrine research on sexual orientation: current status and future options.Progress in Brain Research 71, 375–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Goy, R. W. and McEwen, B. S. (1980).Sexual Differentiation of the Brain, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Dorner, G., Rhode, W., Stahl, F., Krell, L. and Masius, W. G. (1975). A neuroendocrine predisposition for homosexuality in men.Archives of Sexual Behavior 4, 1–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Gladue B. A., Green, R. and Hellman, R. E. (1984). Neuroendocrine response to estrogen and sexual orientation.Science 225, 1496–1499.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Gooren, L. (1986). The neuroendocrine response of luteinizing hormone to estrogen administration in the human is not sex specific but dependent on the hormonal environment.Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 63, 589–593.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Hendricks, S. E., Graber, B. and Rodriquez-Sierra, J. F. (1989). Neuroendocrine responses to exogenous estrogen: no differences between heterosexual and homosexual men.Psychoneuroendocrinology 14, 177–185.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Swaab, D. F. and Fliers, E. (1985). A sexually dimorphic nucleus in the human brain.Science 228, 1112–1114.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Allen, L. S., Hines, M., Shryne, J. E. and Gorski, R. A. (1989). Two sexually dimorphic cell groups in the human brain.Journal of Neuroscience 9, 497–506.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Arendash, G. W. and Gorski, R. A. (1983). Effects of discrete lesions of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area or other medial preoptical regions on the sexual behavior of rats.Brain Research Bulletin 10, 147–154.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Byne, W. and Parsons, B. (1993). Sexual orientation: the biological theories reappraised.Archives of General Psychiatry 50, 228–239.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Commins, D. and Yahr, P. (1984). Adult testosterone levels influence the morphology of a sexually dimorphic area in the Mongolian gerbil brain.Journal of Comparative Neurology 224, 132–140.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Barinaga, M. (1991). Is homosexuality biological?Science 253, 956–957.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Money, J. and Ehrhardt, A. A. (1972).Man and Woman, Boy and Girl, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Macke, J. P., Hu, N., Hu, S., Bailey, J. M., King, V. L., Brown, T., Hamer, D. and Nathans, J. (1993). Sequence variation in the androgen receptor gene is not a common determination of male sexual orientation.American Journal of Human Genetics 53, 844–852.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Pillard, R. and Weinrich, J. (1986). Evidence for a familial nature of male homosexuality.Archives of General Psychiatry 43, 808–812.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. McGuire, T. R. (1995). ‘Is homosexuality genetic?: a critical review and some suggestions.Journal of Homosexuality 28, 115–145.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Stein, E. (1993). Evidence for queer genes: an interview with Richard Pillard.GLQ 1, 93–110.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Rice, G., Anderson, C., Risch, N. and Ebers, G. (1995). Male homosexuality: absence of linkage to microsatellite markers on the X chromosome in a Canadian study. Presented at the 21st Annual Meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research, Provincetown, MA.

  33. Marshall, E. (1995). NIH’S ‘gay gene’ study questioned.Science 268, 1841.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Risch, N., Squires-Wheeler, E. and Keats, B. (1993). Male sexual orientation and genetic evidence.Science 262, 2063–2065.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Hamer, D. and Copeland, P. (1994).The Science of Desire, Simon and Schuster, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Burr, C. (1996).A Separate Creation: the Search for the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation, Hyperion, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Byne, W. (1996). Biology and sexual orientation: implications of endocronological and neuroanatomical research. In,Comprehensive Textbook of Homosexuality, ed. by R. Cabaj and T. Stein, American Psychiatric Press, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Bem, D. (1996). Exotic becomes erotic: a developmental theory of sexual orientation.Psychological Review 103, 320–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Kinsey, A., Pomeroy, W. and Martin, C. (1948).Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Kinsey, A., Pomeroy, W., Martin, C. and Gebhard, P. (1953).Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Laumann, E., Gagnon, J., Michael, R. and Michaels, S. (1994).The Social Organization of Sexuality, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  42. CBS News/New York Times Poll (1993). February 9–11.

  43. Silverstein, C. (1991). Psychological and medical treatments of homosexuality. In,Homosexuality: Research Implications for Public Policy, ed. by J. C. Gonsiorek and J. D. Weinrich, Sage, Newbury Park, California.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Richards, D. (1994). Sexual orientation as a suspect (religious) classification: an alternative perspective on the unconstitutionality of antilesbian/gay initiatives.Ohio State Law Journal 55, 491–553.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Stein, E. (1994). The relevance of scientific research concerning sexual orientation to lesbian and gay rights.Journal of Homosexuality 27, 269–308.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Kaplan, M. (1991). Autonomy, equality and community.Praxis International 11, 195–213.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Kaplan, M. (1994). Intimacy and equality: the question of lesbian and gay marriage.Philosophical Forum 25, 333–360.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Halley, J. (1994). Sexual orientation and the politics of biology: a critique of the new argument from immutability.Stanford Law Review 46, 503–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Plant, R. (1988).The Pink Triangle, Henry Holt, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Schüklenk, U. (1993). Is research into the cause(s) of homosexuality bad for gay people?Christopher Street 208, 13–15.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Sedgwick, E. (1991). How to bring your kids up gay.Social Text 29, 18–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Katz, J.N. (1976).Gay American History, Thomas Crowell, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  53. Journal of the American Medical Association (1974). Stereotaxic surgery results in ‘cures’ of German sex offenders,229, 718.

  54. Mohr, R. (1990).Gays/Justice, Columbia University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Suppe, F. (1984). Curing homosexuality. In,Philosophy and Sex, revised edition, ed. by R. Baker and F. Elliston, Prometheus Books, Buffalo.

    Google Scholar 

  56. Rich, A. (1980). Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence.Signs 5, 631–660.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Stein, E. Unpublished manuscript, Choosing the sexual orientation of children.

  58. LeVay S. (1992).The Sexual Brain, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  59. D’Emilio, J. (1983).Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940–1970, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Box 1230, 10029, New York, NY

    William Byne

  2. Department of Philosophy, Yale University, P.O. Box 208306, 06520, New Haven, CT, USA

    Edward Stein

Authors
  1. William Byne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Edward Stein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Byne, W., Stein, E. Ethical implications of scientific research on the causes of sexual orientation. Health Care Anal 5, 136–148 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02678419

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02678419

Keywords

Search

Navigation