Winkfield 1

A Discussion on the Validity of the Biological Argument for Marriage between Two
Homosexuals
By K. Ashley Winkfield
Biochemistry 107L-2

In the modern world, sexuality is a sensitive and controversial subject. From religion to

politics, everyone has a theory about how this subject should be properly handled, especially in

relation to gay marriage and adoption. Religion asserts that homosexuality is an optional sinful

deviation from the intended use of sex for procreation. Politically, some suggest that homosexuality

is immoral or a choice that is unworthy of the same benefits as heterosexual couples. And yet others

believe it is the right of every person to be able to love whoever and however they want. However,

to effectively assess a proper course of action, one needs to understand the etiology of sexuality.

This research seeks to explain the biological differences between heterosexual and homosexual

females in an effort to come to a conclusion about the validity of a biological argument for equal

rights for homosexuals.

The current options for homosexuals in long term relationships are to either (1) live

together and remain, effectively, as roommates or (2) to have a civil union. While a civil union

appears to be a sufficient substitute for marriage, it is actually a poor substitute because of the lack

of rights that come with it. A married couple can sponsor their foreign-born spouses to stay in the

country, can inherit their partner’s social security, Veteran’s, or disability benefits, and can opt to

file joint Federal tax returnsi. All of the aforementioned benefits are exactly what homosexual

couples cannot do in a civil union. Couples united in a civil union have no access to the more than

1000 Federal rights and no potential to receive them and other inherent rights of the marriage

ritual. Furthermore, a civil union is only recognized in the state in which it was sanctified, meaning

that hospital visitation rights and federal tax benefits are rendered null. That said, a union may be

more in jeopardy than a marriage due to the lack of these core legal rights and benefits that define a

marriage by law, leading to more stresses on the “married life” of a couple. Hence, the importance
 Winkfield 2

of allowing marriage for homosexual couples becomes apparent not only as a formality but as a

method of keeping couples together for long term. If it can be proven that homosexuality is a

natural, biological variance instead of a disease or a choice, then legally, the government must grant

marital rights to any person that desires it no matter what genders the participants may be, or else

be in violation of their personal rights.

It is common knowledge that certain hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen are

associated with certain differentiations in gender and biological changes during puberty. It can thus

be inferred that because of the gender differences, hormones could also be responsible for certain

gender behaviors; for instance, that boys are more aggressive and

prefer to play sports, while girls are more social and prefer to play

with dolls or pretend to play house. Therefore, it could be possible

that a difference in the amount of hormones in a child could lead to a

display of behaviors and preferences similar to those of the

opposite sex. Studies have been conducted to find research

concerning the hormonal balance in women in three main

categories: 1) those with known prenatal exposure to androgens,

such as those with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)1, 2) Figure 1 Structure of Testosterone
(Structural; Ball and Stick)
studies of homosexual women to determine a difference in brain <Wikipedia.com>

function that would result in a difference of sex hormone

regulation, and 3) studies of current sex hormones in lesbian and heterosexual women ii. Most of the

studies used in this research are a comparison of testosterone levels in adult lesbian and

homosexual women, as in the third type of study normally conducted.

1
CAH is a condition where a female fetus was exposed to more testosterone than usual resulting in an XX child with male
genitalia, also known as a hermaphrodite.
 Winkfield 3

Testosterone (17-beta-hydroxy-4-androstene-3-one) is a hormone in the androgen family

which is normally associated with male development and reproduction iii (see fig. 1). The presence

of testosterone in women is generally within a normal, standard range regardless of sexuality;

however, the level of testosterone in lesbians tends to go into a higher range than heterosexual

women, even if it is not by a significant amount. In the study conducted by Downey et al,

testosterone values for the heterosexual women ranged from 26-39 ng/100 ml while values for the

lesbian women ranged from 17-47 ng/100 mlii. Lesbians had a wider range of testosterone values,

suggesting that there could be biological factors that lead to a difference in sexual preference. There

was also a difference in the amounts of Cortisol and androstenedione both of which are precursors

for Testosterone in women; although, the difference in these were also not significant.

