Gay Brain, My Brain, Your Brain...

A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says gays and lesbians do, in fact, have biological differences that suggest homosexuality is determined during fetal development. Gay men's brains are configured more like heterosexual women's brains, while lesbians' brain are configured more like those of heterosexual men.

The study, which was done at the Stockholm Brain Institute in Sweden, has caused some strange headlines. The UK Register , for instance, wrote: LESBIANS LIKE STRAIGHT MEN, RESEARCH FINDS. Do they really? That might be a surprise to their girlfriends.

The comments thread on the Chronicle of Higher Education has people asking thoughtful questions, such as, is the study's sample size (90 people) large enough to draw wide-ranging conclusions? Do we need longitudinal studies? Is it relevant to pursue such studies of the "gay brain" when we don't have headlines like "Is There a Straight Brain?" Do such studies ignore the variations of the Kinsey Scale (i.e., what about bisexuality)? And finally, is this kind of study too rigid in terms of gender identification?

I don't know about the reliability of this particular study, but I can say that my sexual preferences seemed hardwired early on. Though I have often had long-term relationships with men (and currently live with a man), I have always been more physically attracted to women and thus have had relationships with women as well. Sometimes I have identified as gay, sometimes as bisexual -- but never straight. Recently, I decided to jettison labels entirely and just be me, but it's hard to explain myself in a culture that is suspicious of such fluidity.

How did I know I was attracted to women from the start? Well, my friend in grade school, who I'll call Julia, came over to my house one Sunday and told me she had something to show me. We were about 8. She grabbed the comics section of the Philadelphia Inquirer and told me to look at Dagwood from the Blondie strip. She said he was "sexy." She said if I looked at him I would start to feel funny but there were things I could do to make it go from funny to really nice.

I had no idea what she was talking about. I stared at Dagwood as long as I could, but nothing happened. She kept trying to explain. Finally, I let my eyes wander to Blondie, with her long, pretty legs and bouncy hair and I felt funny. I told her I understood but I didn't mention Blondie. Even then, I knew it was wrong to prefer a girl over a guy.

The incident -- which would be repeated not in its particulars but in its generalities countless times to come -- made me understand who I was. I've always had a soft spot for Blondie since then.

Gay Men, Straight Women Have Similar Brains [Washington Post]