Influenced by various theories, from Freudian psychoanalysis to social constructivism, sexual orientation is often seen as the result of social experiences in early childhood, in particular, inappropriate interactions with parents.
This interpretation ignores the vast body of data, both animal and human, demonstrating that hormonal exposure in the prenatal period has a profound and irreversible effect on various morphological, physiological and behavioral characteristics of humans.
On estet-portal.com read how the impact of the endocrine environment on the fetus can determine a person's sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation: what it is
The mechanisms that determine a person's sexual orientation have long been the subject of heated debate. Most people are sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex - they are heterosexual. However, there is a certain number (3–10%) of men and women who are attracted exclusively to persons of the same sex - they are homosexuals.
There are intermediate forms of attraction, and as early as 1948 Kinsey classified sexual orientation into seven different categories ranging from fully heterosexual to fully homosexual.
Hormonal background as the basis of beauty
Hormones and sexual orientation: is there a link
Because male and female embryos are exposed to different hormonal environments during certain phases of their intrauterine life, male and female newborns differ significantly.
This is not to say that postnatal social environments do not influence sexual orientation, but based on currently available evidence, these social influences seem to play only a minor role.
Many forms of animal behavior are differentiated by sex and are determined predominantly or exclusively by one sex. Estrogens are often unable to activate typical female behaviors (eg, receptivity) in men, and conversely, testosterone cannot reliably activate typical male behaviors in women, even after being converted to estradiol. Most likely, this is due to the fact that the action of sex hormones in the embryonic period is accompanied by irreversible changes in the structure of the brain.
Read the latest articles in Telegram!
Do hormones affect sexual orientation in adulthood
Many studies have analyzed the potential impact of steroids on a person's sexual orientation. They clearly established that the activity of steroid hormones does not affect sexual orientation in adulthood.
Sexual orientation can be influenced, like many other behavioral characteristics, by changes in early (in utero) sex steroid exposure.
Exposure to high concentrations of testosterone during a critical phase of development may result in a typical male orientation (attraction to women), while lower fetal steroid exposure will result in a typical female orientation (attraction to men).
Estrogens on the alert: female sex hormones against aging
Intrauterine influence of hormones on sexual orientation
On average, male embryos are exposed to higher concentrations of testosterone than female embryos, but these concentrations vary around the average for various reasons (environmental, genetic, etc.).
It has been argued that such a theory is impossible because it would imply that homosexual men would have feminized (or at least less masculine) genital structures, whereas lesbians would have to have masculinized genitalia.
However, the sex organs and the brain appear to differentiate at different times in embryonic development. It is therefore possible that the hormonal imprinting that occurs in these two time periods is quite different.
For example, a male embryo may be exposed to high (typically male) concentrations of testosterone during the first three months of pregnancy (and have male genitalia), but then may experience a decrease in testosterone concentration during the final maturation of the brain, and thus will be unable to develop the typical male sex drive.
You may also be interested in: How testosterone levels affect a woman's body
Share:
Add a comment