First Proof that PCOS More than Twice as Common in Lesbian Women

[jescat14]

thanks! I've always wondered whether there was a colleration between the two... personal experience has led me to believe there definitely is, and it's only a matter of time until it's confirmed!

[artschoolgirlfriend]

i do not think the ring finger/index finger thing is valid at all.. i'm pretty sure it is random. most lesbians who i know have the same size fingers, or their ring finger is actually shorter. i think it just depends on who you are and how big your hands are. lol i have very small hands, so my ring finger is considerably shorter! oh well. anyway. it was really interesting to read about the correlation between lesbianism/bisexuality and women having PCOS. I always wondered if my hyper-androgynism led to my attraction to women (always thinking there was something wrong in my brain that made me ''abnormal'') That was when I was younger. now of course, I know i'm not ''abnormal''!! and perhaps when i come out to my mom, this might help my case... (PCOS/hormonal imbalances and their links to homosexuality...?) Just a thought! Take care, ladies.

[Novgirl]

When I first heard this some time ago, I went on an expedition of sorts. I checked out the fingers of every woman I came across: family, coworkers, church members, ladies in line ahead of me at the grocery store. I have yet to find one woman with a ring finger NOT longer than her index finger. I question whether it is really even valid.

Both of my ring fingers are SHORTER than my index fingers... I have PCOS and I'm Bi ... not sure where that all fits but just thought I'd contribute!

[vancouverNicole]

Very interesting thread!

[newfiecyster]

Ok this is interesting on both of my hands ring finger is longer than index finger

[~*Proud*Female*~]

Its odd, some days my index fingers look longer, some days the ring fingers look longer and other days they are the same length. So until I get an opportunity to measure them, I really can't say one way or the other. I will say however that I am bi-curious even though I have never done anything with another woman. I also find the female form more attractive than the male form.

[Treeling]

Well, just to weigh in, my ring fingers are CLEARLY longer the left one even moreso, and I identify as bisexual. That said, I'm very feminine in appearance, have always FELT feminine, am only attracted to boi-ish women and never really was aware of attraction to women until I ended up in the sack with one for a few years, and am now happily married to a guy. STILL I tend to think the finger thing isn't too scientifically valid. Something as quantitatively measurable as that would surely have attracted much more attention in the scientific community by now if the statistics bore it out as a definitive test. I'd accept that LBGT's are more likely to have the longer finger, but not that the longer finger always or even generally predicts LBGT identification. Way too many factors in sexual identification to balance it on one (albeit long) finger.

OTOH, I can now blame my PCOS on my mother for exposing me to testosterone in utero which perhaps means she will stop nagging me about not producing grandchildren as if I had talked my ovaries into it. I'll go ahead and point out that the bisexuality can be chalked up to her, too, since she tried to slather on the guilt about that, too (kind of ironically because she assumed a hetero relationship would equal grandchildren, I think. Ha.)

[lntmyh]

Wowsers something I always felt has been confirmed. I always felt like I was sexually attracted to women because I had a higher testoterone level. Now some1 figure out why, the medical field is sometimes really slow... i guess because I can just form theories and they actually have to confirm them.

[joyblack]

STILL I tend to think the finger thing isn't too scientifically valid. Something as quantitatively measurable as that would surely have attracted much more attention in the scientific community by now if the statistics bore it out as a definitive test.

I don't think anyone has suggested it's a definitive test, but it has "attracted attention" in the sense that that's the finger on which wedding rings are worn in most countries. The HAND may differ, but the finger remains the same one.

[Laura32]

I just read a review of a book all about the finger ratio thing, and I wanted to clarify that the book says it is your right hand that you should look at, and that women tend to have index and ring fingers of the SAME length, while men tend to have longer ring fingers, but that there is "considerable overlap" between the genders. So I don't really buy this. My ring finger is the same length as my index finger, and I have a twin brother, so I of all people really was exposed to androgens in utero, but I'm straight, and pretty much feminine, except that I don't like shoe shopping!

[SK-rock]

I'm gay and my ring fingure is shorter (just) Its weird though as when i came out my mum thought my sexuality was down to my PCOS, but i kinda dismissed it.

[fury]

something else to think about here. Isn't testosterone what gives men a stronger sex drive? Wouldn't the same ring true for women with PCOS?? Over all, my experience has been that I've had a lower sex drive then most women without it. Perhaps thats due to depression and other issues with it.

My hands are different. Left, ring finger is longer, right they are the same. And I am bi.

[kok1922]

I am surprised that this research doesn't make anyone (except maybe one person?) nervous at all.

I personally never want anyone to find 'the reason' for people being gay or lesbian because I am confident then that there would be so many terminations in uetero. The New York Time's article this past year demonstrated that since testing for downs became widespread, the number of children born with downs syndrome has fallen off the map. Hardly any children born with downs now comparatively.

I know what I am saying may sound far fetched, but I am not sure it is.

I think the finger/digit thing is very superficial (my ring fingers are much shorter on both hands and I'm very much a lesbian and have PCOs).

I do not deny that hormone and hormone exposure plays a role, but the research just makes me very nervous.

KOK

[brittca]

I am surprised that this research doesn't make anyone (except maybe one person?) nervous at all.

I personally never want anyone to find 'the reason' for people being gay or lesbian because I am confident then that there would be so many terminations in uetero. The New York Time's article this past year demonstrated that since testing for downs became widespread, the number of children born with downs syndrome has fallen off the map. Hardly any children born with downs now comparatively.

I know what I am saying may sound far fetched, but I am not sure it is.

I think the finger/digit thing is very superficial (my ring fingers are much shorter on both hands and I'm very much a lesbian and have PCOs).

I do not deny that hormone and hormone exposure plays a role, but the research just makes me very nervous.

KOK

I completely understand where you are coming from here, and your points are very valid. I also don't want anyone to 'figure out why' people are Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual. We can come up with so many different answers, 'proven' so many ways... but I honestly believe that it is something you are literally born with... a very natural phenomenon ... in a good way that is.

Enough of my babbling...

my ring finger is much longer than my first finger on my right hand (non-dominant hand) ... but my ring finger is just ever so slightly longer on my left hand... very interesting...

I'm curious as to if there is any research on 'left hand vs. right hand dominance' in lesbianism....

any thoughts?

[Hezzer]

something else to think about here. Isn't testosterone what gives men a stronger sex drive? Wouldn't the same ring true for women with PCOS?? Over all, my experience has been that I've had a lower sex drive then most women without it. Perhaps thats due to depression and other issues with it.

At my highest testosterone level (2002), my sex drive was not nearly as strong as it was eight years before my diagnosis (1994).

I think going on BCP's really sunk it, as well as the facial hair, hair loss, etc. really doing a number on my self esteem.