Lee Ellis is an American criminologist, sociobiologist, and anti-transgender activist. Ellis was a member of the Human Biodiversity Institute (HBI) eugenics group run by white nationalist Steve Sailer. Other HBI members included anti-trans extremists J. Michael Bailey and Ray Blanchard.
Starting in 1995, Ellis organized a conference now called Puzzles of Sexual Orientation that is held about every five years and is attended by many leading lights in the academic pathologization of sex and gender minorities.
Background
Altis Lee Ellis was born on March 1, 1942 and grew up on a farm near Iola, Kansas. Ellis earned a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1966 and a master’s degree in 1970. Ellis then earned a doctorate from Florida State University in 1983.
Ellis married Heather Anne Ellis (born 1942).
Anti-transgender activism
Much of Ellis’ work focused on reifying sex differences, with a sociobiological take on rape and sexual orientation.
Beginning in 1995, Ellis hosted a conference on the biological basis of sex and gender minorities every five years. The first one was called the International Behavioral Development Symposium on the Biological Basis of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Sex-Typical Behavior. Recent conferences are called The Puzzles of Sexual Orientation. The invite-only conference is a who’s who in the academic pathologization of trans people. The conference continued under the direction of Paul Vasey after Ellis retired.
References
Vasey, PL (2015). 2015 Puzzle of Sexual Orientation Conference. https://people.uleth.ca/~paul.vasey/PLV/Puzzles_Abstracts.html
Vasey PL, Lalumière ML (2012). Introduction to the Special Section “The Puzzle of Sexual Orientation: What Is It and How Does It Work?” Archives of Sexual Behavior volume 41, pages 11–12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9932-8
Vasey, PL (2010). The Puzzle of Sexual Orientation: What is it and How Does it Work? https://people.uleth.ca/~paul.vasey/PLV/Puzzle_2010.html
Zucker KJ (2008). Special Issue: Biological Research on Sex Dimorphic-Behavior and Sexual Orientation. Archives of Sexual Behavior 37, 1 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9275-z
Zucker, K. J., Ellis, L., Bailey, J. M., & Blanchard, R. (2002). Guest Editors’ Introduction: Biological research on sex-dimorphic behavior and sexual orientation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 7. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014003915139
Selected publications by Ellis
Ellis, L., Skorska, M. N., & Bogaert, A. F. (2016). Handedness, sexual orientation, and somatic markers for prenatal androgens: Are southpaws really that gay? Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 22(2), 157–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357650x.2016.1151024
Ellis, L., Lykins, A., Hoskin, A., & Ratnasingam, M. (2015). Putative Androgen Exposure and Sexual Orientation: Cross-Cultural Evidence Suggesting a Modified Neurohormonal Theory. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 12(12), 2364–2377. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsm.13070
Ellis, L., & Hoskin, A. W. (2013). Criminality and the 2D:4D Ratio. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 59(3), 295–312. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624×13503813
Ellis, L., Lykins, A. (2013). 2D:4D, Sexual Orientation, East Versus West: Maybe It’s True the Twain Shall Never Meet (on Average). Mankind Quarterly, Volume LIV, Number 2, Winter 2013 PDF https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amy-Lykins/publication/281642335_2D4D_sexual_orientation_and_east_versus_west_Maybe_it’s_true_that_the_twain_shall_never_meet_on_average/links/55fa103508aeafc8ac3048f8/2D4D-sexual-orientation-and-east-versus-west-Maybe-its-true-that-the-twain-shall-never-meet-on-average.pdf
Ellis, L., Ratnasingam, M., & Wheeler, M. (2012). Gender, sexual orientation, and occupational interests: Evidence of their interrelatedness. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(1), 64–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.02.008
Ellis, L., Ratnasingam, M (2012). Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Occupational Interests: Evidence of Androgen Influences. Mankind Quarterly Volume LIII, No 1, Fall 2012 PDF https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lee-Ellis-3/publication/279583154_Gender_Sexual_Orientation_and_Occupational_Interests_Evidence_of_Androgen_Influences/links/55b6723e08aec0e5f437d5b8/Gender-Sexual-Orientation-and-Occupational-Interests-Evidence-of-Androgen-Influences.pdf
Ellis, L. (2011). Identifying and explaining apparent universal sex differences in cognition and behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(5), 552–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.04.004
Ellis, L. (2011). Evolutionary Neuroandrogenic Theory and Universal Gender Differences in Cognition and Behavior. Sex Roles 64, 707–722 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9927-7
