Thirty women aged 17 to 30 years with documented prenatal exposure to the nonsteroidal synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) were compared to thirty women of similar demographic characteristics from the same medical clinic who had a history of abnormal Pap smear findings. A subsample of the DES women were also compared to their DES-unexposed sisters. Sexual orientation in its multiple components was assessed by systematic semistructured interviews. In comparison to both control groups, the DES women showed increased bisexuality and homosexuality. However, about 75% of the DES women were exclusively or nearly exclusively heterosexual. Nonhormonal and hormonal interpretations of these findings are discussed.

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In psychobiological research on sexual orientation, the prenatal hormone theory has a central position. This article examines the hypothesis that prenatal estrogens contribute to the development of human sexual orientation. Several groups of women with a history of prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES), a nonsteroidal synthetic estrogen, were compared with several samples of control women in the context of a comprehensive study of the psychiatric and psychologic effects of prenatal DES. Various aspects of sexual orientation were assessed by systematic interview. Consistently across samples, more DES-exposed women than controls were rated as bisexual or homosexual (scores 2-6 on Kinsey-format scales ranging from 0 to 6). The data are compatible with the hypothesis that prenatal estrogens may play a role in the development of human sexual orientation. Homosexual Orientation and Psychosexual DifferentiationPsychoendocrine research has considered sexual orientation mostly in the context of sexual and psychosexual differentiation, that is, the development of physical and behavioral differences between female and male individuals (Meyer- Bahlburg, 1984Bahlburg, ,1993. This approach is based on the notion that an individual's homosexual orientation constitutes an aspect of crossgender behavior, that is, behavior that is more typical of the other gender than of the person's own. Empirical support for this notion comes from a number of data sets that show atypical gender role behavior during childhood (by history) in about two thirds of homosexual men and women (e.g., Bell, Weinberg, & Hammersmith, 1981;Whitam & Mathy, 1986). For many homosexual men and women, atypical behavior only implies a history of relatively low stereotypical masculinity or femininity,

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Thirty women with a history of prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) underwent a detailed sexual history and were compared to a demographically similar sample of 30 women with a history of an abnormal Pap smear. The DES women were found to have less well-established sex-partner relationships and less experience with child-bearing, to be lower in sexual desire and enjoyment, sexual excitability, and orgasmic coital functioning, but to be comparable (and low) with regard to such sexual dysfunctions as vaginismus and dyspareunia. Both potential psychosocial and neuroendocrine explanations are discussed.