Study confirms link between the number of older brothers and increased odds of being homosexual

[Pluvious]

I first heard about this observed "older brother" phenomenon in that FASCINATING Tedx talk last year. Looks like more data coming to light...

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-link-older-brothers-odds-homosexual.html

JFYI, here's the older Tedx video, which is more from the anecdotal perspective, and IMHO quite worth the viewing:

[Iggo]

1. Welcome to DU.

[Pluvious]

15. Thanks, 2004 seems just like yesterday ;-)

( Member since: Sun Jul 11, 2004, 02:18 PM )

I've mainly been a lurker, occasionally posting a new thread now and then.

This place helped me survive the Cheney/Bush terms.

And now, The Year of the Groper.

[Turbineguy]

2. That would suggest that profound

changes from pregnancies take place in the parents. Not surprising really.

[Laffy Kat]

3. That study has been around a long time.

I've got two boys and while they were growing up I rather suspected my youngest was going to be gay. Surprise! It was the other way around. In our house orientation was never a big deal: some people are right-handed, some are left-handed, some have blue eyes, some have brown eyes, some are straight, some are gay.

[sdfernando]

4. This holds true in our family.

I’m the last of 5 children...two older brothers and two older sisters. I’m the only gay child.

I joke that my parents had five kids...3 boys and 3 girls!

[Thor_MN]

5. Here as well. I'm the older brother.

I was sandwiched in between two sisters within 30 months, my brother is 5 years younger than me.

[sdfernando]

6. We are boy girl girl boy boy

Oldest brother is 8 years and 4 days and the other is only 11 months older.

[Thor_MN]

9. My brother has the longest, most stable relationship amongst us siblings.

He has been married since it was legal where he lives, one sister widowed and remarried, one sister divorced and to be remarried and me, unable to find a long term relationship. Was trying to figure out how to afford a ring once, then she went into another bout of major depression and ended our relationship.

[customerserviceguy]

7. While individual families

will have different outcomes, I presume this study is based on statistical observations of large numbers of families.

Here's the bottom line: If this proves to be true, that some protein, or antibody, or enzyme, or whatever has a tendency to increase the likelihood of subsequent male children being gay, will someone try to research and market a pill, or an injection, or something to counteract it? What would be the unintended effects of such a marketing effort?

[sdfernando]

8. Oh yeah....Im with you on that.

How long before we are in Gattica territory???

It really is frightening.

[Thor_MN]

10. While you could potentially persuade some people to take an experimental drug when trying to

conceive, I would think that it would not be an easy sell. And lots of pregnancies are unplanned. I suppose that there is some chance that the "action" is at a later stage of pregnancy, but it probably is from the earliest stages of brain development.

The thing that I would fear is a prenatal test indicating possibility.

[beaglelover]

11. This doesn't work for me. I'm the youngest of 4 children and the only boy.

[FreeState]

12. The study doesn't mean its the only way

Just that statistically there is a link (not "the" link).

I am the youngest boy in a large family (10). I am gay. My Partner comes from an even larger family (12) and he and his youngest brother (they are the youngest of 11 kids) are gay. This same pattern is evident among a lot of gay kids from large families.

Growing up in a conservative religious household I know a lot of gay men from large families and I would say for most of theme this holds some weight in regards their families.

But like I said, it's a pattern not the cause.

[kydo]

13. My husband is the youngest child of 8 kids. 1 girl 7 boys.

So none have said they are gay. All have married. One is now single but engaged again (this will be wife #3). One is a widow but remarried. The other brothers are all married. Although of all the kids my husband and I have been married the longest 27 years.

[Hamlette]

14. I'm late to the party, had no idea. Very interesting. n/t