TY - JOUR
T1 - The subtlety of sex-atypicality
AU - Dunne, Michael P.
AU - Bailey, J. Michael
AU - Kirk, Katherine M.
AU - Martin, Nicholas G.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funded by a grant to JMB from the US National Institute of Mental Health (USA) and a Commonwealth AIDS Research Grant (Australia) to NGM and MPD. The authors thank Ann Eldridge, John Pearson, Olivia Zheng and Dr Gu Zhu for assistance, and the twins for their cooperation.
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - Memories of sex-atypical behavior and interests in childhood usually differ between homosexual and heterosexual people. However, variation within these broad groups has not previously been explored in detail, especially among women. We utilized data from a postal survey of a nationwide sample of Australian adult twins (n = 4,901, age range: 19-52 years). Among men, 15.2% reported homosexual behavior (ever), 11.5% said they had been sexually attracted to the same sex, and 6.4% said they were not heterosexual; the corresponding figures for women were 7.9, 10.6, and 3.5%. A continuous measure of childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) was sensitive to slight variations in homosexual attraction and behavior. In particular, among both men and women who identified as heterosexual, there were significant differences between 'complete' heterosexuals and those who admitted to only one or a few same-sex behaviors but no homosexual attraction. Among men, CGN scores distinguished between heterosexuals who admitted to same-sex behavior only and those who admitted to some homosexual attraction. The sexual subgroups also differed on a measure of gender atypicality in adulthood. Implications for developmental theories of sexuality are discussed.
AB - Memories of sex-atypical behavior and interests in childhood usually differ between homosexual and heterosexual people. However, variation within these broad groups has not previously been explored in detail, especially among women. We utilized data from a postal survey of a nationwide sample of Australian adult twins (n = 4,901, age range: 19-52 years). Among men, 15.2% reported homosexual behavior (ever), 11.5% said they had been sexually attracted to the same sex, and 6.4% said they were not heterosexual; the corresponding figures for women were 7.9, 10.6, and 3.5%. A continuous measure of childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) was sensitive to slight variations in homosexual attraction and behavior. In particular, among both men and women who identified as heterosexual, there were significant differences between 'complete' heterosexuals and those who admitted to only one or a few same-sex behaviors but no homosexual attraction. Among men, CGN scores distinguished between heterosexuals who admitted to same-sex behavior only and those who admitted to some homosexual attraction. The sexual subgroups also differed on a measure of gender atypicality in adulthood. Implications for developmental theories of sexuality are discussed.
KW - Attraction
KW - Childhood gender nonconformity
KW - Sexual orientation
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U2 - 10.1023/A:1002002420159
DO - 10.1023/A:1002002420159
M3 - Article
C2 - 11100262
AN - SCOPUS:0033752901
SN - 0004-0002
VL - 29
SP - 549
EP - 565
JO - Archives of Sexual Behavior
JF - Archives of Sexual Behavior
IS - 6
ER -