Are gay people more likely to be left handed

Moreover, left-handedness was influenced by birthweight, being part of a multiple birth, season of birth, breastfeeding, and sex. The researchers report in the July Psychological Bulletin that, overall, homosexual adults in the studies were 39 percent more likely than heterosexuals to use their left hand for more activities.

Updated May 21, Reviewed by Lybi Ma. While the reasons for left-handedness still largely remain a scientific mystery, neuroscientists work hard to understand this fascinating phenomenon. Gay men are around 34 per cent more likely to be. The researchers suggest being left-handed, having several older brothers and having other gay people in the family are all significant markers.

In a recent meta-analysis a statistical integration of many different scientific studies of paw preferences in cats and dogs, we could show that about 36 percent to 46 percent of cats were left-pawed Ocklenburg et al. Similar effects have also been shown in boxing and fencing.

Left-handed male players performed more shots overall, more shots per minute, and most importantly, scored more goals than right-handed players. It is thought that this effect is due to the fact that opponents expect a throw or a hit with the right hand, and are surprised if someone uses their left.

Bisexual/homosexual women were more likely mixed-handed and left-footed than heterosexual women and probably also more likely mixed-footed. In dogs, percent were lefties. This shows that the development of left-handedness is not something that is typical for humans, but can be observed in other species, too.

However, the low percentage of left-handers about 10 percent in humans seem to be specific for us, as this rate is typically higher in non-human animals. This is especially true for interactive ball sports and interactive combat sports.

Are you more likely

However, the gay and bisexual men had a higher likelihood of both left-handedness and extreme right-handedness when compared to the heterosexual men. If you want to know more about why these factors influence left-handedness, read my blog post on this study here.

But genes are not the whole story. Most of the men were right-handed. In a recent statistical integration of studies on left-handedness with an overall sample size of more than 2.

Associations of Bisexuality and

In contrast, bisexual/homosexual men were more likely right-footed than heterosexual men. For example, a Basque study from investigated the effects of left-handedness on performance in world-class water polo players Barrenetxea-Garcia et al.

As there are about 7. Did you know that humans are not the only species that shows left-handedness? If this topic interests you, read my blog post on the genetics of left-handedness here. These factors include the year and location of birth, suggesting that cultural effects might play a role e.

An analysis of studies on left-handedness total sample size: 1, individual participants showed a 2 percent increase of left-handedness in men compared to women Papadatou-Pastou et al. Handedness and sexual orientation A relationship between handedness and sexual orientation has been suggested by a number of researchers, who report that heterosexual individuals are somewhat more likely to be right-handed than are homosexual individuals within both sexes.

The result? Left-handers often win at sports, since their actions are more surprising to their opponents. Did you know that left-handers are often more successful at sports than right-handers? Another Dutch study from showed that different early life factors also influence whether we become a left-hander or a right-hander de Kovel et al.

The reasons for this are not well understood, but hormonal or societal factors might play a role. They found that a small number of genes played a role for the development of left-handedness, among them MAP2 microtubule-associated protein 2a gene that is crucial for the development of nerve cells in the brain.