Text 179, 187 rader
Skriven 2004-09-27 05:58:00 av Michael Ragland (1:278/230)
Ärende: Re: Darwin's sexual selec
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Below is an excerpt of a book review so you get an appreciation for what
the author's claims are. Bear in mind, the author has an inherent bias
given he->she is a transsexual. She takes on a lot when refuting
Darwin's sexual selection theory. My feeling is that although sexual
diversity does exist in nature, it is certainly not the norm, nor is
homosexuality found often in animal populations. 


I think you're generally right. Sexual diversity e.g. homosexuality does
occur in nature but it is not the norm. How could it be since the
species has to reproduce itself. I think Darwin's sexual selection
theory is valid. As far as homosexuality possibly serving an
evolutionary purpose biologist Marlene Zuk states, "Scientists have
speculated that homosexuality may have an evolutionary purpose, ensuring
the survival of the species. By not producing their own offspring,
homosexuals may help support or nurture their relatives' young. "That is
a contribution to the gene pool." I don't know if it is accurate to
state homosexuality isn't found in most animal populations. Perhaps
you're right but Bagemihl found it in 450 species, still an incredibly
tiny number. It wasn't specified out of that 450 how many were animals
e.g. mammals. I agree with Vasey's statement, "For some people, what
animals do is a yardstick of what is and isn't natural," Vasey said.
"They make a leap from saying if it's natural, it's morally and
ethically desirable." 
But he added: "Infanticide is widespread in the animal kingdom. To jump
from that to say it is desirable makes no sense. We shouldn't be using
animals to craft moral and social policies for the kinds of human
societies we want to live in. Animals don't take care of the elderly. I
don't particularly think that should be a platform for closing down
nursing homes." 

The fact of the matter, however, is we are an animal (just a variation)
and like many other animals exhibit homosexual behavior as a species.
Incidentally, we don't take that good care of our elderly. Also, as a
species it may not be morally and ethically desirable but we engage in
infanticide. We don't exhibit as much homosexual/bisexual behavior as
bonobos so such activity varies in degree and kind from species to
species.

Michael Ragland

Central Park Zoo's gay penguins ignite debate 
Dinitia Smith, New York Times   Saturday, February 7, 2004
  
New York -- Roy and Silo, two chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo
in Manhattan, are completely devoted to each other. For nearly six years
now, they have been inseparable. They exhibit what in penguin parlance
is called "ecstatic behavior": That is, they entwine their necks, they
vocalize to each other, they have sex. Silo and Roy are, to
anthropomorphize a bit, gay penguins. 

When offered female companionship, they have adamantly refused it. And
the females aren't interested in them, either. 

At one time, the two seemed so desperate to incubate an egg together
that they put a rock in their nest and sat on it, keeping it warm in the
folds of their abdomens, said their chief keeper, Rob Gramzay. Finally,
he gave them a fertile egg that needed care to hatch. Things went
perfectly, and a chick, Tango, was born. 
For the next 2 1/2 months they raised Tango, keeping her warm and
feeding her food from their beaks until she could go out into the world
on her own. Gramzay is full of praise. "They did a great job," he said. 

Roy and Silo are hardly unusual. Indeed, scientists have found
homosexual behavior throughout the animal world. 

This growing body of science has been increasingly drawn into charged
debates about homosexuality in American society, on subjects from gay
marriage to sodomy laws, despite reluctance from experts in the field to
extrapolate from animals to humans. Gay groups argue that if homosexual
behavior occurs in animals, it is natural, and therefore the rights of
homosexuals should be protected. 

On the other hand, some conservative religious groups have condemned the
same practices in the past, calling them "animalistic." 


But if homosexuality occurs among animals, does that necessarily mean it
is natural for humans? And that raises a familiar question: If
homosexuality is not a choice, but a result of natural forces that
cannot be controlled, can it be immoral? 

The open discussion of homosexual behavior in animals is relatively new. 

