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54-411: The book received both positive reviews and mixed assessments. Reviewers credited Murphy with providing a useful discussion of the ethical implications of sexual orientation research, including the work of scientists such as the neuroscientist Simon LeVay and the geneticist Dean Hamer , and with convincingly criticizing the philosopher John Finnis . However, his style of writing was criticized. Murphy,

108-601: A "carefully detailed" and "meticulously logical" analysis of the moral implications of research into the causes of homosexuality. However, he also described the book as "somewhat repetitious". Hubbard credited Murphy with addressing "a range of interesting questions about the purpose and uses of scientific research" into homosexuality, but criticized his writing, calling it "convoluted and ponderous". She also criticized him for writing "as though ethics and moral philosophy exist outside politics", arguing that "the power relationships that determine what science gets done also circumscribe

162-440: A "reasonably up-to-date review" of scientific accounts of sexual orientation, and endorsed Murphy's criticisms of Finnis, calling them "complete and devastating". He also praised Murphy for helpfully addressing "questions about the supposed naturalness or unnaturalness of homosexual desire and behavior" and for his discussion of "the consequences for society of his lines of thought." However, he described much of Murphy's discussion of

216-478: A "wonderful book". She found Murphy's arguments convincing, but suggested that they might not convince gay or lesbian readers. She described him as "courageous" for arguing that the possibility that future treatments for homoeroticism might result in a reduction in the number of gay people is not a serious problem. She concluded that although Murphy's arguments were sometimes repetitive and tedious, his points are well made and valuable. Hull praised Murphy's discussion of

270-703: A B.A. in natural sciences, he continued the clinical portion of his medical education at the University College Hospital in London before dropping out of medical school altogether. LeVay returned to the lab in Göttingen and enrolled in graduate school, where he published his doctoral thesis on the visual system before graduating with a Ph.D. in neuroanatomy in 1971. At the University of Göttingen, LeVay met an American exchange student from

324-806: A biological basis, but considered him overly optimistic in believing that research into that possibility would benefit gay people. He commented that, "it seems unlikely that biological research on homosexuality will easily shake off its 150-year-old association with the pathologization of same-sex love", and noted that all of the sexual orientation research Murphy discussed was actually concerned specifically with homosexuality. He wrote that while Murphy discussed hypothetical scenarios in which it became possible for scientists to manipulate "sexual orientation in utero or in adults", his "countless scenarios seem contrived and belabored". He described Murphy's view that adults should be free to have their sexual orientation changed through biological manipulation and that "mothers would have

378-591: A fellow of the Royal College of Physicians . Bradley was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario . She attended University of Toronto , earning a Bachelor of Science in 1962 and an Doctor of Medicine in 1966. Prior to starting medical school, she worked for a year in India with CUSO . Bradley was certified in medicine in 1967. She earned her specialty licenses in psychiatry and child psychiatry in 1972. In

432-1025: A leave of absence from Salk to help form the Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education (IGLE) in West Hollywood with Chris Patrouch and Lauren Jardine. He never returned. LeVay has spoken extensively on the topic of human sexuality at a number of venues and published a number of books. In 2003 he became a lecturer in Human Sexuality Studies at Stanford University . Simon LeVay was born on 28 August 1943 in Oxford, England. LeVay spent most of his childhood in West Dulwich where he attended Dulwich Preparatory School . LeVay went on to attend Dulwich College where he specialized in Latin, Greek, and Ancient History while excelling in cycling. It

486-478: A minority's becoming smaller, a concern not limited to gay and lesbian people." However, he also wrote that Murphy's thoroughness would probably limit his audience to academics, and that "Many undergraduates would likely get lost at various points in the book." Ruse credited Murphy with having "a deep and sensitive knowledge of the appropriate areas of science", being "able to write clearly and distinctly about difficult issues, so that one can follow without any trouble

540-601: A mixed review from the biologist Ruth Hubbard in The Times Literary Supplement . The book was also reviewed by the gay writer Gabriel Rotello in New Scientist . Van Buskirk described the book as an "important addition to the field" and a useful complement to LeVay's Queer Science (1996). He credited Murphy with providing an objective account of sexual orientation research and its ethical implications. Smith credited Murphy with providing

