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Gruia DC, Holmes L, Raines J, Slettevold E, Watts-Overall TM, Rieger G. Stability and Change in Sexual Orientation and Genital Arousal over Time. J Sex Res 2023; 60:294-304. [PMID: 35412933 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2022.2060927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Longitudinal work suggests that sexual orientation can change over time in men and women. These studies, however, may be susceptible to the bias of self-report. The current study therefore examined self-reported sexual orientation in addition to an objective correlate: genital arousal to erotic videos showing males or females. For 52 men (19 heterosexual, 19 bisexual, 14 homosexual) and 67 women (31 heterosexual, 18 bisexual, 18 homosexual), these measures were taken twice, with approximately 1 year between sessions. For self-reported sexual orientation, women reported lower relative stability (weaker correlation) than men over time, even though women did not change more overall (no stronger mean difference) than men between sessions. Bisexual individuals reported lower relative stability and more mean change than heterosexual and homosexual individuals. For genital arousal, across all groups, response patterns were correlated over time to a similar extent and showed little difference between sessions. Moreover, change in self-reported sexual orientation did not correspond with the change in genital arousal, regardless of sex. Perhaps self-reports overestimate changes in sexual orientation, since these changes were not reflected in physiological sexual response.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luke Holmes
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex
| | | | - Erlend Slettevold
- Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
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Holmes L, Watts-Overall TM, Slettevold E, Gruia DC, Rieger G. Sex Differences in Sexual Arousal and Finger Length Ratio. J Sex Res 2022; 59:515-523. [PMID: 33522850 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2021.1874262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Most men show sexual arousal to one, preferred sex, whereas most women respond to both sexes, regardless of their sexual orientation. A different research program indicates that men have lower second-to-fourth finger length ratios (2D:4D) than women, possibly because men are exposed to higher levels of androgens during prenatal development. We hypothesized that sex differences in sexual arousal patterns are influenced by prenatal androgen exposure and would thus be explained by sex differences in 2D:4D. We measured the sexual response patterns of 139 men and 179 women via genital arousal and pupil dilation to erotic videos, in addition to their 2D:4D. Compared to women, men showed stronger responses to one sex over the other, although this pattern was clearer in genital arousal than pupil dilation. Men also had lower 2D:4D than women. However, there was no evidence that sex differences in sexual arousal related to sex differences in 2D:4D. Thus, whichever factor explains sex differences in sexual arousal patterns may not be reflected in 2D:4D.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Holmes
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex
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Holmes L, Watts-Overall TM, Slettevold E, Gruia DC, Raines J, Rieger G. Sexual Orientation, Sexual Arousal, and Finger Length Ratios in Women. Arch Sex Behav 2021; 50:3419-3432. [PMID: 34297214 PMCID: PMC8604855 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-02095-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In general, women show physiological sexual arousal to both sexes. However, compared with heterosexual women, homosexual women are more aroused to their preferred sex, a pattern typically found in men. We hypothesized that homosexual women's male-typical arousal is due to their sex-atypical masculinization during prenatal development. We measured the sexual responses of 199 women (including 67 homosexual women) via their genital arousal and pupil dilation to female and male sexual stimuli. Our main marker of masculinization was the ratio of the index to ring finger, which we expected to be lower (a masculine pattern) in homosexual women due to increased levels of prenatal androgens. We further measured observer- and self-ratings of psychological masculinity-femininity as possible proxies of prenatal androgenization. Homosexual women responded more strongly to female stimuli than male stimuli and therefore had more male-typical sexual responses than heterosexual women. However, they did not have more male-typical digit ratios, even though this difference became stronger if analyses were restricted to white participants. Still, variation in women's digit ratios did not account for the link between their sexual orientation and their male-typical sexual responses. Furthermore, homosexual women reported and displayed more masculinity than heterosexual women, but their masculinity was not associated with their male-typical sexual arousal. Thus, women's sexual and behavioral traits, and potential anatomical traits, are possibly masculinized at different stages of gestation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Holmes
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.
