Abstract
Many previous studies have reported robust sex differences in olfactory perception. However, both men and women can be expected to vary in the degree to which they exhibit olfactory performance considered typical of their own or the opposite sex. Sex-atypicality is often described in terms of childhood gender nonconformity, which, however, is not a perfect correlate of non-heterosexual orientation. Here we explored intrasexual variability in psychophysical olfactory performance in a sample of 156 individuals (83 non-heterosexual) and found the lowest odor identification scores in heterosexual men. However, when childhood gender nonconformity was entered in the model along with sexual orientation, better odor identification scores were exhibited by gender-nonconforming men, and greater olfactory sensitivity by gender-conforming women, irrespective of their sexual orientation. Thus, sex-atypicality, but not sexual orientation predicts olfactory performance, and we propose that this might not be limited to olfaction, but represent a more general phenomenon.
Highlights
Numerous recent studies have reported sex differences in personality characteristics, cognition, and behavior [1,2,3]
The aim of the present study was to explore interindividual differences in olfactory performance related to sex-atypicality, which is often described in terms of childhood gender nonconformity (CGN), and sexual orientation
When separate regression analyses were run for each sex in which, along with sexual orientation, CGN was entered as a predictor, only the latter turned out to significantly predict performance on some of the olfactory tests
Summary
Numerous recent studies have reported sex differences in personality characteristics, cognition, and behavior [1,2,3]. Robust sex differences have been repeatedly found in physical aggression, which is on average higher in males [4], and in empathy, in which females typically score higher than males [5]. Some of these sex differences seem to appear at least as early as during infancy and preschool age, as suggested, for instance, by studies on sex specificity in childhood play behavior [6]. Homosexual men outperform their heterosexual counterparts in verbal associations, while the opposite pattern has been found in spatial abilities, in mental rotations [8]
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