Finnish expert not surprised by findings of Swedish researchers on homosexuality
Fresh study shows clear differences in brain structures of gays and straights
Osmo Kontula
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A fresh Swedish study puts forward new evidence of structural differences in the brains of homosexuals and heterosexuals.
“The findings of the study show that it is difficult to interpret homosexuality as a learned behaviour”, said Ivanka Savic, a researcher at the Karoliniska Institute in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
Osmo Kontula, research professor at the Finnish Family Federation, does not see the new study as particularly groundbreaking. Kontula says that in spite of hundreds of studies, no kind of consensus exists in the world scientific community about the causes of homosexuality.
In Kontula’s view, the Swedish study represents an evolutionary approach. Competing explanations include theories emphasising culture and learning, and psychological identification theories.
The Swedish study examined 50 heterosexual men and women and 40 homosexual men and lesbians. The brains of both gay men and lesbians were found to show characteristics that were typical of the other gender. For instance, the right half of the brain was slightly larger than that of the left side, as is the case with heterosexual men.
In addition to the size of the hemispheres, the researchers made note of the corpus amygdaloideum, which regulates emotions and bodily reactions. With gay men, its connections with the rest of the brain was more similar to that of straight women than straight men.
It is no longer disputed that heredity plays a role in the emergence of homosexuality. However, Kontula does not see the Swedish study as the strongest evidence of this, but rather a study on twins involving thousands of people. They have shown that the homosexuality of one identical twin increases the likelihood that the other one might be interested in the same gender.
Kontula shakes off the language of science when he is asked how he would explain the causes of homosexuality to small children.
“I would say that a person is a homosexual, because it feels pleasant for that person.”
At the Sexual Equality Association SETA, the organisation’s secretary-general would prefer an end to the examination of reasons for homosexuality.
“This question is old-fashioned. It takes heterosexuality as the starting point, and labels everything else as something deviant, that needs to be explained so that people might get peace of mind”, she notes.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 18.6.2008 - TODAY |
 Finnish expert not surprised by findings of Swedish researchers on homosexuality |
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