3/7/2011 Print

Sexual Antagonism
A genetic theory of homosexuality.

promotes—and is passed down

By William Saletan
through—high rates of procreation
among gay men's mothers, sisters, and
Posted Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at 8:04
aunts.
AM ET
This theory doesn't account for female
Gay couples can't have biological kids
homosexuality, which another new study
together. So if homosexuality is genetic,
(reviewed in Human Nature last week)
why hasn't it died out?
attributes to nongenetic factors. It also
doesn't account for environmental or
A study published last week in PLoS One
prenatal chemical factors in male
tackles the question. It starts with four
homosexuality, such as the correlation
curious patterns. First, male
between a man's probability of
homosexuality occurs at a low but stable
homosexuality and the number of boys
frequency in a wide range of societies.
previously gestated in his mother's womb
Second, the female relatives of gay men
. But it does explain the high similarity
produce children at a higher rate than
of sexual orientation between identical
other women do. Third, among these
twins, as well as patterns of
female relatives, those related to the gay
homosexuality in families. It's also
man's mother produce children at a
plausible because sexually antagonistic
higher rate than do those related to his
selection has been found in other species.
father. Fourth, among the man's male
And many scientists who think
relatives, homosexuality is more common
in those related to his mother than in
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those related to his father.

Can genes account for these patterns? To

find out, the authors posit several
possible mechanisms and compute their
effects over time. They conclude that
only one theory fits the data. The theory
is called "sexually antagonistic selection."
It holds that a gene can be reproductively
harmful to one sex as long as it's helpful
to the other. The gene for male
homosexuality persists because it

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Sexual Antagonism
sustained by genetics and natural
environmental and prenatal factors
selection.
influence homosexuality also believe that
genes play a role.
Third, if the authors are correct, we're not
really talking about genes for
The authors note that according to their
homosexuality. We're talking about genes
computations, the theory implies some
for "androphilia," i.e., attraction to men.
testable predictions. One such prediction
The importance of the genes lies in what
can be checked against existing data. The
they do not to men but to women, by
prediction is that on average, if you're a
increasing reproductive output so
straight man, the reproductive pattern
powerfully that these women compensate
among your aunts will reverse the
for the reduced output among their male
pattern seen among aunts of gay men.
relatives. You can't isolate gay men as a
That is, your paternal aunts will produce
puzzle or problem anymore. You have to
children at a higher rate than your
see them as part of a bigger, stronger,
maternal aunts will. The authors check
enduring phenomenon.
this prediction against the available
data. Sure enough, it holds up.
Fourth, this larger phenomenon can't be
dismissed as a disorder. The study's
I don't know to what extent this theory
press release concludes that
will end up explaining male
"homosexuality should not be viewed as
homosexuality. But its emergence
a detrimental trait (due to the reduced
threatens to change our thinking about
male fecundity it entails), but, rather,
gay men in several important ways.
should be considered within the wider
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First, it implies natural limits to
homosexuality. You don't need to worry
that gay teachers or television characters
will "convert" hordes of boys. Sexually
antagonistic selection is self-limiting
and impervious to postnatal cultural
factors. The authors' computations show
no scenario in which male homosexuality
spreads throughout a population.

Second, by the same token, you can't

culturally eradicate the gay minority. It's

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Sexual Antagonism
that's beneficial in other people? We
evolutionary framework of a
medicate sickle-cell anemia. Would we
characteristic with gender-specific
medicate homosexuality?
benefits."
I don't know, and neither does Dr.
Fifth, the benefits aren't really confined
Camperio Ciani. Science, like culture and
to women. They protect society as a
politics, has its happy moments. But
whole. The authors' computations
don't mistake them for endings.
indicate that as a society's birthrate falls,
female carriers of androphilic genes
William Saletan is Slate's national
account for a larger share of the output.
correspondent and author of Bearing
In short, the genes provide a "buffer
Right: How Conservatives Won the
effect" against extinction.
Abortion War. Follow him on Twitter here
.
The study's lead author, Andrea
Camperio Ciani of the University of
Padova, sees these ramifications as a
happy ending. "This is an example where
the results of scientific research can have
important social implications," he tells
LiveScience. "You have all this
antagonism against homosexuality
because they say it's against nature
because it doesn't lead to reproduction.
We found out this is not true because
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homosexuality is just one of the
consequences of strategies for making
females more fecund."

But the word consequence suggests a

sixth, less happy implication: How would
gay men see themselves and be regarded
in a society that understood their
condition as a side effect of female
evolution? Would male androphilia be
treated like sickle-cell anemia—the
unfortunate cost of a genetic mutation

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