Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bisexuality in the Animal Kingdom

The following Scientific American MIND article concludes that many animal species in which same-sex mating behaviors have occurred are really more bisexual than homosexual; they do not display the stark division between "homosexual" and "heterosexual" that we tend to see in human adults (especially men), but rather a fluid continuum of bisexuality---the kind of thing that we in the LGBT community keep saying exists, but psychologists haven't really found in humans:http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bisexual-species

Where should this new knowledge lead us? If all penguins are bi, should we also conclude that all humans are bi? Where should we fit in "situational homosexuality," such as the disproportionate amount of gay sex which occurs in sex-restricted environments like boarding schools and the military? (Yes, that's right; according to studies, even under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, a higher percentage of US soldiers have reported homosexual contacts than the general population!)

Is the continuum a more accurate representation, or are humans different from other animals? Why is it that research has shown human sexual orientation to be substantially less fluid than either what the LGBT community has suggested or what we seem to find in other animals? (Typically studies find that human sexual orientation is about 90% heterosexual, and maybe 5% homosexual and 5% bisexual, and that it usually does not change throughout adulthood; whereas bonobos or penguins seem to be roughly 80% bisexual, 15% heterosexual, and 5% homosexual.) Are the studies biased? Is culture holding us back?

Thoughts?

--Patrick.

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