Is your child a "prehomosexual"? Forecasting adult sexual orientation

[Shana A]

Is your child a "prehomosexual"? Forecasting adult sexual orientation

By Jesse Bering

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=is-your-child-a-prehomosexual-forec-2010-09-15

There are signs, some would say omens, glimmering in certain children's demeanors that, probably ever since there were children, have caused parents' brows to crinkle with worry, precipitated forced conversations with nosy mothers-in-laws, strained marriages and ushered untold numbers into the deep covenant of sexual denial. We all know the stereotypes: an unusually light, delicate, effeminate air in a little boy's step, often coupled with solitary bookishness, or a limp wrist, an interest in dolls, makeup, princesses, dresses and a staunch distaste for rough play with other boys; in little girls, there is the outwardly boyish stance, perhaps a penchant for tools, a lumbering gait, a square-jawed readiness for physical tussles with boys, an aversion to all the perfumed, delicate, laced trappings of femininity.

[brainiac]

I occasionally read Jesse Bering's blog so I saw this when he posted it. Something important that I don't think he really mentioned is that while gender variance might be somewhat predictive of queer sexuality, it doesn't necessarily work the other way-- not all queer people showed gender variance as children.

I did appreciate his point that it's somewhat ridiculous to try to label children's sexuality one way or the other when it hasn't really developed in the first place.

Also... the stuff about toys is a tad oversimplified, but then again, it usually is.  There appear to be some innate biases with gender and which toys a baby prefers (probably based on the small differences in development that exist from birth), but they're small. Over time, they're massively magnified with social influence and experience. I'm reading Pink Brain, Blue Brain by Dr. Lise Eliot, and it's a refreshingly scientific view of what we know about gender and development so far. The most important thing? She emphasizes the realistic viewpoint that BOTH nature and nurture are important, in stark contrast to all the people going to one extreme or the other (who ignore lots of evidence in order to do so).