Letter to the Editor

Study: Sweat odor affects women, gay men alike

Yes, I sent this.

I was sad to read the headline "Sweat equity: Study finds odor affects women, gay men alike," in my paper this morning. A study whose results may show that homosexual attraction is a native trait rather than a choice need not be presented in a manner that encourages readers to think of gay men as women. Such talk is the stuff of schoolyard bullying, not newspaper headlines.

For a better way, look to the New York Times, which headlined a similar article "For Gay Men, an Attraction to a Different Kind of Scent," with the subhead "The new research may open the way to studying human pheromones, as well as the biological basis of sexual preference." That's the real story, and that's what this morning's Tribune should have focused on.