scholarly journals Appearance-Related Partner Preferences and Body Image in a German Sample of Homosexual and Heterosexual Women and Men

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Cordes ◽  
Silja Vocks ◽  
Andrea S. Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Eating Pathology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Homosexual Men ◽  
Drive For Thinness ◽  
Partner Preferences ◽  
Heterosexual Women

AbstractThere is evidence that gender as well as sexual orientation can affect body image. In particular, heterosexual women and homosexual men seem to be more vulnerable to a negative body image compared to homosexual women and heterosexual men. One reason for this may be derived from the fact that heterosexual women and homosexual men try to attract male romantic partners: As men place more importance on physical attractiveness than do women, the pressure to fulfill the sociocultural beauty ideal is thus increased. The present online study investigated differences in appearance-related partner preferences and their associations with measures of body image and eating pathology in homosexual and heterosexual women and men. The non-representative sample consisted of 893 participants (n = 201 lesbian women, n = 192 gay men, n = 349 heterosexual women, and n = 151 heterosexual men), who completed silhouette measures assessing their perception and expectations regarding body fat and muscularity of their own body and the body of a potential romantic partner, as well as questionnaires on drive for thinness, drive for muscularity, and eating pathology. Overall, few differences in appearance-related partner preferences emerged between the four groups. However, compared to heterosexual women, homosexual men appeared to prefer higher muscularity in potential romantic partners, which was also associated with increased drive for thinness and muscularity and increased eating pathology. The present findings indicate that, irrespective of sexual orientation, women and men tend to share similar standards regarding their own and a potential partner’s physical appearance, potentially suggesting an increased hegemony of heteronormative beauty ideals in women and men in general.

scholarly journals Sexual Orientation and Neuroanatomy: An MRI Study of Gray Matter Differences in Homosexual, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Women and Men

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Klimaj ◽  
Adam Safron ◽  
David Sylva ◽  
A.M. Rosenthal ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Homosexual Men ◽  
Bisexual Women ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Subcortical Volumes

In this study, we attempted to replicate past work focusing on differences in neuroanatomical structures between heterosexual and homosexual men and women. We also performed the first analyses of sexual orientation and neuroanatomy to include bisexual men and women. Sex differences in raw subcortical volumes were consistent with past work and a broader literature on sex differences, showing larger raw subcortical volumes in male groups than female groups. However, we did not confirm past findings showing larger raw volumes in heterosexual than in homosexual men in the left thalamus or right thalamus. Additionally, we did not confirm past findings showing thicker cortices in heterosexual men than in homosexual men in visual/occipital areas (right cuneus, right lingual gyrus, right pericalcarine cortex) or a frontal area (right pars triangularis). Exploratory whole-brain analyses revealed several areas of difference between women that may be of interest for future confirmatory research. Bisexual women had smaller volumes in a region of the olfactory tubercule than heterosexual women as well as a thicker right anterior insula region than homosexual women. Homosexual women had smaller volumes in regions of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) than both heterosexual women and bisexual women. The functional relevance of these brain areas in terms of understanding female sexual orientation is unclear. However, based on these areas, future work may wish to consider the potential social, emotional, attentional, interoceptive, or general reward-related characteristics that may differentiate women with different attraction patterns. In contrast to previous work, no differences were found between groups of men (heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual) in any of our analyses. Finally, in terms of whole-brain analyses of sex differences, heterosexual women had both thicker cortices and larger (relative to the whole brain) gray matter volume than heterosexual men in the superior frontal gyrus, in contrast to large-scale studies of sex difference. Although statistically significant at a stringent threshold (FWE-corrected), our whole-brain findings should be interpreted and generalized with caution. The heterogeneity of patterns across analyses of sexual orientation and brain structure (and even across studies of sex/gender and brain structure) suggests that findings may potentially depend upon particular sample characteristics, and potentially Type 1 error due to the testing of many different brain areas.

Birth Order and Sibling Sex Ratio in Relation to Sexual Orientation in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 995-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Xu ◽  
Yong Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Birth Order ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Homosexual Men ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Chinese Parents ◽  
Older Brothers ◽  
Sibling Sex Ratio

We examined birth order and sibling sex ratio in relation to sexual orientation within a Chinese cultural context. A total of 672 people comprising 160 heterosexual men, 215 homosexual men, 255 heterosexual women, and 42 homosexual women, took part in a web-based survey. Our results showed that as a whole homosexual and heterosexual men had a significantly late position in the birth order of the children in their families, but that the same phenomenon did not apply for homosexual women. In contrast to studies involving Western populations, in this study heterosexual and homosexual men had a significant excess of older sisters, but not older brothers when compared with the norm in a Chinese population. We concluded that the male-preference stopping rule adopted by Chinese parents affected birth order and sibling sex ratio in relation to sexual orientation.

scholarly journals Sexual orientation and health behaviors among college students in Italy