594-430: A philosopher, discusses scientific research on sexual orientation, including homosexuality , heterosexuality , and bisexuality . He aims to provide "an ethical overview of sexual orientation research and, more specifically, the meaning of that research for gay people." He argues in favor of the use of the terms "homoeroticism" and "heteroeroticism" in place of "homosexuality" and "heterosexuality" respectively, considering

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648-475: A resolution giving IGLE free space in a building owned by the city and IGLE began offering classes in 1992. IGLE did not meet enrollment expectations that first year. Boxall reports that 14 of 22 classes that had been listed in the course catalog had been canceled due to lack of enrollment. Two years later IGLE's administrators were still struggling with whether the school was going to concentrate on teaching classes focused on gay and lesbian studies, or whether it

702-557: A structure in the hypothalamus called INAH3 in the brains of male homosexuals to that found in a group of heterosexual men and heterosexual women. He found that this region of the brain in gay men was similar to that found in straight women. In 1992, LeVay took a second leave of absence from Salk to help form the Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education (IGLE) in West Hollywood with Chris Patrouch and Lauren Jardine. He never returned. After IGLE folded, LeVay would go on to speak on

756-419: Is genetic , or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn't show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work. Nor did I locate a gay center in the brain." In an interview with Newsweek in 1992, he said, "What I reported was a difference in the brain structure of the hypothalamus. We can't say on the basis of that what makes people gay or straight. But it opens

810-879: Is a British-American neuroscientist . He received a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1966, a Ph.D. in Neuroanatomy at the University of Göttingen in Germany , and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in 1974. LeVay held positions in neurobiology at the Harvard Medical School from 1974 to 1984. He then worked at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies from 1984 to 1993 while holding an Associate Professorship in Biology at

864-518: The University of California, Berkeley named Richard Hersey and fell in love. When Hersey left Germany and returned to the United States , LeVay followed him and began looking at postdoctoral positions in Boston , New York , and Wisconsin . He eventually got a job at Harvard Medical School working in the lab of David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel . LeVay and Hersey spent a year traveling in

918-805: The University of California, San Diego . Much of his early work focused on the visual cortex in animals. While working at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, LeVay published an article in Science that compared the size of the " Interstitial Nucleus of the Anterior Hypothalamus " ( INAH3 ) in a group of gay men to a group of straight men and women. This was the first scientific study ever published that showed brain differences based on sexual orientation . The study results were featured on PBS , Newsweek , Nightline , Donahue , and The Oprah Winfrey Show . In 1992, he took

972-465: The "living in your own skin" approach. In the 1990s, many clinics began to view being transgender as a type of normal human variation. However, Bradley and Zucker continued to believe that preventing children from becoming transgender adults was an appropriate and ethical clinical goal. In collaboration with her co-author Kenneth Zucker, Bradley saw over 400 cases of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria and related issues. Bradley served

1026-766: The Development of Psychopathology. Bradley was chair of the DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Disorders . Bradley served as Head of the Division of Child Psychiatry and was Psychiatrist-in-Chief at the Hospital for Sick Children and was consultant psychiatrist at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry . She is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Toronto and

1080-524: The INAH3 in the brains of heterosexual men were more than twice as large as those found in the brains of homosexuals. In fact, the INAH3 size of the homosexual group was the same as that of the women. LeVay wrote that "[t]his finding indicates that INAH is dimorphic with sexual orientation, at least in men, and suggests that sexual orientation has a biological substrate." This was the first scientific study that looked specifically at differences between brains on

1134-650: The Reason Why won the Bonnie and Vern L. Bullough Award which is given by the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality to the most distinguished book written for the professional sexological community. LeVay has also co-authored a textbook on human sexuality and books on earthquakes , volcanoes , Parkinson's disease , and extraterrestrial life . Human Sexuality (now in its third edition)

