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Simon LeVay (born 28 August 1943 in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, England) is a British-American
neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...
. He received a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in 1966, a Ph.D. in
Neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defi ...
at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
in 1974. LeVay held positions in
neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...
at the Harvard Medical School from 1974 to 1984. He then worked at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies from 1984 to 1993 while holding an Associate Professorship in Biology at the
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
. Much of his early work focused on the
visual cortex The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalam ...
in animals. While working at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, LeVay published an article in ''
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'' that compared the size of the " Interstitial Nucleus of the Anterior
Hypothalamus The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrin ...
" ( INAH3) in a group of gay men to a group of straight men and women. This was the first scientific study ever published that showed brain differences based on
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
. The study results were featured on PBS, ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'', ''
Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
'', '' Donahue'', and ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...
''. In 1992, he took a leave of absence from Salk to help form the Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education (IGLE) in West Hollywood with Chris Patrouch and Lauren Jardine. He never returned. LeVay has spoken extensively on the topic of human sexuality at a number of venues and published a number of books. In 2003 he became a lecturer in Human Sexuality Studies at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
.


Personal life

Simon LeVay was born on 28 August 1943 in Oxford, England. LeVay spent most of his childhood in
West Dulwich West Dulwich ( ) is a neighbourhood in South London on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between Sou ...
where he attended Dulwich Preparatory School. LeVay went on to attend
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
where he specialized in Latin, Greek, and Ancient History while excelling in cycling. It was at Dulwich College where LeVay also admitted to himself that he was gay.


Education

Before moving on to higher education, LeVay spent a gap year in
Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
Germany where he worked as a technician in an electron microscope lab, learned German, and published a scientific article on the spinal cord of chickens. When the gap year was complete, LeVay returned to England, where he was admitted into Cambridge University. After graduating with a B.A. in natural sciences, he continued the clinical portion of his medical education at the
University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
before dropping out of medical school altogether. LeVay returned to the lab in Göttingen and enrolled in graduate school, where he published his doctoral thesis on the visual system before graduating with a Ph.D. in neuroanatomy in 1971. At the University of Göttingen, LeVay met an American exchange student from the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
named Richard Hersey and fell in love. When Hersey left Germany and returned to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, LeVay followed him and began looking at postdoctoral positions in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, New York, and
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. He eventually got a job at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
working in the lab of David Hubel and
Torsten Wiesel Torsten Nils Wiesel (born 3 June 1924) is a Swedish Neurophysiology, neurophysiologist. With David H. Hubel, he received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for their discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system; ...
. LeVay and Hersey spent a year traveling in the United States before Hersey returned to Berkeley, and LeVay started his life in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
.


Career

LeVay completed his postdoc at Harvard Medical School and began teaching in the Neurobiology Department. In 1984, LeVay accepted a job at the Salk Institute in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
where he studied the brain's role in vision. He also began working as an Associate Professor in
Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
at the University of California. LeVay took a leave of absence to take care of Hersey, who had contracted
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
. After Hersey died of the disease in 1990, LeVay returned to Salk with little interest in continuing his work on the visual centers of the brain. "Richard and I had spent 21 years together," LeVay said during an interview with a reporter from '' Discover'' magazine. "It was while looking after him that I decided I wanted to do something different with my life ... I had an emotional need to do something more personal, something connected with my gay identity." In 1991, LeVay published an article in ''Science'' that compared a structure in the hypothalamus called INAH3 in the brains of male homosexuals to that found in a group of heterosexual men and heterosexual women. He found that this region of the brain in gay men was similar to that found in straight women. In 1992, LeVay took a second leave of absence from Salk to help form the Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education (IGLE) in West Hollywood with Chris Patrouch and Lauren Jardine. He never returned. After IGLE folded, LeVay would go on to speak on the topic of
human sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
at a number of venues and published books. In 2003 he became a lecturer in Human Sexuality Studies at Stanford University.