Ellis, L., Ficek, C., Burke, D. et al. (2008). Eye Color, Hair Color, Blood Type, and the Rhesus Factor: Exploring Possible Genetic Links to Sexual Orientation. Archives of Sexual Behavior 37, 145–149 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9274-0
Blanchard, R., Cantor, J. M., Bogaert, A. F., Breedlove, S. M., & Ellis, L. (2006). Interaction of fraternal birth order and handedness in the development of male homosexuality. Hormones and Behavior, 49(3), 405–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.09.002
Ellis, L., & Hellberg, J. (2005). Fetal exposure to prescription drugs and adult sexual orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 38(1), 225–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2004.04.004
Ellis, L., Robb, B. & Burke, D. (2005). Sexual Orientation in United States and Canadian College Students. Archives of Sexual Behavior 34, 569–581 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-005-6283-8
Ellis, L., & Blanchard, R. (2001). Birth order, sibling sex ratio, and maternal miscarriages in homosexual and heterosexual men and women. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(4), 543–552. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0191-8869(00)00051-9
Ellis, L., & Cole-Harding, S. (2001). The effects of prenatal stress, and of prenatal alcohol and nicotine exposure, on human sexual orientation. Physiology & Behavior, 74(1–2), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-9384(01)00564-9
Ellis, L., & Ficek, C. (2001). Color preferences according to gender and sexual orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(8), 1375–1379. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0191-8869(00)00231-2
Blanchard, R., Ellis, L. (2001). Birth weight, sexual orientation and the sex of preceding siblings Journal of Biosocial Science. 2001;33(3):451-467. doi:10.1017/S0021932001004515
Ellis, L. (1996). The role of perinatal factors in determining sexual orientation. In R. C. Savin-Williams & K. M. Cohen, The lives of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals: Children to adults (pp. 35–70). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Ellis, L., & Wagemann, B. M. (1993). The religiosity of mothers and their offspring as related to the offspring’s sex and sexual orientation. Adolescence, 28(109), 227–234.
Ellis, L., Hoffman, H., & Burke, D. M. (1990). Sex, sexual orientation and criminal and violent behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 11(12), 1207–1212. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(90)90146-i
Ellis, L. (1989). Sex hormones, r/K selection, and victimful criminality. Mankind Quarterly Vol. 29, Iss. 4,  (Summer 1989): 329. https://www.proquest.com/openview/67a7ac4c6dd75e72c670bf56141132be/1
Ellis, L., Peckham, W., Ames, M. A., & Burke, D. (1988). Sexual orientation of human offspring may be altered by severe maternal stress during pregnancy. Journal of Sex Research, 25(1), 152–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498809551449
Ellis, L., Burke, D. & Ames, M.A. (1987). Sexual orientation as a continuous variable: A comparison between the sexes. Archives of Sexual Behavior 16, 523–529 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541716
Ellis, L., & Ames, M. A. (1987). Neurohormonal functioning and sexual orientation: A theory of homosexuality–heterosexuality. Psychological Bulletin, 101(2), 233–258. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.101.2.233
Ellis, L. (1986). Evidence of neuroandrogenic etiology of sex roles from a combined analysis of human, nonhuman primate and nonprimate mammalian studies. Personality and Individual Differences, 7(4), 519–552. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(86)90131-5
Ellis, L., & Beattie, C. (1983). The feminist explanation for rape: An empirical test. The Journal of Sex Research, 19(1), 74–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498309551170
Books
Ellis, Lee; Ebertz, Linda [editors] (1998). Males, Females, and Behavior: Toward Biological Understanding ISBN 978-0275959418
Ellis, L., & Ebertz, L. (Eds.). (1997). Sexual orientation: Toward biological understanding. Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group.
Social Stratification and Socioeconomic Inequality: Volume 1: A Comparative Biosocial Analysis
Theories Of Rape: Inquiries Into The Cause Of Sexual Aggression
Biosocial Criminology: Challenging Environmentalism’s Supremacy
Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Crime in Biological, Social, and Moral Contexts
Criminology: A Global Perspective
Sex Differences: Summarizing More Than a Century of Scientific Research
Resources
Science Info Search (scienceinfosearch.com) [archive]
- Lee Ellis
- mail.misu.nodak.edu/~lee.ellis/LeeWeb/index.html [not archived]
- Lee Ellis CV
- mail.misu.nodak.edu/~lee.ellis/LeeWeb/vitae.html [archive]
Minot State University (minotstateu.edu)