Online Directory for Sexual Orientation Causation Research
Hi folks, as before with the research on Sexual Orientation Change (mediated and unmediated),  I now want to provide an online directory of good research into sexual orientation causation. I know of a few good studies but I’d be grateful if you knew about any more that you could let me know (in the comments below or send me a message). Ideally I would like links to open access copies so anyone can come and read them. Submissions should be from both sides of the argument, but addressing the key issue of sexual orientation causation, whether nature or nurture.
Go for it.
Epigenetics
Rice, Friberg and Gavrilets (2012). “Homosexuality as a Consequence of Epigenetically Canalized Sexual Development“. The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 87, No 4, December 2012
Antenatal / Postnatal Environment
Francis, Andrew (2008). “Family and Sexual Orientation: The Family-Demographic Correlates of Homosexuality in Men and Women“. Journal of Sex Research 2008 Oct-Dec;45(4):371-7
Postnatal Environment
Wells, McGree and Beautrais (2011). “Multiple Aspects of Sexual Orientation: Prevalence and Sociodemographic Correlates in a New Zealand National Survey“. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, Vol 40, pp 155-168
I read the epigenetics paper with interest as I work in a genetics-related field. The authors suggested looking at the fathers of homosexual children to assess their epigenetic status. It’s an interesting idea but it seems to me there is already fairly strong evidence that epigenetics is either not involved in causation of homosexuality or is only a small part of the explanation. The strongest line of evidence would come from the twin studies. In the case of identical twins, each twin should unquestionably have the same epigenetic marks. Divergent outcomes for sexual identity for identical twins means that epigenetics must have a limited impact. I’d need to do a little reading on persistence of epigenetic status, and mechanism of erasing those marks, in the germ line but the authors assumed the epigenetic status of sperm from the fathers would remain constant over time. If that’s true, fraternal twins and even siblings separated by years would also have identical epigenetic tags and we already know there are divergent outcomes.
I appreciate the blog. It’s been very helpful for me!