INAH3 research

Researchers had been comparing the brains of men and women since the 1980s, but the article that caught LeVay's attention was published by a group at UCLA. In the study, the researchers compared the hypothalami of 11 men to 11 women. Of particular interest to LeVay was an area the researchers called the "Interstitial Nucleus of the Anterior Hypothalamus" ( INAH3), a part of the brain that had been found to help regulate sexual behavior. The UCLA team found that INAH3 was, on average, twice as large in men as it was in women. This made LeVay wonder if he would see differences in this grouping of cells based on sexual orientation as well. "I was already working on structure and function in one part of the brain, so working on the sexual part of the brain wasn't a big switch." Over a period of nine months, LeVay performed surgery on the brains of 41 cadavers: 18 gay men (plus 1 bisexual male), 16 straight men, and 6 straight women. To ensure that the process was fully blinded, he'd had each brain numerically encoded to conceal the sexual orientations of each donor. In 1991, LeVay published "A difference in hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men" in ''
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
''. On average, LeVay found that the INAH3 in the brains of heterosexual men were more than twice as large as those found in the brains of homosexuals. In fact, the INAH3 size of the homosexual group was the same as that of the women. LeVay wrote that " is finding indicates that INAH is dimorphic with sexual orientation, at least in men, and suggests that sexual orientation has a biological substrate." This was the first scientific study that looked specifically at differences between brains on the basis of sexual orientation. Because of this, LeVay's finding attracted a lot of media attention. The study results were featured on PBS, ''Newsweek'', ''Nightline'', ''Donahue'', and ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. The results received pushback from some religious groups as well as from members of the LGBT community. There were also several criticisms from scientists: * HIV can attack the central nervous system, and nearly all of the gay men in LeVay's study had died of AIDS. What effect, if any, did HIV have on this region of the brain? Were the perceived differences the result of biology or because of HIV's actions on the brain? *LeVay's study only considered 41 brain samples. Too few data points can make study results unreliable. *In straight males, LeVay found that the INAH3 structure was about the size of a grain of sand. In women (and in gay men), it was almost non-existent. Because of the extremely small size, these structures could be difficult to precisely measure in tissue slices. *LeVay's data showed a range of size values for INAH3 in both the homosexual and heterosexual brains. Some of the gay men had larger INAH3 structures, some of the straight men had smaller structures, and the numbers overlapped. Anne Fausto-Sterling at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
said, "If LeVay picked a nucleus size in the middle, he couldn't tell if it was heterosexual or homosexual." *The brain influences the way the person acts, but the environment can influence brain structures. There was not enough information about the people in the study to know whether the results were biological in nature, or whether the behavior of the gay participants caused that region of the brain to change over time. LeVay himself cautioned against misinterpreting his findings: "I did not prove that homosexuality is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn't show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work. Nor did I locate a gay center in the brain." In an interview with ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' in 1992, he said, "What I reported was a difference in the brain structure of the hypothalamus. We can't say on the basis of that what makes people gay or straight. But it opens the door to find the answer to that question."


Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education

After Governor
Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...
vetoed California Bill AB101 which would have extended civil rights protections to the LGBT community, LeVay became active in the community. While attending a gay political group, he met a planner in West Hollywood by the name of Chris Patrouch. In their conversations Patrouch pitched the idea of creating a new educational institution in West Hollywood that would be gay friendly. LeVay liked the idea so much that he took a leave of absence from Salk in 1992 to help. They were planning to call the institution the "
Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised i ...
University" after the first openly gay elected supervisor of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
that had been assassinated by Dan White in 1987. However, they eventually formed the West Hollywood Institute of Gay and Lesbian Education (IGLE) with Lauren Jardine. The West Hollywood City Counsel unanimously passed a resolution giving IGLE free space in a building owned by the city and IGLE began offering classes in 1992. IGLE did not meet enrollment expectations that first year. Boxall reports that 14 of 22 classes that had been listed in the course catalog had been canceled due to lack of enrollment. Two years later IGLE's administrators were still struggling with whether the school was going to concentrate on teaching classes focused on gay and lesbian studies, or whether it was going to focus on teaching conventional subjects to LGBT students. Patrouch and LeVay had been hoping to get their courses accredited and start offering degrees, but the situation proved untenable and IGLE shut down in 1996.