Genus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Sironi ◽  
Julie Fricke
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Homosexual Men ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Bisexual Women ◽  
Emotional Life ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Heterosexual Women

AbstractStudies regarding sexual orientation and health behaviors have largely neglected the Italian context. This research utilizes the second wave of the ‘Sexual and Emotional Life of Youths’ (SELFY) data set to compare the health behaviors of sexual minority (SM) and heterosexual college students in Italy. Results showed that bisexual women were more likely than heterosexual women to smoke both 1–7 and 8+ cigarettes per day, get drunk sometimes and often/very often, and use marijuana and/or ecstasy sometimes and often/very often. Homosexual women were more likely than heterosexual women to smoke 1–7 cigarettes per day, get drunk often/very often, and use marijuana and/or ecstasy often/very often. Homosexual men were more likely than heterosexual men to smoke 8+ cigarettes per day, but less likely to get drunk often/very often. Bisexual men were less likely than heterosexual men to participate in physical activity sometimes, often, and very often. Finally, bisexual men were less likely to exercise often than homosexual men. This work highlights that SM college students in Italy, particularly women, are more likely to engage in specific risky health behaviors compared to their heterosexual counterparts. More attention needs to be given to SMs in Italy to inform the Italian national health care system and to ensure that the appropriate care can be provided when required.

scholarly journals Speech Acoustic Features: A Comparison of Gay Men, Heterosexual Men, and Heterosexual Women

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 2575-2583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Suire ◽  
Arnaud Tognetti ◽  
Valérie Durand ◽  
Michel Raymond ◽  
Melissa Barkat-Defradas
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Homosexual Men ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Acoustic Features ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
English Speaking

Abstract Potential differences between homosexual and heterosexual men have been studied on a diverse set of social and biological traits. Regarding acoustic features of speech, researchers have hypothesized a feminization of such characteristics in homosexual men, but previous investigations have so far produced mixed results. Moreover, most studies have been conducted with English-speaking populations, which calls for further cross-linguistic examinations. Lastly, no studies investigated so far the potential role of testosterone in the association between sexual orientation and speech acoustic features. To fill these gaps, we explored potential differences in acoustic features of speech between homosexual and heterosexual native French men and investigated whether the former showed a trend toward feminization by comparing theirs to that of heterosexual native French women. Lastly, we examined whether testosterone levels mediated the association between speech acoustic features and sexual orientation. We studied four sexually dimorphic acoustic features relevant for the qualification of feminine versus masculine voices: the fundamental frequency, its modulation, and two understudied acoustic features of speech, the harmonics-to-noise ratio (a proxy of vocal breathiness) and the jitter (a proxy of vocal roughness). Results showed that homosexual men displayed significantly higher pitch modulation patterns and less breathy voices compared to heterosexual men, with values shifted toward those of heterosexual women. Lastly, testosterone levels did not influence any of the investigated acoustic features. Combined with the literature conducted in other languages, our findings bring new support for the feminization hypothesis and suggest that the feminization of some acoustic features could be shared across languages.

scholarly journals Sexual orientation and cognitive ability: A multivariate meta-analytic follow-up

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Xu ◽  
Sam Norton ◽  
Qazi Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Homosexual Men ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women

A cross-sex shift model of human sexual orientation differences predicts that homosexual men should perform or score in the direction of heterosexual women, and homosexual women in the direction of heterosexual men, in behavioral domains such as cognition and personality. In order to test whether homosexual men and women’s cognitive performance was closer to that of heterosexual men or that of heterosexual women (i.e., sex atypical for their sex), we conducted a multivariate meta-analysis based on data from our previous meta-analysis (Xu, Norton, & Rahman, 2017). A subset of this data was used and comprised a total of 49 samples and 251,393 participants. The multivariate meta-analysis revealed that homosexual men were indeed sex-atypical in mental rotation (Hedges’ g = -0.36) and the Water Level Test (Hedges’ g = -0.55). In mental rotation, homosexual men were somewhat in-between heterosexual men and women. There was no significant group difference on spatial location memory. Homosexual men were also sex atypical on male-favoring spatial-related tasks (Hedges’ g = -0.54), and female-favoring spatial-related tasks (Hedges’ g = 0.38). Homosexual women tended to be sex-typical (similar to heterosexual women). There were no significant group differences on male-favoring other tasks or female-favoring verbal-related tasks. Heterosexual men and women differed significantly on female-favoring other tasks. These results support the cross-sex shift hypothesis which predicts that homosexual men perform in the direction of heterosexual women in sex differentiated cognitive domains. However, the type of task and cognitive domain tested is critical.