| | - Tuesday M Watts-Overall
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
- School of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK
| | - Erlend Slettevold
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
- Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Dragos C Gruia
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Jamie Raines
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Gerulf Rieger
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
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Abstract
Most men show genital sexual arousal to one preferred gender. Most women show genital arousal to both genders, regardless of their sexual preferences. There is limited knowledge of whether this difference is driven by biological sex or gender identity. Transgender individuals, whose birth sex and gender identity are incongruent, provide a unique opportunity to address this question. We tested whether the genital responses of 25 (female-to-male) transgender men followed their female birth sex or male gender identity. Depending on their surgical status, arousal was assessed with penile gauges or vaginal plethysmographs. Transgender men's sexual arousal showed both male-typical and female-typical patterns. Across measures, they responded more strongly to their preferred gender than to the other gender, similar to (but not entirely like) 145 cisgender (nontransgender) men. However, they still responded to both genders, similar to 178 cisgender women. In birth-assigned women, both gender identity and biological sex may influence sexual-arousal patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luke Holmes
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex
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Jabbour J, Holmes L, Sylva D, Hsu KJ, Semon TL, Rosenthal AM, Safron A, Slettevold E, Watts-Overall TM, Savin-Williams RC, Sylla J, Rieger G, Bailey JM. Robust evidence for bisexual orientation among men. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:18369-18377. [PMID: 32690672 PMCID: PMC7414168 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2003631117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The question whether some men have a bisexual orientation-that is, whether they are substantially sexually aroused and attracted to both sexes-has remained controversial among both scientists and laypersons. Skeptics believe that male sexual orientation can only be homosexual or heterosexual, and that bisexual identification reflects nonsexual concerns, such as a desire to deemphasize homosexuality. Although most bisexual-identified men report that they are attracted to both men and women, self-report data cannot refute these claims. Patterns of physiological (genital) arousal to male and female erotic stimuli can provide compelling evidence for male sexual orientation. (In contrast, most women provide similar physiological responses to male and female stimuli.) We investigated whether men who self-report bisexual feelings tend to produce bisexual arousal patterns. Prior studies of this issue have been small, used potentially invalid statistical tests, and produced inconsistent findings. We combined nearly all previously published data (from eight previous studies in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada), yielding a sample of 474 to 588 men (depending on analysis). All participants were cisgender males. Highly robust results showed that bisexual-identified men's genital and subjective arousal patterns were more bisexual than were those who identified as exclusively heterosexual or homosexual. These findings support the view that male sexual orientation contains a range, from heterosexuality, to bisexuality, to homosexuality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Jabbour
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
| | - Luke Holmes
- Department of Psychology, Essex University, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - David Sylva
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, CA 90056
| | - Kevin J Hsu
- Department of Psychological and Social Sciences, Pennsylvania State University Abington, Abington, PA 19001
| | - Theodore L Semon
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
| | - A M Rosenthal
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
| | - Adam Safron
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Erlend Slettevold
- Department of Psychology, Essex University, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - John Sylla
- American Institute of Bisexuality, Los Angeles, CA 90014
- University of Chicago Law School, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
| | - Gerulf Rieger
- Department of Psychology, Essex University, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - J Michael Bailey
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208;
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Slettevold E, Holmes L, Gruia D, Nyssen CP, Watts-Overall TM, Rieger G. Bisexual men with bisexual and monosexual genital arousal patterns. Biol Psychol 2019; 148:107763. [PMID: 31494194 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Some research suggests that bisexual-identified men show bisexual genital arousal, whereas other research indicates monosexual arousal: they are aroused to one sex only. These seemingly contradictory findings may be due to the type of men identifying as bisexual and the performed analyses. We examined whether both bisexual and monosexual arousal patterns could co-occur within the same sample. 114 men of different sexual orientations viewed erotic videos of males or females while their penile circumference was measured. On average, bisexual-identified men were more aroused to males than females, and especially if they identified as "bisexual leaning gay." However, also on average, bisexual men showed bisexual arousal, and especially if they were "bisexual leaning straight". Furthermore, there was more variability in the arousal patterns of bisexual-identified men, compared with other men. Based on their physiological sexual arousal, bisexual men appear to be a more diverse group than men who identified as heterosexual or homosexual.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luke Holmes
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, United Kingdom
| | - Dragos Gruia
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Gerulf Rieger
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, United Kingdom.
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