Masculine lesbians tend to have higher testosterone levels, study finds
A new study from Brazil has uncovered differences in adult hormone levels between subgroups of lesbian women and heterosexual women. The research, published in Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, found that lesbian women who described themselves as having a more masculine style had higher levels of free testosterone in their saliva compared to both feminine lesbian women and heterosexual women. At the same time, the study did not find differences in the ratio of the lengths of the index finger to the ring finger—a measurement thought to reflect early hormone exposure—across these groups. Previous studies have suggested that the amount of certain hormones, such as testosterone, during early development may help shape the brain in ways that could influence sexual attraction later in life. Other work has noted that testosterone in adulthood can vary among women and might be associated with differences in behavior or self-expression. However, earlier research has often treated lesbian women as a single, undifferentiated group, even though some identify with a more masculine style while others lean toward a feminine presentation. …