Intimate Partner Homicide Methods in Heterosexual, Gay, and Lesbian Relationships

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystal D. Mize ◽  
Todd K. Shackelford
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Gay And Lesbian ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Intimate Partner Homicide ◽  
Lesbian Couples ◽  
Homicide Rates ◽  
Lesbian Relationships ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
And Gender

Previous research indicates that the killing method used in homicides may reflect the motivation of the offender and qualities of the victim–offender relationship. The effect of gender and sexual orientation of intimate partner homicide offenders (N = 51,007) was examined with respect to the brutality of killing methods. Guided by previous research and theory, it was hypothesized that homicide brutality will vary with the offender’s sexual orientation and gender, such that the percentage of killings coded as brutal will be higher for (a) gay and lesbian relative to heterosexual relations, (b) men relative to women, (c) gay relative to heterosexual men, and (d) lesbian relative to heterosexual women. The rates of intimate partner homicide were also hypothesized to vary with the gender of the partners, such that (a) homicide rates will be higher in gay relative to heterosexual and lesbian couples and (b) homicide rates will be lowest in lesbian couples. The results support all but one prediction derived from the two hypotheses. We predicted that men would kill their partners more brutally than would women, but the results indicate that the opposite is true.

scholarly journals Pay equity after the Equality Act 2010: does sexual orientation still matter?

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Bryson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Wage Differential ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Pay Equity ◽  
Ceteris Paribus ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Employee Data

Analyses of linked employer–employee data for Britain indicate bisexual men earn 20 per cent less per hour than heterosexual men, ceteris paribus. There is no wage differential between gay and heterosexual men. Among women there is no wage gap between bisexuals and heterosexuals. However, lesbians are paid nearly 30 per cent less than heterosexual women, unless they are employed in a workplace with an equal opportunities policy which explicitly refers to sexual orientation, whereupon there is no wage gap. Workplace sorting by sexual orientation does not affect the size of the sexual orientation wage gaps.

scholarly journals Doing Everything: Intersections of Gender and Sexual Orientation in Caregiving for a Spouse With Dementia

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 492-492
Author(s):  
Toni Calasanti ◽  
Brian de Vries
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Lesbian And Gay ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Unpaid Labor ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Gender inequalities are rooted in and drive the division of labor over the life course, which result in heterosexual men and women acquiring different resources, skills, and identities. Gendered differences in caregiving reflect these varying gender repertoires. Whether and how these repertoires vary by sexual orientation is lesser understood. Our qualitative study seeks to explore the ways that sexual orientation and gender, and the related division of both paid and unpaid labor, shapes caregiving for a spouse or partner with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (AD). Our data, obtained from in-depth interviews conducted among lesbian (n=9), gay (n=6), and heterosexual spousal and partner (23 women and 14 men) caregivers of those with AD, reveal that, although all the caregivers spoke about “having to do everything,” with a particular focus on decision-making, they interpret this experience differently based on the intersections of gender and sexuality. The heterosexual women reported they were used to managing daily household life, yet they described having to make decisions as quite stressful: “I don’t like to be the boss.” Heterosexual husbands also lamented that they “had to do everything,” but commenting that they hadn’t realized what it took to “manage a household.” The concerns reported by lesbian and gay spouses and partners were similarly situated but more varied, as each group tended to report their previous divisions of labor as “less well-defined.” Our findings reflect both the influence of gender inequalities on how respondents experience “doing everything,” and their potential modification in same-sex relationships.

scholarly journals Male Homosexual Preference: Femininity and the Older Brother Effect in Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 147470491988070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Nila ◽  
Pierre-Andre Crochet ◽  
Julien Barthes ◽  
Puji Rianti ◽  
Berry Juliandi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Original Data ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Homosexual Men ◽  
Sibship Size ◽  
Male Homosexual ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Older Brothers ◽  
Fraternal Birth Order ◽  
Average Face ◽  
Cultural Effect

Male homosexual preference (MHP) is an evolutionary enigma because it is partially heritable and imposes a fertility cost. In occidental societies, homosexual men are feminized at various levels and they have more older brothers than heterosexual men. To evaluate whether femininity and the fraternal birth order (FBO) effect are universal features of MHP or not, we collected original data from homosexual men, heterosexual men, and heterosexual women from Java (Indonesia). Facial photographs were used to test whether homosexual faces are feminized when compared with heterosexual ones. We found that faces manipulated to resemble the average face of homosexual men are perceived as facially feminized, suggesting that homosexual men are facially feminized compared to heterosexual men, although a higher facial femininity was not captured by morphological analyses. Then, family data were used to detect differences in siblings’ composition between homosexuals and heterosexuals. Homosexual men displayed a higher number of older brothers than heterosexual men, even when sibship size was controlled for, suggesting that the FBO effect exists in Indonesian populations. Independent of sexual orientation, men with older brothers seem more feminized than those without older brothers, consistent with the immune origin of the FBO effect. In conclusion, MHP in Indonesia is partially feminized and they have more older brothers. Such features are also associated with MHP in other cultural contexts, suggesting a cross-cultural effect of men homosexual preference. An evolutionary explanation is available for the feminizing effect, although the FBO effect remains unexplained even if proximal mechanisms start to be identified.

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