S
Sair
Guest
A response I wrote a couple of days ago, before the intarwebs deserted us temporarily:
It could simply be that homosexual inclination is part and parcel of the complex web of human social interaction.
Consider it from a very basic biological, evolutionary viewpoint - homosexual behaviour is inherently non-reproductive, so why would it persist as a genetic predisposition under such circumstances, unless it served a less blatantly obvious purpose in strengthening the survival prospects of offspring?
What seems to have been overlooked in most posts to this thread thus far is the bonding function of intimate sexual behaviour. If we consider this from the point of view of prehistoric human societies, small bands of foragers and hunters, the advantages of intimate bonding within a group are more obvious than they are today, in our individually-orientated societies in which the nuclear family has become a more or less symbolic extension of individualised notions of success.
But human biological inclination does not evolve anywhere near as quickly as artificial technology. Our ancient proclivities have not kept pace with technologically - and subsequently culturally - imposed norms.
Think about this - if you have a group made up of a dozen adults, and the combination is such that there can be six male-female pairs, each of which have their own offspring, there are likely to be a large number of offspring for the adults to care for; alternatively, if you have an arrangement of males and females in which there are only a few reproductive pairs, the ratio of adults to children is larger. If the adults are closely bonded through sexual intimacy, amongst other forms of social sharing, there is mutual interest in the welfare of the group’s offspring. More adults to care for fewer children will lead to stronger, healthier, better-protected children, who will be more likely to survive than children who have only two adults with an interest in their welfare.
So, in response to the question of whether homosexuality represents a ‘genuine’ form of human sexuality, I would say - of course, because human sexual bonding is about far more than straightforward sexual reproduction.
It could simply be that homosexual inclination is part and parcel of the complex web of human social interaction.
Consider it from a very basic biological, evolutionary viewpoint - homosexual behaviour is inherently non-reproductive, so why would it persist as a genetic predisposition under such circumstances, unless it served a less blatantly obvious purpose in strengthening the survival prospects of offspring?
What seems to have been overlooked in most posts to this thread thus far is the bonding function of intimate sexual behaviour. If we consider this from the point of view of prehistoric human societies, small bands of foragers and hunters, the advantages of intimate bonding within a group are more obvious than they are today, in our individually-orientated societies in which the nuclear family has become a more or less symbolic extension of individualised notions of success.
But human biological inclination does not evolve anywhere near as quickly as artificial technology. Our ancient proclivities have not kept pace with technologically - and subsequently culturally - imposed norms.
Think about this - if you have a group made up of a dozen adults, and the combination is such that there can be six male-female pairs, each of which have their own offspring, there are likely to be a large number of offspring for the adults to care for; alternatively, if you have an arrangement of males and females in which there are only a few reproductive pairs, the ratio of adults to children is larger. If the adults are closely bonded through sexual intimacy, amongst other forms of social sharing, there is mutual interest in the welfare of the group’s offspring. More adults to care for fewer children will lead to stronger, healthier, better-protected children, who will be more likely to survive than children who have only two adults with an interest in their welfare.
So, in response to the question of whether homosexuality represents a ‘genuine’ form of human sexuality, I would say - of course, because human sexual bonding is about far more than straightforward sexual reproduction.