"There has been a certain cultural shyness about admitting it," said
Frans de Waal, whose 1997 book, "Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape" (University
of California Press), unleashed a torrent of discussion about animal
sexuality. 
Bonobos, apes closely related to humans, are wildly energetic sexually.
Studies show that whether observed in the wild or in captivity, nearly
all are bisexual and nearly half their sexual interactions are with the
same sex. Females have been observed to engage in homosexual activity
almost hourly. 

Before his own book, "American scientists who investigated bonobos never
discussed sex at all," said de Waal, director of the Living Links Center
of the Yerkes Primate Center at Emory University in Atlanta. "Or they
sometimes would show two females having sex together, and would say,
'The females are very affectionate.' " 
Then in 1999, Bruce Bagemihl published "Biological Exuberance: Animal
Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" (St. Martin's Press), one of the
first books of its kind to provide an overview of scholarly studies of
same-sex behavior in animals. Bagemihl said homosexual behavior had been
documented in some 450 species. 

Last summer, the book was cited by the American Psychiatric Association
and other groups in a "friend of the court" brief submitted to the
Supreme Court in Lawrence vs. Texas, a case challenging a Texas
anti-sodomy law. The court struck down the law. 

In his book, Bagemihl describes homosexual activity in a broad spectrum
of animals. He asserts that while same-sex behavior is sometimes found
in captivity, it is actually seen more frequently in studies of animals
in the wild. 

Among birds, for instance, studies show that 10 to 15 percent of female
western gulls in some populations in the wild are homosexual. Among
mammals, male and female bottlenose dolphins frequently engage in
homosexual activity, both in captivity and in the wild. Homosexuality is
particularly common among young male dolphin calves. One male may
protect another that is resting or healing from wounds inflicted by a
predator. When one partner dies, the other may search for a new male
mate. 

Male and female rhesus macaques, a type of monkey, also exhibit
homosexuality in captivity and in the wild. Males are affectionate to
each other, touching, holding and embracing. Females smack their lips at
each other and play games like hide-and-seek, peekaboo and follow the
leader. And both sexes mount members of their own sex. 

Some scientists say homosexual behavior in 
animals is not necessarily about sex. Marlene Zuk, a professor of
biology at UC Riverside and author of "Sexual Selections: What We Can
and Can't Learn About Sex From Animals" (University of California Press,
2002), notes that scientists have speculated that homosexuality may have
an evolutionary purpose, ensuring the survival of the species. By not
producing their own offspring, homosexuals may help support or nurture
their relatives' young. "That is a contribution to the gene pool," she
said. 

Janet Mann, a professor of biology and psychology at Georgetown
University who has studied same-sex behavior in dolphin calves, says
their homosexuality "is about bond formation, not about being sexual for
life." 
She said studies show that adult male dolphins form long-term alliances,
sometimes in large groups. As adults, they cooperate to entice a single
female and keep other males from her. Sometimes they share the female,
or they may cooperate to help one male. 

"Male-male cooperation is extremely important," Mann said. The
homosexual behavior of the young calves "could be practicing" for that
later, crucial adult period, she added. 
Scientists warn about drawing conclusions about humans. "For some
people, what animals do is a yardstick of what is and isn't natural,"
Vasey said. "They make a leap from saying if it's natural, it's morally
and ethically desirable." 
But he added: "Infanticide is widespread in the animal kingdom. To jump
from that to say it is desirable makes no sense. We shouldn't be using
animals to craft moral and social policies for the kinds of human
societies we want to live in. Animals don't take care of the elderly. I
don't particularly think that should be a platform for closing down
nursing homes." 

What the animal studies do show, Zuk observed, is that "sexuality is a
lot broader term than people want to think." 
"You have this idea that the animal kingdom is strict, old-fashioned
Roman Catholic," she said, "that they have sex just to procreate." 
In bonobos, she noted: "you see expressions of sex outside the period
when females are fertile. Suddenly, you are beginning to see that sex is
not necessarily about reproduction." 

©2004 San Francisco Chronicle

"It's uncertain whether intelligence has any long term survival value.
Bacteria do quite well without it."
 Stephen Hawking
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