Anderson said the perception that same-sex sexual behaviour was rare in animals had fed into a narrative that it was “unnatural” in humans.
“I think that record should be corrected,” she said. “One thing I think we can say for certain is that same-sex sexual behaviour is widespread and natural in the animal kingdom.”
Lots of behaviour is widespread and natural, but do we really need to see it all in nature documentaries, breathlessly narrated by David Attenborough? We've got popular sci-fi for that sort of thing.
Respondents said they were not influenced by sociopolitical concerns, but many remarked that journals appeared biased against publishing anecdotal reports compared with systematic studies.
Showing they perhaps had more of an eye to social norms than the researchers.
Josh Davis, of the Natural History Museum in London and author of A Little Gay Natural History, said: “Around 1,500 species have been observed showing homosexual behaviours, but this is certainly an underestimate because it’s seen in almost every branch of the evolutionary tree – spiders, squids, monkeys.
“There’s a growing suggestion it’s normal and natural to almost every species,” he added.
“It’s probably more rare to be a purely heterosexual species.”
The spiders are probably just avoiding becoming a post-coital snack...
In the past, same-sex sexual behaviours were often framed as a “Darwinian paradox” – apparently contradicting the evolutionary pressure to survive and reproduce. There is growing evidence, however, that some same-sex sexual behaviours can have evolutionary advantages. In black swans, male-male couples frequently court each other, steal eggs, raise chicks together and are more successful in ensuring these chicks’ survival than heterosexual swan pairs.
Misogyny wins again?
7 comments:
So if the eggs are not the Black Swans how does raising the chicks from other swans confer an evolutionary advantage on them?
So if the eggs are not the Black Swans how does raising the chicks from other swans confer an evolutionary advantage on them?
Buggered if I know ....
A Dimbleby documentary some years ago, suggested that same sex between animals and insects was more of dominance over another, rather than sexual desire. Similar to rape in human species, whether homosexual or heterosexual, I suppose. I do, because I can. One example was of s pig 'raping' another male which had challenged for leadership of the sty, and failed. However, what do I know? Neither a studentship human or animal behaviour. Perhaps it shows that, no matter what we have achieved, we have not risen far enough above the animal kingdom.
Penseivat
My reply is at Julia on Gab, reprised at N.O. :)
and mammals all over the world prey on and kill the weaker species.
That is natural behavior yet we frown on that. Funnily enough just as we used to frown on homosexuality.
I'm awaiting until preying on the snitch up the road is deemed natural, can't have long to go now.
There was a programme many years ago, I think it was hosted by the young David Attenborough, who suggested that, rather than a sexual attraction, it was a domination thing between the various creatures, especially when there was an attempted takeover of a group. The winner would 'rape' the loser to show he was the alpha male, and because 'he could'. The example was a group of pigs where two were fighting for dominance and the loser paid the price (the things they showed on the Beeb in those days).
Today, psychologists are suggesting that human rape is less to do with a sexual attraction, but an example of extreme dominance.
If true, it shows that we haven't really progressed that much since climbing down from the trees.
Penseivat
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