in 1993, burr wrote a cover story, "homosexuality and biology", for "the atlantic". the story became the basis for his first book "a separate creation: the search for the biological origins of sexual orientation" (1996), which investigated sexual orientation research. "a separate creation" was published by hyperion, a subsidiary of the walt disney company, and its argument that sexual orientation is inborn prompted a call by southern baptists to boycott disney films and theme parks.