The Prevalence of Fa’afafine Relatives Among Samoan Gynephilic Men and Fa’afafine

Abstract

Androphilia refers to sexual attraction to adult males whereas gynephilia refers to sexual attraction to adult females. In Western populations, androphilia in males is familial, but the precise nature of this phenomenon is unclear. Some studies show that androphilic males have preponderances of androphilic male relatives in the maternal, but not paternal, line. In contrast, other studies show that male androphilia clusters in both the maternal and paternal lines. Low fertility populations are susceptible to producing anomalous patterns with respect to biodemographic correlates of male sexual orientation, which may account for discrepancies in the familial patterning of male androphilia across Western studies. We focused on a high fertility population to determine which pattern, if any, prevailed. The prevalence of androphilic male relatives was compared for Samoan gynephilic and androphilic male probands. Samoan androphilic males are known locally as fa'afafine. Compared to Samoan gynephilic males, fa'afafine had significantly more fa'afafine relatives in their maternal and paternal lines. The prevalence of fa'afafine relatives was not significantly different between the paternal and maternal lines for fa'afafine or gynephilic male probands. These findings indicate that male androphilia is familial in Samoa and that it clusters in both the paternal and maternal lines in high fertility populations. We consider our findings in the context of possible explanations for the familial clustering of male androphilia. In addition, we detail how the data presented here illuminate the prevalence of male androphilia in the Samoan population.

Evolving research on the evolution of male androphilia

“…In terms of biodemographic correlates, when compared to gynephilic males, both sex-gender congruent and transgendered male androphiles tend to be later born among their siblings (e.g., Blanchard, 2004;Vander-Laan & Vasey, 2011;, have greater numbers of older biological brothers (''fraternal birth order effect 1 ,'' e.g., Bogaert & Skorska, 2011;, exhibit larger family sizes (e.g., Blanchard & Lippa, 2007;Camperio-Ciani, Corna & Capiluppi, 2004;Iemmola & Camperio Ciani, 2009;King et al 2005;Schwartz, Kim, Kolundzija, Rieger & Sanders, 2010;VanderLaan, Forrester, Petterson & Vasey, 2012;, cluster within families (e.g., Schwartz et al, 2010;VanderLaan, Forrester, Petterson & Vasey, 2013;VanderLaan, Vokey & Vasey, 2013), occur at similar prevalence rates across cultures (e.g., Smith, Rissel, Richters, Grulich & de Visser, 2003;VanderLaan, Forrester, et al, 2013;Whitam, 1983), and exhibit little or no reproductive output (e.g., King et al, 2005;Schwartz et al, 2010;Vasey, Parker & VanderLaan, 2014). In addition, the odds ratios associated with the fraternal birth order effect in various populations of sex-gender congruent and transgendered male androphiles are remarkably consistent, suggesting that the manner in which older brothers influence the development of male androphilia is constant across culturally diverse populations (e.g., Cantor, Blanchard, Paterson & Bogaert, 2002;.…”

“…Perhaps more compelling is research that suggests that male androphilia occurs in the majority of cultures for which data are available (e.g., Murray, 2000) and its population prevalence rate appears to be similar (~1.5-5%) across a variety of different cultures (e.g., Smith et al, 2003;VanderLaan, Forrester, et al, 2013;Whitam, 1983). Thus, male androphilia appears to be a predictably and reliably reoccurring phenomenon in most human cultures.…”

Evidence for distinct biodevelopmental influences on male sexual orientation

“…A well-established biomarker of sexual orientation is familiality of male same-sex sexual orientation. Same-sex sexual orientation clusters in families (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28), twin studies show greater sexual orientation concordance among monozygotic than dizygotic twins (29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34), and molecular genetic studies have identified candidate genes associated with sexual orientation (35)(36)(37). As such, genetic mechanisms appear to at least partially influence male same-sex sexual orientation.…”

“…As such, genetic mechanisms appear to at least partially influence male same-sex sexual orientation. The heritability of male sexual orientation is estimated at ∼0.32 (15), and the associated genetic factors appear to be inherited from both the maternal and paternal lines given that gay men, compared with heterosexual men, have more gay male family members in both their maternal (22)(23)(24)(25)27) and paternal lines (21,25,26,28). Consistent with this familiality research, male sexual orientation has been associated with genes on the X chromosome and autosomal chromosomes (23,38), with the largest studies finding associations with Xq28 (23,36,38), the sonic hedgehog gene on chromosome 7 (35,37), and the pericentromeric region of chromosome 8 (35)(36)(37).…”

Kin Selection and Male Homosexual Preference in Indonesia

“…Thus, from an evolutionary standpoint, the frequency of MHP is expected to decrease. However, MHP has been described at least since antiquity (Crompton, 2003), and it is relatively common in several societies: between 3 and 12 % in South and East Asia (Cáceres, Konda, Pecheny, Chatterjee, & Lyerda, 2006), 2 and 6% in Western countries (review in Table 4.3 of Berman, 2003), and between 1.4-4.7% in Samoa (VanderLaan, Forrester, Petterson, & Vasey, 2013).…”