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New Bogaert Study: Increased Non-Typical Handedness In Gay Men

Timothy Kincaid

November 27th, 2007

NeuropsychologyPrevious studies have shown that gay men and gay women were 39% more likely to be left-handed. Now a new study from Anthony Bogaert released in Neuropsychology shows higher rates of extreme right-handedness in gay men.

Unlike previous studies, which have only observed an increased rate of non-right-handedness in gay or bisexual men relative to heterosexual men, an elevated rate of extreme right-handedness was found in gay or bisexual men relative to heterosexual men.

Bogaert is also the researcher who identified a correlation between the number of older brothers and gay men. In his new study he also looks for this correlate and finds that it holds true only for those who do not have atypical handedness.

Specifically, older brothers increase the odds of being gay or bisexual in moderate right-handers only; in both non-right-handers and extreme right-handers, older brothers do not affect (or decrease) the odds of being gay or bisexual.

Bogaert’s observations are interesting when viewed with those recently released by Sandra Witelson. She noted that “right-handed homosexual men have less marked functional asymmetry compared to right-handed heterosexual men” in the isthmus of the corpus callosum.

Edge Magazine quotes Robert-Jay Green, Executive Director of the Rockway Institute:

“The results of this research suggest there is a biological predisposition to homosexuality among a significant number of gay/bisexual men,” said Green.

“What we don’t know yet is how strong or widespread such biological predisposition is or whether it is a result of genes, maternal hormones during pregnancy, or maternal immune system functioning during conception,” Green added.

Comments

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Bruce Garrett
November 28th, 2007 | LINK

What is “extreme right-handedness”…? I’m trying to google it and all I’m coming up with are studies that reference it, but nothing that explains what it is. How do I know if I’m extremely right-handed?

Randi Schimnosky
November 28th, 2007 | LINK

Bruce, I have always considered myself extremely right handed. What I mean by that is that I have a great deal of difficulty doing anything that requires coordination with my left hand, much more so than any typical right-hander I know. As well the right side of my body is a great deal stronger than the left, once again to a much greater degree than any typical right handers I know.

Bruce Garrett
November 28th, 2007 | LINK

Well…I’m my mom’s only child, and so the passages I’m reading in these news stories that “…the extreme right-handedness finding is only seen in men with no or few older brothers”, is interesting to me. But I guess I’m looking for something like a objective, clinical description of it.

How do I tell if I fall into that category from the point of view of the researchers? I can tell what it is to prefer my right hand over my left in tasks like writing and drawing. I’ve tried occasionally using my left for stuff like that now and then as a matter of fact and it’s nearly impossible. But I can’t gage whether my difficulty in that regard is extreme or not since I can’t know from first…er…hand experience how difficult it is for anyone else.

Can anyone point me to something like a clinical description of extreme right-handedness? Obviously there’s some kind of standard being applied here…right? I’m really finding this fascinating. I’ve never heard this term before.

Timothy Kincaid
November 28th, 2007 | LINK

Bruce,

I don’t know that this will answer your question, but the questionnaire at this site may give you some idea of what they look for.

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/rltab75.html

Based on their scoring I’m right-handed, but with only +13 on a scale of -24 to +24, I would have to guess that I’m probably not extremely right-handed.

Bruce Garrett
November 28th, 2007 | LINK

Wow…thanks Timothy…this is really interesting. I scored +23 Sometimes I switch hands while brooming…that’s only when I need to handle odd corners, but I do it and still broom pretty well. So the answer to that one was “usually right”. It’s the only thing on that list I could say honestly that I switch hands doing At All. What really struck me was how odd it felt answering all but one of those questions “always right”. I thought I was just like everyone else in regard to how I use my hands to do things but I have to assume that most right-handed folks will at least answer some of those questions differently.

If you got a +13 and you’re right handed then I guess my brain’s a tad more insistent about it for some reason. I mean…it’s not like I never use my left hand for anything…like right now on the keyboard for instance I’m fine using both hands. And when working at my drafting table or around the house, both hands are always busy. But given that specific set of questions to answer…dang…I was answering with “always right” over and over and it wasn’t like I had to even think hard about it on any of them. Using a hammmer…check. Holding a match to strike it…check. Using my toothbrush…check. And so on. No, I just don’t do any of that with the left hand. It would feel very awkward even trying, so I don’t. But it never ever occurred to me that’s an extreme behavior. I always thought it was normal right handedness.

Be nice to see what the spread on that questionnaire is, from -24 to +24. They only post data on that page from a study that breaks it out three ways (Left, Mixed, and Right).

Jim Burroway
November 29th, 2007 | LINK

Let’s see, I’m left handed, Bruce Garret’s extreme righ-handed. Timothy, are you sure you’re gay? ;-)

Timothy Kincaid
November 29th, 2007 | LINK

I have two older brothers. I still qualify.

Barry
December 1st, 2007 | LINK

According to that link, I’m +24 and I also have 3 older brothers.

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