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1188-503: The Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation , first published in 2010, details findings from over 650 studies on sexual orientation, including findings he had not considered: "I didn't expect the avenue of research about birth order, that gay men tend to be late born in families, and that women aren't as fixed in their sexual orientation as are men." A second edition was released in 2016. In 2010, Gay, Straight, and

1242-649: The United States before Hersey returned to Berkeley, and LeVay started his life in Boston . LeVay completed his postdoc at Harvard Medical School and began teaching in the Neurobiology Department. In 1984, LeVay accepted a job at the Salk Institute in San Diego , California where he studied the brain's role in vision. He also began working as an Associate Professor in Biology at

1296-702: The University of California. LeVay took a leave of absence to take care of Hersey, who had contracted AIDS . After Hersey died of the disease in 1990, LeVay returned to Salk with little interest in continuing his work on the visual centers of the brain. "Richard and I had spent 21 years together," LeVay said during an interview with a reporter from Discover magazine. "It was while looking after him that I decided I wanted to do something different with my life ... I had an emotional need to do something more personal, something connected with my gay identity." In 1991, LeVay published an article in Science that compared

1350-524: The basis of sexual orientation. Because of this, LeVay's finding attracted a lot of media attention. The study results were featured on PBS, Newsweek , Nightline , Donahue , and The Oprah Winfrey Show . The results received pushback from some religious groups as well as from members of the LGBT community. There were also several criticisms from scientists: LeVay himself cautioned against misinterpreting his findings: "I did not prove that homosexuality

1404-435: The book similar to Hamer's The Science of Desire (1994), as well as to Queer Science , though she found it a superior work. She praised Murphy's use of thought experiments and complimented his overview of scientific accounts of sexual orientation. She also agreed with him that a strong case can be made against biological research on sexual orientation because of its potential misuses. However, she criticized his discussion of

1458-528: The brain, so working on the sexual part of the brain wasn't a big switch." Over a period of nine months, LeVay performed surgery on the brains of 41 cadavers: 18 gay men (plus 1 bisexual male), 16 straight men, and 6 straight women. To ensure that the process was fully blinded, he'd had each brain numerically encoded to conceal the sexual orientations of each donor. In 1991, LeVay published "A difference in hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men" in Science . On average, LeVay found that

1512-448: The debate" on biological research on homosexuality, and credited Murphy with providing "a scientifically well-informed and balanced review of the recent research and its possible ethical implications" and with being "well-versed in the basic science and cognizant of the enormous theoretical and methodological impediments to doing sound research in this area." He agreed with him that it is reasonable to hypothesize that homosexuality might have

1566-489: The divide between homo and hetero and its presumed natural origin accounts for much bigotry, discrimination, and violence against gay people." She also noted that he ignored the fact that "most of the 1990s sexual-orientation research centers on men" and that he did not challenge the "fundamental sexism of the idea that gay men are similar to women". Simon LeVay Simon LeVay (born 28 August 1943 in Oxford , England)

1620-474: The door to find the answer to that question." After Governor Pete Wilson vetoed California Bill AB101 which would have extended civil rights protections to the LGBT community, LeVay became active in the community. While attending a gay political group, he met a planner in West Hollywood by the name of Chris Patrouch. In their conversations Patrouch pitched the idea of creating a new educational institution in West Hollywood that would be gay friendly. LeVay liked

1674-480: The ethical issues involved in sexual orientation therapies, and the use of sexual orientation tests, thoughtful and careful. Chekola described the book as "an admirable exploration of issues related to research on sexual orientation and possible applications of such research". He credited Murphy with being the first person to write a comprehensive work examining these issues, calling him "extremely thorough and exhaustive". He also credited Murphy with carefully discussing

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1728-469: The extent to which it is done ethically" and that if "scientific inquiring takes place in a context in which its results are certain to be misused, then the ethical innocence it may have in other contexts becomes irrelevant". Gay Science received a positive review from the psychiatrist Vernon Rosario in The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review . Rosario described the book as a "welcome addition to

1782-516: The idea so much that he took a leave of absence from Salk in 1992 to help. They were planning to call the institution the " Harvey Milk University" after the first openly gay elected supervisor of San Francisco that had been assassinated by Dan White in 1987. However, they eventually formed the West Hollywood Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education (IGLE) with Lauren Jardine. The West Hollywood City Counsel unanimously passed

