Gay Men Have Larger Brains and Ring Fingers?

Photo: “O is for Occipital Lobe” by Eric on Flickr.

I sometimes discuss relationship issues with a female friend at work.  During a recent chat where both of our opinions on the matter were again the same, I exclaimed, “I’m just a female brain trapped in a man’s body!  We think so much alike!”

I then assured my girlfriend I was just kidding and didn’t really feel like I was trapped.  But I admitted that it feels like I relate more to women than I do with straight men.  The idea of having a female brain was a bit disturbing, but it definitely piqued my interest, so I decided to do a little research.

My Google searches turned up the following little nuggets:

• Gay Men Have Bigger Brains – A part of the brain called the anterior commissure was found to be 34% larger in gay men.  This area is not fully understood but is believed to control visual transmission of information within the brain.
• Gay Men Have Thicker and Longer Penises – In a study about small penis size syndrome, I found that gay men averaged an erect length of 16.4 cm (6.46″), compared with straight men who were found to be 15.6 cm (6.14″).  Circumference was 12.6 cm (4.96″) in gay men versus 12.2 (4.80″) in their heterosexual counterparts.   Researchers theorized the difference in size could be related to greater in utero exposure to androgens.  I found it curious that the study lumped black men in with Asian and white men so we cannot confirm what seems obvious about black men.  I wonder if the researchers are all white men, hmmm.
• Low Uterine Testosterone Levels Determine Homosexual Behavior – Monkeys’ given testosterone blockers during pregnancy produced male offspring whose brains behaved more like female brains and were more adept at spatial tasks.  This one seems puzzling to me, since my partner can’t navigate from home to work without the GPS, while I can easily navigate any city (in this hemisphere) without a problem.
• Gay Men with Older Brothers Have Shorter Fingers – A study done on gay men in San Francisco determined that finger size ratios in gay men with older brothers were greater than in their straight counterparts and were closer in size to female’s index fingers.  This suggested the fetus was subjected to higher androgen than normal.  The study suggested that somehow the mother’s womb remembers how many males she’s had and adjust the levels higher for subsequent sons.  Maybe I’m reading this backwards, but didn’t the previous study on primates say LOWER levels determine homosexuality?  I do in fact have an older brother, but I wonder how this relates to my partner who is quite masculine, was first born and has fairly long index fingers with a short index to ring finger ratio?
• Stressed Out Mom’s Produce Gay Sons – A study done on stressed out mothers during World War II found that they produced more gay sons.  It was suggested this was due to more fetal hormones being released at the wrong time during the pregnancy.  I asked my mother, she was definitely stressed out during her pregnancy with me.  The doctor suggested she abort me for health reasons, however; my father would not allow it.  Thanks Dad, but that was kind of mean of you to make Mom go through with it, but I’m glad she made it OK.
• Gay Men Better at Recognizing Faces – A study has found that gay men are more like females when it comes to recognizing faces.  This is due to gay men using both sides of the brain to code the facial data.  Here’s another oddity, I believe I outperform my partner at facial recognition as well as ability to relate similar faces.  Like, “Oh that looks similar to so-and-so’s face.”  He’ll never see it.  Hmmm.

What I think I’ve determined here is that my partner’s reason for being gay is probably different than whatever caused my homosexuality.  He doesn’t seem to have any womanly qualities what-so-ever.  Maybe one day a study will explain what made him gay as well.