Overt homosexuals were interviewed in an attempt to find out if the co
nsanguinity rate of their parents was greater than that of the couples
in the general population. We found parental consanguinity in five am
ong 175 male homosexuals and one in 106 homosexual women, the rate of
consanguineous individuals (2.2%) did not differ significantly from th
at of a control sample of 695 university students of both sexes, among
whom 2.9% had consanguineous parents. Our data do not conform to the
suggestion, made by Kerr and Freire-Maia (Rev. Brasil. Genet. 6: 177-1
80, 1983), that parental consanguinity is greater in male homosexuals
than in the general population.