Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why
 | |
| Author | Simon LeVay |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Biology |
| Published | 2011 (Oxford University Press) |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 412 (paperback edition) |
| ISBN |
978-0-19-973767-3 (hardback) 978-0-19-993158-3 (paperback) |
Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The science of sexual orientation is a 2011 book about the development of sexual orientation by Simon LeVay.[1] The book received much praise, as well as some criticism.
Summary
LeVay details the findings of more than 650 studies that have been conducted since his 1991 study of the hypothalamus,[2] and attempts to draw this evidence together into a coherent theory of sexual orientation. He argues that in general, and with rare exceptions, only people's sexual feelings should be taken into account in assessing their sexual orientation: he rejects Alfred Kinsey's view that sexual behavior should also be considered.[3] He argues that sexual orientation is an aspect of gender that emerges from the prenatal sexual differentiation of the brain, being determined by a combination of sex hormones, genes, and the womb environment, including factors such as stress during pregnancy. The influence of genes and hormones continues over the life span rather than stopping at birth.[1]
LeVay suggests that several "feminizing" genes are at work in the development of male homosexuality. The inheritance of a limited number of such genes might make males more attractive to females, for example by rendering them less aggressive and more empathic. He proposes that this would in turn make them more successful in terms of reproduction. Male homosexuality might result from the inheritance of a larger number of feminizing genes.[4]
Discussing Freudian theories of homosexuality, LeVay, citing Alan P. Bell et al.'s study Sexual Preference (1981), states that statistical studies of large numbers of subjects have shown that on average gay men describe their relationships with their mothers as closer and their relationships with their fathers as more distant or hostile compared to how straight men describe such relationships. However, he is skeptical that the behavior of parents influences the future sexual orientation of their children. Citing Richard Isay's work, LeVay suggests that boys who become gay differ from boys who become straight in ways that influence the behavior of parents and that Freudian theories reverse the direction of causation. LeVay rejects the behaviorist idea that the sex of a person's first sex partner influences their sexual orientation, arguing that it is contradicted by cross-cultural evidence, including anthropologist Gilbert Herdt's work on the Sambia, and studies of British boarding schools.[5]
Reviewing his work on the hypothalamus, LeVay defends his 1991 study from the criticism that the differences in brain structure between gay and straight men which it found were simply a side-effect of AIDS, which all the gay men in the study had died from. LeVay observes that there was no obvious pathology in the specimens he studied and that he was subsequently able to study a gay man who died of factors unrelated to AIDS and found that his INAH3 was the same size as those of the gay men in his study. LeVay notes that one attempt has been made to replicate his study. Psychiatrist and neuroscientist William Byne found a difference in INAH3 size between gay and straight men, but the difference was not quite statistically significant by the criteria Byne used.[6]
Reception
Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why was reviewed in New Scientist by journalist Deborah Blum, who called it "rational, smart and compassionate" but also observed that it showed that scientific understanding of sexual orientation had advanced less than might be hoped since LeVay's 1991 study. Blum commented, "I was dismayed to discover that many of the most influential studies cited here spring from previous decades...when a chapter on the importance of biology in sexuality contains 32 citations and 23 of them date to the year 2000 or earlier, a book can feel a bit dated."[1]
Philosopher Michael Ruse praised Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why in The Globe and Mail, calling it "superb". Ruse wrote that the work was, "clear and comprehensive, looking at the widest range of research, and very balanced."[7] Gay scholar John Lauritsen dismissed LeVay's book, arguing that its hypothesis is faulty and that LeVay fails to verify it. Lauritsen charged LeVay with poor scholarship as well as ignorance of relevant historical and anthropological evidence.[8]
Schuyler Velasco of Salon.com called the book, "a comprehensive, engaging and occasionally quite funny look at the current state of the research."[9]
In 2012, Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why received the Bullough Book Award for the most distinguished book written for the professional sexological community published in a given year.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Blum 2010
- ↑ Staples 2010.
- ↑ LeVay 2012. pp. XVII, 2.
- ↑ Krause 2013
- ↑ LeVay 2012. pp. 30–31, 35.
- ↑ LeVay 2012. pp. 198–199.
- ↑ Ruse 2011.
- ↑ Lauritsen 2013.
- ↑ Velasco 2010.
- ↑ LeVay 2013.
Bibliography
- Books
- LeVay, Simon (2012). Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-993158-3.
- Journals
- Blum, Deborah (30 October 2010). "Gay: born or made?". New Scientist 208 (2784): 53. Bibcode:2010NewSc.208Q..53B. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(10)62703-0.
- Krause, Kenneth W. (July–August 2013). "Why Gay and Lesbian? A New Proposal". Skeptical Inquirer 37: 24.
- Online articles
- Lauritsen, John. "The Gay Brain and other such nonsense". Retrieved 7 December 2013.
- LeVay, Simon. "Simon LeVay's website". Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- Ruse, Michael (24 August 2012). "What Freud didn't know about being gay". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- Staples, A. Latham. ""Gay Brain" scientist returns to San Diego for Oct. 12–13 book signings". Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- Velasco, Schuyler. ""Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why": Where does homosexuality come from?". Retrieved 24 November 2013.