Homosexuals who are Twins

Abstract

Forty-six homosexual men and women who were twins took part in a study of their sexuality and that of their co-twin. Discordance for sexual orientation in the monozygotic pairs confirmed that genetic factors are insufficient explanation of the development of sexual orientation. There was a high level of shared knowledge of sexual orientation between members of twin pairs, and a relatively high likelihood of sexual relations occurring with same sex co-twins at some time, particularly in monozygotic pairs. The implications of these results for the study of the origins of sexual orientation and for twin research are discussed.