Your Gay Brain
New research is showing that the brain structures of gay men and straight women are strikingly similar. One of the studies in question also found no similar link between the brains of lesbians and straight men. This is interesting if it's true, but how important is it? And as scientists work to "settle" the nature vs nurture question (duh, it's nature) we must be wary that they aren't dragging old stereotypes out of the vault.
""The question is, how far does it go?" said Dr. Eric Vilain, who studies human sexual development at UCLA and was not involved in the study. "In gay men, the brain is feminized. Is that limited to particular areas, or is the entire brain female-like?"
Vilain said his hunch was that the entire brain was not feminized because "gay men have a number of masculine traits that are not present in women." For example, he said, men regardless of sexual orientation tend to be interested in casual sex and are stimulated by sexually suggestive images."
While the straight female brain and the gay male brain might be similar, who's to say that the gay brain is simply "feminized"? Why can't straight female brains be "gay-male-ized"? Maybe we're reading too much into this, but we get the impression that when Dr. Vilain says gay male brains are "feminized" he's implying that gay men's brains aren't naturally male. Also, we know lots of women (regardless of sexual orientation) who are into casual sex and sexually suggestive images--they're the most fun to go bar hopping with. Haven't these guys seen Sex and the City?
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