I am new to this list, as I have come across he "link" of CAH to being a lesbian from reading a book entitled The Sexual Spectrum. In the book the psychologist describes women whose index finger as being shorter than the ring finger, as a male characteristic seen frequently in women with CAH, who as she said had a greater likelihood of being gay. I am 51 yo and have lived in a lesbian lifestyle for most of my adult life, however recently I have wondered if this is indeed who I am. RIght now if I had to define my sexuality I would have to say that I am bisexual. BTW my index finger is shorter than my ring finger. I was a tomboy, I am very athletic, and have an athletic build.
Having also not had a terrific upbringing; attachment issues with Mom as my older brother was seriously ill when I was born; I am a child of an alcoholic; and have survived sexual abuse. As I have healed most of my past wounds, it is now that I am wondering why I chose the lesbian lifestyle? So there is a pretty good picture for environment impacting my sexuality.
Being a healthcare provider I tend to be more in my head (or outside of me...as my therapist would say) in trying to figure it out. So when this possibility came into the picture it seems to make some sense to me.
First of all I have not been formally diagnosed with CAH. Is there a test that my Endo can run?
I do have Schmidt's Syndrome Type III. Which is an autosomal sex linked autoimmune disease that typically attacks your endocrine glands. Types I and II always involve the adrenal gland and usually the thyroid gland. In Type III it goes after the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) and then attacks another endo gland other than the adrenal. In my case I went through Menopause at 37 years old. Additionally have had polycystic ovaries. So some of symptoms seem to fit with CAH.
Today in 2008, our world is much more accepting of the gay lifestyle, not so much the case however when I was growing up. To the parents out there reading these posts, love your children.....simply love them. That is the greatest gift that you can give them. Yes they may be different....but yes as you can see possibly in my case the release of testosterone in utero "could have" increased my likelihood of being a lesbian..... or my lack of attachment with Mom while she attended to my seriously ill brother "could have" made me a lesbian. I lost out on establishing a healthy attachment as an infant, then never fully recovered and became more distant when I came out to my parents. This lack of acceptance from the ONLY people capable of providing this has had a devastating impact on ALL my relationships; intimate, friends, work...male or female.
There have been numerous studies linking poor attachments of mother & daughter to a proclivity of becoming a lesbian.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_psychology)
The current medical view of sexual orientation is that in combination with genetic and hormonal influences, it is determined in part by environmental influences,[37] though "the reasons may be different for different people".[38] .... Key factors in the development of homosexuals were "paternal attachment, introversion, and neurotic characteristics."[39] .....However, most people believe nature and nurture both play complex roles in the development of homosexuality.[43]
Researchers have found childhood gender nonconformity to be the largest predictor of homosexuality in adulthood.[53] Daryl Bem's Exotic Becomes Erotic theory theorizes that some children will prefer activities that are typical of the other sex and that this will make a gender-conforming child feel different from opposite-sex children, while gender-nonconforming children will feel different from children of their own sex, which may evoke physiological arousal when the child is near members of the sex which it considers as being "different", which will later be transformed into sexual arousal. Researchers have suggested that this nonconformity may be a result of genetics, prenatal hormones, personality, parental care or other environmental factors.
Even though I have not been formally diagnosed with CAH.... I feel that I have found some kindred spirits here. As we are all wondering about our sexual preferences; are the biological, environmental...and most importantly can we accept them and will others.
Kate