1836-472: The issue of the moral status of homosexual behavior. Wolfe described the book as "invaluable for students of gay history, medicine and their intersections", and praised its, "Careful summary and careful citations". He complimented Ruse for his discussions of the research of Bieber, Socarides, Hamer, and LeVay, his account of conversion therapy, and his philosophical discussion of the ethical questions involved in scientific research on sexual orientation, including

1890-591: The late 1970s, Bradley founded the Child and Adolescent Gender Identity Clinic at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry . Early models for treating gender-variant children involved attempts to change their gender identity and behavior to conform to social expectations for their assigned gender at birth (AGAB). This approach became best known through the work of Susan Bradley and Kenneth Zucker , and through their colleagues at CAMH in Toronto , where it became known as

1944-413: The latter set of terms misleading. He discusses conversion therapy . He also discusses the work of Sigmund Freud , the founder of psychoanalysis , including Freud's views on homosexuality . He evaluates the work and views of scientists such as the neuroscientist Simon LeVay , the geneticist Dean Hamer , and J. A. Y. Hall, as well as the work of the psychoanalysts Irving Bieber and Charles Socarides ,

1998-430: The limitations of research by LeVay, Bailey, Hamer, Hall, Kimura, and Nicolosi. He wrote that while Murphy's speculation that science might develop means of preventing or altering homosexuality, and that the number of gay people would be diminished as a result, might seem "odd and chilling", it was "an interesting exercise in looking at the implications scientific knowledge might have for people's choices that could result in

2052-598: The moral and social issues raised by scientific research on human sexuality. He agreed with Murphy that if a method to select a child's future sexual orientation were developed it would result in a reduction of the number of gay people. Harding described the book as, "a careful, illuminating, balanced, and thought-provoking analysis not only of the ethics of sexual orientation research, but also of its science and politics." She credited Murphy with providing a, "complex, empirically sound, and carefully modest constructionist account of sexual orientation". She found Murphy's discussion of

2106-704: The philosopher Michael Ruse in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science . The book received mixed reviews from the philosopher Udo Schüklenk in JAMA , Daniel Wolfe in Culture, Health & Sexuality , the sex researcher James D. Weinrich in Human Biology , and the feminist studies scholar Martha McCaughey in Science, Technology, & Human Values . Bradley described Gay Science as

2160-484: The possible development of methods to prevent or alter homosexuality. He also credited Murphy with exposing the oversimplification of research such as that of LeVay by the media. Though noting that not all readers would find Murphy's ethical discussions interesting, he agreed with Murphy's criticisms of Finnis's views, while finding them obvious. He criticized Murphy for devoting too much space to discussing anti-gay views and arguments. Weinrich credited Murphy with providing

2214-589: The psychologists Alan P. Bell , J. Michael Bailey , Doreen Kimura , and Joseph Nicolosi , and the sociologist Martin S. Weinberg . He also discusses and criticizes the views on homosexuality of the philosophers Michel Foucault , John Finnis , and Michael Levin . Gay Science was first published by Columbia University Press in 1997. Gay Science received positive reviews from James Edward Van Buskirk in Library Journal and R. W. Smith in Choice and

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2268-551: The question of whether research into sexual orientation should be undertaken at all as boring, and wrote that most of Murphy's conclusions ranged "from self-evident to uninteresting." He also accused Murphy of being naive in his discussion of how institutions such as the Catholic Church and the American military might respond to the development of scientific methods of preventing or detecting homosexuality, and argued that he

2322-719: The right to abort fetuses that tested positive for homosexuality", if either of these things ever became possible, as "disturbing", but also difficult to argue against. Gay Science received positive reviews from the psychiatrist Susan Bradley in The New England Journal of Medicine , the philosopher David Hull in The Quarterly Review of Biology , the philosopher Sandra Harding in the Journal of Homosexuality , Mark Chekola in Bioethics , and

