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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
A team of anthropologists and biologists from Canada, Poland, and the U.S., working with researchers at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, has found via meta-analysis of data from prior research efforts that homosexual behavior is far more common in other animals than previously thought. The paper is published in PLOS ONE.
For many years, the biology community has accepted the notion that homosexuality is less common in animals than in humans, despite a lack of research on the topic. In this new effort, the researchers sought to find out if such assumptions are true.
[...] The researchers found that 76% of the studies mentioned observations of homosexual behavior, though they also noted that only 46% had collected data surrounding such behavior—and only 18.5% of those who had mentioned such behavior in their papers had focused their efforts on it to the extent of publishing work with homosexuality as it core topic.
They noted that homosexual behavior observed in other species included mounting, intromission and oral contact—and that researchers who identified as LGBTQ+ were no more or less likely to study the topic than other researchers.
The researchers point to a hesitancy in the biological community to study homosexuality in other species, and thus, little research has been conducted. They further suggest that some of the reluctance has been due to the belief that such behavior is too rare to warrant further study.
More information: Karyn A. Anderson et al, Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey, PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304885
(Score: 4, Interesting) by SomeRandomGeek on Tuesday July 02 2024, @03:33PM (2 children)
Most animal species have straightforward functional sexuality. Cats are a good example. Their reproductive organs are so small that it can be hard to tell one sex from another. They are sexually active once a year at a time that provides the best environment for newborn young. The rest of the year they are basically asexual.
Humans, on the other hand, are hypersexual. We devote a tremendous amount of energy to sexuality. We are sexually active continually, which counteracts our extremely low fertility to provide an approximately correct number of offspring. We have proportionally huge genitals, which provide no functional benefit.
And we evolved this weirdness in the last 8 million years, since we diverged from gorillas (who are not weird.)
As I understand it, most scientists think that we evolved our weirdness because hypersexuality increases social bonding, which provides survival benefits.
That being the case, I'm really surprised that homosexuality in humans is just like all the other animals. Nothing else about human sexuality is just like all the other animals.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday July 02 2024, @03:51PM
>We devote a tremendous amount of energy to sexuality.
It's part of our leisure culture - like dolphins.
I also believe part of the "advantage" homo sapiens has evolved recently is directly derived from our frailty: need to make clothes and secure homes - since we practiced that for a couple of thousand years now we can also make automobiles, skyscrapers, nuclear weapons, etc. Young are mostly helpless for a period of 3-5 years - drives more protective social (gang) behaviors. Shitty sense of smell, marginal hearing, often defective eyesight: all drivers of technology and social networking.
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(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Thursday July 04 2024, @11:26PM
You can follow that line of logic to why human societies frown on homosexuality. Because sex takes up so much energy, it's counterproductive and socially detrimental to have too much unproductive homosexuality, especially during most of history where human life (labor) was in demand.
You can generally see rises in (and acceptance of) homosexuality, as well as many classical vices, whenever societies are too successful and have excess resources (e.g., Roman empire, contemporary first world countries).
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