ABSTRACT
In his recent book The Pecking Order: Which Siblings Succeed and Why, Conley (2004) examines how siblings can start out on an equal footing in their family yet grow up to differ widely in income, occupational status, and education. We too have been interested in siblings, and our focus has been on the ways in which lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs) compare with heterosexuals. Whereas most Jewish people have Jewish siblings and most Asian Americans have siblings who are also Asian American, what is intriguing about LGBs is that they often have siblings who are heterosexual. True, some LGBs are only children or have siblings who are all lesbian, gay, or bisexual as well, but it is easy to fi nd plenty of LGBs with heterosexual siblings. This provides a naturally-occurring comparison within families.
