Facial Attractiveness of Sisters of Thai Gay Men and Sao Praphet Song

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Journal of Sex Research in April 2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2020.1742858Androphilia refers to sexual attraction toward adult males. Androphilic males’ female genetic relatives might offset the fitness cost of androphilia by having elevated numbers of offspring. Increased attractiveness relative to other women may enable these females to marry up the social hierarchy, providing greater access to resources to support more offspring. In Thailand, there is a marked status hierarchy and male androphiles are highly visible – identifying as gay men or as a third gender known as sao praphet song. Thus, a field experiment was conducted in which 208 heterosexual men rated the facial attractiveness of 25 sisters of Thai gay men or sao praphet song and 25 comparison women with no known same-sex attracted relatives. Contrary to the prediction, the comparison group was rated as more attractive than the sisters, casting doubt on hypotheses that posit greater attractiveness of female relatives of male androphiles as a proximate mechanism facilitating the evolutionary maintenance of genes influencing male androphilia. Also, men from rural areas rated the women, regardless of group, as more attractive than men from urban areas, consistent with some prior studies showing rural-urban differences in perceptions of attractiveness.This research was funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada Discovery Grant [RGPIN-2016-06446] awarded to DPV

Separation anxiety and gender variance in a community sample of children

In clinical child and retrospective adult samples, childhood gender variance (GV; i.e., cross-gender behaviour) has been associated with separation anxiety (SA; i.e., distress related to separation from attachment figures) in males. This study examined GV and SA in a nonclinical sample of 892 boys and 933 girls aged 6–12 years via parent-reports. Parental factors (i.e., parenting style, parent–child relationship, willingness to serve as an attachment figure, attitudes towards gender stereotypes in children) were examined as potential moderators. GV predicted SA in boys, even when statistically controlling for general psychopathology and demographic variables. Authoritative parenting, closeness in the parent–child relationship, willingness to serve as an attachment figure, and liberal attitudes towards gender stereotypes in children moderated the association between GV and SA in both boys and girls. Thus, SA may be a unique internalizing problem related to GV in boys in nonclinical samples and influenced by a variety of parental factors

RFamide-related peptide-3 (RFRP-3) suppresses sexual maturation in a eusocial mammal

Neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying social inhibition of puberty are not well understood. Here, we use a model exhibiting the most profound case of pubertal suppression among mammals to explore a role for RFamide-related peptide-3 [RFRP-3; mammalian ortholog to gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH)] in neuroendocrine control of reproductive development. Naked mole rats (NMRs) live in sizable colonies where breeding is monopolized by two to four dominant animals, and no other members exhibit signs of puberty throughout their lives unless they are removed from the colony. Because of its inhibitory action on the reproductive axis in other vertebrates, we investigated the role of RFRP-3 in social reproductive suppression in NMRs. We report that RFRP-3 immunofluorescence expression patterns and RFRP-3/GnRH cross-talk are largely conserved in the NMR brain, with the exception of the unique presence of RFRP-3 cell bodies in the arcuate nucleus (Arc). Immunofluorescence comparisons revealed that central expression of RFRP-3 is altered by reproductive status, with RFRP-3 immunoreactivity enhanced in the paraventricular nucleus, dorsomedial nucleus, and Arc of reproductively quiescent NMRs. We further observed that exogenous RFRP-3 suppresses gonadal steroidogenesis and mating behavior in NMRs given the opportunity to undergo puberty. Together, our findings establish a role for RFRP-3 in preserving reproductive immaturity, and challenge the view that stimulatory peptides are the ultimate gatekeepers of puberty

An examination of the biodevelopment of gender expression in children ages 6- to 12-years

Previous clinical research on children who experience gender dysphoria has demonstrated links between marked childhood gender variant behaviour and several variables thought to provide a window on biological processes affecting brain sexual differentiation during the pre-/perinatal period. These variables include handedness, birth order, and birth weight. The present study investigated, via parent-report, whether these factors were associated with inter-individual variation in childhood gender expression in a large community sample (n ¼ 2377, 51.4% boys). Consistent with previous studies, elevated gender variance was associated with non-right-handedness in boys and girls, and later fraternal birth order in boys. In contrast to prior clinical studies, there were no associations between gender expression and birth order in girls, and no interactions of birth weight and birth order in predicting gender variance in boys. Thus, handedness in both genders and late fraternal birth order in boys appear to apply widely as predictors of inter-individual variation in childhood gender expression, whereas the other factors examined here may only predict more marked levels of gender variance as examined in previous clinical research of children who experience gender dysphoria

RFamide-related peptide-3 (RFRP-3) suppresses sexual maturation in a eusocial mammal

Neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying social inhibition of puberty are not well understood. Here, we use a model exhibiting the most profound case of pubertal suppression among mammals to explore a role for RFamide-related peptide-3 [RFRP-3; mammalian ortholog to gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH)] in neuroendocrine control of reproductive development. Naked mole rats (NMRs) live in sizable colonies where breeding is monopolized by two to four dominant animals, and no other members exhibit signs of puberty throughout their lives unless they are removed from the colony. Because of its inhibitory action on the reproductive axis in other vertebrates, we investigated the role of RFRP-3 in social reproductive suppression in NMRs. We report that RFRP-3 immunofluorescence expression patterns and RFRP-3/GnRH cross-talk are largely conserved in the NMR brain, with the exception of the unique presence of RFRP-3 cell bodies in the arcuate nucleus (Arc). Immunofluorescence comparisons revealed that central expression of RFRP-3 is altered by reproductive status, with RFRP-3 immunoreactivity enhanced in the paraventricular nucleus, dorsomedial nucleus, and Arc of reproductively quiescent NMRs. We further observed that exogenous RFRP-3 suppresses gonadal steroidogenesis and mating behavior in NMRs given the opportunity to undergo puberty. Together, our findings establish a role for RFRP-3 in preserving reproductive immaturity, and challenge the view that stimulatory peptides are the ultimate gatekeepers of puberty

Examining the Relation Between Gender Nonconformity and Psychological Well-Being in Children: The Roles of Peers and Parents

No study to date has simultaneously tested how poor peer relations, generic risk factors, and parental attitudes impact the behavioral and emotional challenges of children who vary in their gender expression. In a community sample, the present study investigated various hypothesized psychosocial and generic risk factors regarding the association between childhood gender nonconformity (GNC) and psychological well-being. Canadian parents/guardians reported on their children aged 6–12 years (N = 1719, 48.8% assigned male at birth) regarding their child’s GNC, measured by the Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children; behavioral and emotional challenges, measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL); and peer relations, measured by the CBCL and Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Parent/guardian gender-stereotypical attitudes toward child-rearing were assessed using an adapted version of the Child-Rearing Sex Role Attitude Scale, and attachment between the parent/guardian and child was measured with an adapted version of the Child-Rearing Practices Report. Based on regression analyses, GNC was related to elevated behavioral and emotional challenges, and this association was stronger for those who experienced poor peer relations as well as for those whose parents/guardians endorsed gender-stereotyped attitudes and were less willing to serve as a secure base for the child. Recommendations are provided for ways in which social environments can be altered to improve psychological well-being among gender-nonconforming children