TWIN STUDIES 4
terdiimmemg (TheTwilight of theGods], pederast, the loving comrade, and so on).
was very popular in this period. People may also lie about the facts, for
Recently, the term "midnight obvious reasons.
cowboy," from James Leo Herlihy's 1965 Despite these problems, it is dif-
book and the subsequent film, has had ficult to read the twin literature on homo-
some currency. (Forreasonsnot altogether sexuality without some surprise. "Frater-
clear, much homosexual social life begins nal" twins come from two sperm and two
only after ten or eleven in the evening.) eggs, and are therefore no more closely
Presumably real cowboys have to be up related than any other siblings, while
too early in the morning to be out until "identical" twins come from one sperm
midnight. and one egg (the egg dividing after fertili-
zation). Recent research has shown that
these "identical" twins may not be com-
TWINSTUDIES plete twins in their gene complements
The study of twins is a useful tool (due to unknown factors in the egg-split-
for determining if a given trait or condi- ting process). One would expect no con-
tion has a genetic component. Inasmuch cordance at all for either fraternal or
as the sophistication of these studies has identical twins, if the strong environmen-
increased markedly over the past few dec- talist argument were to hold.
ades, their value is increasing. Scientists But that is not the case. There is
have learned that such studies should be no (orvery little)concordance for fraternal
carefully conducted, and they are nor- twins. For identical twins, the wncor-
mally a helpful, if somewhat unexciting, dance rate is approximately eighty or
discipline. ninety percent, or even higher. This evi-
Yet peace and quiet did not attend dence would seem to suggest that people
the first attempts to conduct twin studies are simply born homosexual, just as they
in homosexual behavior. Early research are born with green or blue eyes.
(Kallmann)indicated a very high concor- Yet the fact that these people seem
dance for homosexuality, and these re- to be born with a genetic predisposition to
sults provoked cries of "Nazi" and "fas- homosexuality carries no necessary impli-
cist" from the opposite camp, which was cation that all homosexualityresults from
convinced that homosexuality was caused geneticfactors. This may ultimately prove
by the environment, specifically child- to be the case, but the twin studies do not
rearing practices. Clearly, ideology was prove it in and of themselves. In addition,
getting entangled with science during a high concordance rate for homosexual-
these early years (and not for the first ity among identical twins does not mean
time). that such twins are more (or less)likely to
So these twin studies must be be homosexual than anyone else. Finally,
approached with some care, and one must there is no evidence at all in the twin
not automatically expect careful and studies which indicates that a particular
impartial research in what is still, for I subtype (for example, the effeminate
many, an essentially contested area. "Con- homosexual) is genetically dominant at
cordance" is the degree to which two the expense of other homosexual subtypes.
people share the same trait. John and Pe- The twin evidence presents some
ter, not related, may be concordant for problems for future research. First, the
blue eyes, if they both have blue eyes. It is acid test is the case of identical twins
easy to determine concordance for eye raised apart. There are not yet enough such
color. But homosexual behavior is a more twin-pairs in the literature. (It would also
complex phenomenon. It may have sev- seem mandatory to obtain more longitudi-
eral distinct subtypes (the effeminate, the nal data on twin pairs.] Second, there is no
4 TWIN STUDIES
clear idea of how this genetic component Once a typology has been con-
interacts with the surrounding environ- structed, it becomes an aid in the interpre-
ment to produce the fairly wide spectrum tation of avariety of concrete phenomena,
of human social behavior recorded by but it can be misused to distort reality, as
anthropology and history. Third, much the features selected to compose them
larger twin studies need to be performed: may acquire a distorted importance or
the total periodical literature covers under concreteness, leadingto the neglect of other
a hundred pairs. Fourth, lesbianism and factors. Hence typologies must be con-
male homosexuality may not be the same tinually subjected to reexamination as
sort of thing at all, if early research new data become available, and revised
(Eckert et al.) holds up. as the understanding of the phenomena
becomes more sophisticated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. E. D. Eckert, T. J. Typologies are most helpful in
Bouchard, J. Bohlen, and L. L. Heston,
"Homosexuality in Monozygotic Twins preventing the ascription of traits in one
Reared Apart," British Iournal of subgroup of the phenomena under study
Psychiatry, 148 (19863,421-25; Franz J. to other subgroups where they may not
Kallmann, "Comparative Twin Study on belong, and in underlining points of com-
the Genetic Aspects of Male monality which may disclose historical
Homosexuality," Iournal of Nervous and
Mental Disease, 115, (19521, 283-98; influences or causal factors that otherwise
Ceoff Puterbaugh, "Bom Cay? Hand might not have suggested themselves to
Preference and Sex Preference," Cabir- the investigator.
ion, 10 [1984), 12-18. In natural science, the term
Geoff Puterbaugh "paradigm" has been used since Thomas
S. Kuhn's widely read book The Structure
TYPOLOGY
OF
of Scientific Revolutions (1962)to desig-
HOMOSEXUALITY nate the prevailing system of understand-
A valuable conceptual tool in
ing phenomena which guides scientific
seeking to understand a wide-ranging
theorization and experimentation, and
phenomenon or related group of phenom-
which is held to be the most useful way of
ena which show both commonality and
explaining the universe, or a part of it,
diversity, typology is the arrangement or
until that paradigm is eventually over-
classification of the elements under study
thrown by new data and replaced by a
so as to highlight both points of similarity
newer paradigm. As Kuhn has pointed out,
and points of difference. Typology traces
paradigms may function without the con-
its roots back to the biologist's taxonomy,
scious adhesion of those who employ
or classification of species, a practice
them, and in the broadest sense they often
which stems ultimately from Aristotle
form part of the unvoiced inner structure
and his school.
of human existence.
In 1922the great sociologist Max
Popular Paradigms and Homo-
Weber applied the notion of "ideal types"
sexuality. A somewhat different use of
to social behavior. These types were char-
typologies may refer to the models or
acterized as hypothetical constructs made
conceptual schemes held up to groups of
up of the salient features or elements of a
people or the public at large in order to
social phenomenon, or generalized con-
assimilate difficult or strange phenomena.
cept, in order to facilitate comparison and
When these models substantially guide
classification of what is found in opera-
the concepts and behaviors of the people
tion. Psychology, linguistics, anthropol-
most involved with them, they take on a
ogy, the history of science, comparative
normative reality which goes far beyond
religion, and other disciplines have since
the theoretical utility of the academic
made considerable use of such tools, often
model. Thus, it is one thing for the anthro-
called "models" or "paradigms."