2376-435: The right to engage in such attempts, arguing that rather than granting them that right it would be better "to change societal attitudes about homosexuality so that people do not show prejudice against homosexuals." He found Murphy's discussion of laws about homosexuality interesting, but questioned whether Murphy provided "anything which is deeply grounded in a well thought-out philosophy of law". He also questioned whether Murphy

2430-474: The sorts of points that he wants to make", and providing good discussions of the work of researchers such as LeVay. He wrote that the book made his own work Homosexuality: A Philosophical Inquiry (1988) outdated. He agreed with Murphy's defense of inquiry into the origins of sexual orientation. He found Murphy's discussion of attempts by parents to control the sexual orientation of their children interesting, but disputed Murphy's conclusion that parents would have

2484-428: The topic of human sexuality at a number of venues and published books. In 2003 he became a lecturer in Human Sexuality Studies at Stanford University. Researchers had been comparing the brains of men and women since the 1980s, but the article that caught LeVay's attention was published by a group at UCLA. In the study, the researchers compared the hypothalami of 11 men to 11 women. Of particular interest to LeVay

2538-545: The use of methods that might potentially predict a child's future sexual orientation, arguing that he did not take cultural differences between countries into account. She criticized Murphy for devoting insufficient attention to issues affecting the welfare of gay people outside the United States. However, she considered him correct to maintain that a test for a genetically-based homosexuality would not necessarily be used in ways that would harm gay people, and agreed with him that biological findings on homosexuality has no relevance to

2592-434: Was a survey of sexual orientation research. It discussed the work of pioneering sexologists such as Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and Magnus Hirschfeld , Sigmund Freud and his followers, behaviorism , and LeVay's own research on INAH3 and its possible implications. Albrick's Gold , published in 1997, was a science fiction novel , whose main character, Roger Cavendish, is partially based on Simon LeVay. Gay, Straight, and

2646-525: Was an area the researchers called the "Interstitial Nucleus of the Anterior Hypothalamus" ( INAH3 ), a part of the brain that had been found to help regulate sexual behavior. The UCLA team found that INAH3 was, on average, twice as large in men as it was in women. This made LeVay wonder if he would see differences in this grouping of cells based on sexual orientation as well. "I was already working on structure and function in one part of

2700-513: Was at Dulwich College where LeVay also admitted to himself that he was gay. Before moving on to higher education, LeVay spent a gap year in Göttingen Germany where he worked as a technician in an electron microscope lab, learned German, and published a scientific article on the spinal cord of chickens. When the gap year was complete, LeVay returned to England, where he was admitted into Cambridge University. After graduating with

2754-502: Was described in one review as "an exceptional book that addresses nearly every aspect of sexuality from multiple theoretical, historical, and cultural perspectives." Susan Bradley Susan Jane Bradley (born 1940) is a Canadian psychiatrist . She has written many journal articles and books, including Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents (with Kenneth Zucker ) and Affect Regulation and

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2808-462: Was going to focus on teaching conventional subjects to LGBT students. Patrouch and LeVay had been hoping to get their courses accredited and start offering degrees, but the situation proved untenable and IGLE shut down in 1996. The Sexual Brain , published in 1993, was LeVay's first book. It discussed brain mechanisms involved in sexual behavior and feelings. Queer Science: The Use and Abuse of Research into Homosexuality , published in 1996,

2862-502: Was overly critical of sociobiological explanations of homosexuality, and sometimes showed a "less than perfect" understanding of biology. McCaughey credited Murphy with providing interesting discussions of the therapeutic treatment of homosexuality, parental control of sexual orientation in children, testing for sexual orientation, and the limits of the use of the concept of nature in moral and legal arguments. However, she criticized him for ignoring "the arguments and research suggesting that

2916-582: Was right to devote attention to the issue of whether it is possible or desirable to change a person's sexual orientation and noted that, "Murphy seems to have virtually no time or interest in Freud's work, even though a mere twenty years ago the Freudian etiological analysis of homosexuality was considered really significant." He also observed that Murphy had little or no interest in discussing social constructionist views influenced by Foucault. Schüklenk considered

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