The main significance found in difference in testosterone levels were found within a same-

sex lesbian couple where they self-identified as being “butch” (having masculine characteristics) or

“femme” (having feminine characteristics); yet these results did not apply to all lesbians across the

board. Pearcey, Docherty and Dabbs reported:

Differences in "butch/femme" ratings were related to testosterone levels. Subjects with

higher "butch" ratings than their partners had higher testosterone levels than these
partners. The finding of no relationship between "butch/femme" self-ratings and
testosterone at the overall group level, in contrast to the finding at the pair level, is of
particular interest. "Butch" subjects overall did not have significantly higher testosterone
levels than "femme" subjects, but subjects who were more "butch" were paired with
partners who were less "butch" (or more "femme" ) and lower in testosterone. iv

This concludes that testosterone may not be the main factor in a biological difference between

homosexual and heterosexual women. Nevertheless, some neurological and psychological

differences have been observed.

In Sweden, three researchers determined that homosexuals respond to the same

pheromones that heterosexuals of the opposite sex respond to v. For instance, homosexual men
 Winkfield 4

would be attracted to male pheromones in a similar way as heterosexual women would be. These

researchers concluded:

The main observation in the present study is that lesbian women differed from
[Heterosexual Women] in that they did not activate the preoptic hypothalamus with
[androstenedione]. Furthermore, the lesbian women shared a hypothalamic cluster with the
[Heterosexual Men] when smelling [estrogen]. [….] Together, these data suggest that lesbian
women processed [androstenedione] and [estrogen] more congruently with [Heterosexual
Males] than [Heterosexual Women] v.

This data suggests that there is an inherent neurological difference between what homosexual and

heterosexual females are attracted to. The scent of the

female pheromone causes a reaction in the anterior

hypothalamus of lesbians as opposed to in the olfactory

sensors, as is the case with heterosexual women (see fig.

2). Heterosexual men process female pheromones in the

exact same manner as homosexual females, further

suggesting a link to some type of “more masculine”

biological explanation for female attraction to another
female.
Psychologically, lesbians were found to have reached
Figure 1. Illustration of group-specific activations with the
putative pheromones. Cerebral activation Cerebral
activation during smelling of AND (androstenedione) and
EST (estrogen). Clusters of activated regions are
superimposed on the standard MRI brain (midsagittal
plane) v

psychosexual milestones at a much earlier age than heterosexual women. These milestones are

basic such as first male and female crushes, first handholding experience, and first necking

experience; overall of these lesbians were found to have reached the milestones an average of two

years earlier than heterosexual women. However, they did not reach puberty earlier, and in fact,

usually started puberty slightly later than heterosexual women. ii This also helps to confirm that sex

hormones are not the defining factor in sexuality as sex hormones were not present at a

prepubescent stage to affect the onset of these psychosexual behaviors.

 Winkfield 5

Many factors affect the sexuality of a child and the adult they will eventually become. There

seems to be a valid biological reason for why the sexuality of a woman will “deviate from the

accepted norm,” even if it is not entirely based on the presence of the sex hormone testosterone;

even if testosterone does have some effect on the exhibited behaviors of lesbians. There are obvious

neurological and psychological differences in homosexual women that are present from even an

early age, suggesting that homosexuality is not a learned or optional behavior. As far as federal

recognition goes, it is definitely plausible to defend support for gay marriage with a biological case,

even if the exact cause has not been entirely discovered yet. If the government were to allow

homosexuals to marry, then there would still be roadblocks for same-sex couples in their quest for

marriage: churches and other places of worship could still deny couples marriage for whatever

reason the church deems justifiable. But couples would still have the option to marry and to receive

the same benefits that heterosexual couples have in the institution of marriage.
i
Equality Maryland. "What's the Difference?: Marriage vs. Civil Rights." Table. 2008. 14 November 2010
<http://www.equalitymaryland.org/pdfs/marriage_cu_differences.pdf>
Googled “civil union”. Chose this site as a valid resource because of its association as a state organization and when
cross-referencing with other sites, the information correlated. Used this because of its table form.
ii
Downey, Jennifer, et al. "Sex Hormones in Lesbian and Homosexual Women." Hormones and Behavior 21.3 (1987):
347-357.
iii
Medterms.com. 29 March 2000. 14 November 2010 <http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?
articlekey=5747>.
Googled “testosterone.” Found this site, used it as a medical terminology reference to explain the basic function of
testosterone.
iv
Pearcey, Sharon M., Karen J. Docherty and James M. JR Dabbs. "Testosterone and Sex Role Identification in Lesbian
Couples." Physiology and Behavior 60 (1996): 1033-1035.
v
Berglund, Hans, Per Lindstrom and Ivanka Savic. "Brain Response to Putative Pheromones." Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences 11 March 2006: 8269-8274.