Books


The Sexual Brain

''The Sexual Brain'', published in 1993, was LeVay's first book. It discussed brain mechanisms involved in sexual behavior and feelings.


Queer Science

''Queer Science: The Use and Abuse of Research into Homosexuality'', published in 1996, was a survey of sexual orientation research. It discussed the work of pioneering sexologists such as
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (28 August 1825 – 14 July 1895) was a German lawyer, jurist, journalist, and writer. He is today regarded as a pioneer of sexology and the modern LGBT rights movement, gay rights movement. Ulrichs has been described as ...
and
Magnus Hirschfeld Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician, Sexology, sexologist and LGBTQ advocate, whose German citizenship was later revoked by the Nazi government.David A. Gerstner, ''Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer ...
,
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
and his followers,
behaviorism Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
, and LeVay's own research on INAH3 and its possible implications.


Albrick's Gold

''Albrick's Gold'', published in 1997, was a
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
, whose main character, Roger Cavendish, is partially based on Simon LeVay.


Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why

''Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation'', first published in 2010, details findings from over 650 studies on sexual orientation, including findings he had not considered: "I didn't expect the avenue of research about birth order, that gay men tend to be late born in families, and that women aren't as fixed in their sexual orientation as are men." A second edition was released in 2016. In 2010, ''Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why'' won the Bonnie and Vern L. Bullough Award which is given by the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality to the most distinguished book written for the professional sexological community.


Other books

LeVay has also co-authored a textbook on
human sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
and books on
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
s,
volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
es,
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
, and
extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...
. ''Human Sexuality'' (now in its third edition) was described in one review as "an exceptional book that addresses nearly every aspect of sexuality from multiple theoretical, historical, and cultural perspectives."


Works

*LeVay S (1993). '' The Sexual Brain''. Cambridge: MIT Press. *LeVay S, Nonas E (1995). ''City of Friends: A Portrait of the Gay and Lesbian Community in America''. Cambridge: MIT Press. *LeVay S (1996). '' Queer Science: The Use and Abuse of Research into Homosexuality''. Cambridge: MIT Press. *LeVay S (1997). ''Albrick's Gold''. London: Headline Book Publishing. *Sieh K, LeVay, S (1998). ''The Earth in Turmoil: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Their Impact on Humankind''. New York: W.H. Freeman. *Koerner, D, LeVay, S (2000). ''Here Be Dragons: The Scientific Quest for Extraterrestrial Life''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Freed, C, LeVay, S (2002). ''Healing the Brain: A Doctor's Controversial Quest for a Cell Therapy to Cure Parkinson's Disease''. New York: Times Books. *LeVay S, (2008). ''When Science Goes Wrong'', Plume. *LeVay S, Baldwin J (Fourth ed., 2012). ''
Human Sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
''. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates. *LeVay S, Baldwin J, Baldwin J (Fifth ed., 2021). ''Discovering Human Sexuality''. New York: Oxford University Press. *LeVay S, (Second ed., 2016). '' Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation''. New York: Oxford University Press. *LeVay S, (2013). ''The Donation of Constantine: A Novel''. Los Angeles: Lambourn Books. *LeVay S, (2023). ''Attraction, Love, Sex: The Inside Story''. New York: Columbia University Press.


References


External links


LeVay's home pageInterview With Dr. Simon LeVay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levay, Simon 1943 births Alumni of the University of Cambridge American neuroscientists American sexologists English gay writers English LGBTQ scientists American LGBTQ scientists American gay writers Living people Scientists from Oxford Writers on LGBTQ topics University of California, San Diego faculty University of Göttingen alumni Gay academics Gay scientists Salk Institute for Biological Studies people Harvard Medical School people