I snagged a copy of John Barrowman’s “The Making of Me” to watch this weekend. It’s a one hour special where the openly gay celebrity goes on a quest to discover what exactly makes him homo-tastic. Is homosexuality something that people are born with? Captain Jack… er, I mean John Barrowman explores this question by talking to the field’s leading experts. The documentary is highly entertaining and, no surprise to any of us, it turns out being gay isn’t a choice, but there a multiple biological factors that might determine sexuality. These are the theories that the documentary explores:
Sex on the brain: Utilizing MRI scans and a series of racy images, scientists can monitor the blood flow in the brain and tell whether you are gay or not. The brain reacts so fast to the stimulus, that it isn’t a conscious choice of what one decides to find attractive. Too bad we can’t hook the homophobes of the world up to this thing! I bet a lot of them would be surprised.
The older brother phenomenon: Studies show that the more older brothers you have, the greater the chance is that you’ll be gay. The theory is that women’s bodies perceive the testosterone in the womb as a threat, and combat it with greater effort for each child. The less prenatal testosterone, the more likely a boy will be gay.
Finger length: This one was a bit odd, but by comparing the length of your index and ring finger, it may be possible to tell just how much testosterone you got in the womb. A somewhat larger percent of gay guys have index and ring fingers of an almost even length. The random sampling they produced on the show was about 60%. This again supports the idea of sexuality being determined in the womb. For those playing at home, John Barrowman has straight guy fingers.
Girl brains, guy bodies: Gay guys think like girls. John takes a series of problem solving tests, and performs just as well as girls do on tests where straight guys tend to fail. This has been backed up in another study where the hemispheres of brains are compared between guys and gals. Not only do gay guys have girl brains, but lesbians have guy brains.
It’s how you play: One psychologist looks at the way children play, and feels it is an indicator of sexuality. John Barrowman liked dolls, for instance, and a girl who grew up to be a lesbian liked trucks and rough play. Personally I thought this study was stupid. I grew up loving action figures, violent play scenarios, and romping through the wood with my dog. What about straight girls who are tomboys, or straight guys that love a good chick flick? Personally, I don’t think there is much correlation between personality and sexuality.
The X chromosome: Another study that fell flat was the idea that moms have a gay X chromosome and a straight X chromosome, and that which one you get determines sexuality. Test results show that John Barrowman and his straight brother both got the same X chromosome from their mom, so this obviously isn’t true.
That was about it for the experiments that John Barrowman got involved with. While no gay gene has been singled out, there is mounting evidence that testosterone levels in the womb and the way our brains are formed are what determine sexuality, rather than any environmental factor while growing up. As a nerdy Doctor Who fan, I enjoyed this documentary. It was cool getting to see John’s Scottish parents, his doll collection, and especially his hotty-hotty partner. Check him out:
