It’s National Siblings Day, and guest host Selena Simmons-Duffin investigates how the number of older brothers someone has may influence their sexuality. This concept, known as the ‘fraternal birth order effect,’ highlights a global pattern where each additional older brother increases the likelihood of a person being gay.
While early research in sexuality carries a history of controversial findings and impacts on queer communities, this particular phenomenon remains consistent across different regions, including Turkey, North America, Brazil, and the Netherlands.
Selena delves into the specifics of the fraternal birth order effect, examining both its implications and limitations in understanding sexuality. This episode is part of NPR’s ‘Science of Siblings’ series. For more insights into familial connections, you can explore further stories within the series.
The episode is available on Short Wave, NPR’s podcast. Support the work by signing up for Short Wave+ to enjoy sponsor-free listening. This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson, edited by Rebecca Ramirez, and fact-checked by Brit Hanson, with audio engineering by Maggie Luthar.
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