Biological mechanisms proposed to play a role in the development of sexual orientation in men include hormonal, genetic, and immunological factors. The posited roles of these factors are not mutually exclusive; instead, they may be at play to different degrees in different individuals. Direct measurement of these influences is challenging; thus, researchers rely on putative markers. We collected data on five well-established markers in a sample of gay and heterosexual men. We then (1) compared the levels of those markers in gay and straight men, (2) identified latent profiles based on those markers, and (3) compared the proportions of gay and straight men within the profiles. Gay men reported less gender conformity in childhood, a higher proportion of older brothers, were more right-handed, had more non-heterosexual relatives, and had more feminized digit ratios. Of the six identified profiles, the most numerous, containing a significantly higher proportion of straight men, had masculine digit ratios, masculine behavior in childhood, and was the most right-handed. Proportions of gay and straight men did not differ in the profile with the most feminine digit ratio, the profile associated with the highest proportion of older brothers, and the profile associated with left-handedness. Two remaining profiles, associated with familiality, and the most feminine childhood gender behaviors, consisted predominantly of gay men. The study suggests that further investigations of differences within sexual orientation categories are warranted.

被认为在男性性取向发展中起作用的生物学机制包括激素、遗传和免疫因素。这些因素的假定作用并不是相互排斥的;相反，它们可能在不同的个体中以不同程度发挥作用。直接测量这些影响是具有挑战性的;因此，研究人员依赖于推定的标记物。我们收集了男同性恋和异性恋男性样本中 5 个公认的标志物的数据。然后，我们 （1） 比较了男同性恋和异性恋男性中这些标志物的水平，（2） 根据这些标志物确定了潜在的特征，以及 （3） 比较了这些特征中男同性恋和异性恋男性的比例。男同性恋者在童年时期报告的性别一致性较低，哥哥的比例较高，更右撇子，有更多的非异性恋亲属，并且有更多的女性化数字比例。在已确定的六种个人资料中，数量最多的，包含明显更高比例的直男，具有男性手指比例，童年时期的男性行为，并且是最右撇子的。男同性恋和异性恋男性的比例在女性化数字比例最高的个人资料、与最高比例的哥哥相关的个人资料以及与左撇子相关的个人资料方面没有差异。剩下的两个特征，与家庭关系和最女性化的童年性别行为有关，主要由男同性恋者组成。该研究表明，有必要对性取向类别内的差异进行进一步调查。