Effects of perinatal gonadal hormones on human sexual orientation; women with isolated deficiency reported lower androphilia & higher levels of bisexuality; seems there is a role of perinatal estrogens in organizing sexual orientation

Evidence that perinatal ovarian hormones promote women’s sexual attraction to men. Talia N. Shirazi et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology, Volume 134, December 2021, 105431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105431

Highlights

• Studied effects of perinatal gonadal hormones on human sexual orientation.

• Participants were typically-developing or had isolated GnRH deficiency (IGD).

• Women with IGD reported lower androphilia and higher levels of bisexuality.

• There were no consistent differences between the two groups of men.

• Results suggest a role of perinatal estrogens in organizing sexual orientation.

Abstract: Ovarian estrogens may influence the development of the human brain and behavior, but there are few opportunities to test this possibility. Isolated GnRH deficiency (IGD) is a rare endocrine disorder that could provide evidence for the role of estrogens in organizing sexually differentiated phenotypes: Unlike typical development, development in individuals with IGD is characterized by low or absent gonadal hormone production after the first trimester of gestation. Because external genitalia develop in the first trimester, external appearance is nevertheless concordant with gonadal sex in people with IGD. We therefore investigated the effects of gonadal hormones on sexual orientation by comparing participants with IGD (n = 97) to controls (n = 1670). Women with IGD reported lower male-attraction compared with typically developing women. In contrast, no consistent sexuality differences between IGD and typically developing men were evident. Ovarian hormones after the first trimester appear to influence female-typical dimensions of sexual orientation.

Keywords: AndrophiliaGynephiliaIsolated GnRH deficiencySex hormonesSexual orientation