Homosexuality and Overpopulation

My friend is doing a research project on the tendency of lab rats towards homosexuality when their colony becomes overpopulated. The universe has a mystifying way of taking care of itself. Anyone have any ideas about this theory?

 

No ideas, but comments&questions.
I heard that only dolphins and humans have sex for pleasure, so do these rats mate during 'heat' only, or seemingly for pleasure?
I totally suspect that there is a correlation between overpopulation and homosexuality, that being the human organism self-regulating process.

 

Thats a very intriguing idea...maybe it IS a type of evolution, or miracle. Wonder what the human history of homosexuality is???

 

Are you straight, Scarlit?

 

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That study was carried out a very, very, long time ago.
I would be interested to know what your friend is adding to the research.


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as a theory...it doesn't seem to be working...the population is exploding, and gay is becoming mainstream.

 

I often think that we place too much trust on the idea that animals are just like people when doing such tests. Even of the population of "gay" mice does rise, what does that tell you about people? Because I'm not sure that there are more homosexuals because of overpopulation. I'm not even sure there are more homosexuals, or just more people that are "out of the closet".

Besides, how would that explain bisexuality?

 

Why didn't I ever think of that?

That makes a lot of sense.

 

However... if that is the case, then how come there isn't a gay population of 50 or 60%? We are more than a little overpopulated.

 

I think we are overpopulated, so abortion should defienntly stay, and gayness should be supportted

 

Yuck I don't like those words..

 

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I don't believe a theory has been stated. Like I said, I would be interested to hear it. What we have is speculation based on some vague idea of a study.

We have to be careful when we ascribe observations of animal phenomena to human behavior. Even though rats behave entirely on a corporeal level, this is only true of some humans.

Birds will peck to death a member of their flock that seems to be ailing from nothing less than a scratch. Again, only true of some humans ( ) and nothing we would ascribe to human nature or the human condition.

Promoting this very old and incomplete study does little to educate us. In fact it seems to support the contention of the left wing, or those few who do believe in Darwin's Theory; It brings Homosexuality down to the basest level. Sex.

My belief of how Darwin relates to Homosexuality is that Queer folk serve a greater purpose within the human condition. For instance, I believe there is a correlation between awarding Gays and Lesbians positions of religious authority and our purpose; You find this same practice in stone age societies as well as our own. It could be argued that human societies would not have developed moral values without the help of gays and lesbians.

Please folks, don't let the str8 canon that states our purpose influence you. It is insidious. For years we have been told that we are base and merely sexual. Don't believe them, my queer friends. The world has yet to see all the gifts which are to be presented by the GLBT community, the least of which is sexual liberation.


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Darwin practically states that those developments, innovations, or adaptations which are positively affecting reproduction will stay; those that aren't will not last the test of generations. I, in big lines, agree.

However, human nature seems to complicate things a bit as - now that us westerners have become such a dominant part of this planet, live thrice as long as we did only three thousand years ago (in evolutionary terms, the blink of an eye), and are overall rich enough not to need a horde of kids to support us after we've stopped working or are ill - we are (consequently) no longer compelled to have as many children as we used to be. Enter homosexuality, a development not aimed at enhancing productivity, but rather discouraging it. This only seems to happen in very rich, 'civilised' if you will, societies. The richest of the ancient Greek city-states had relatively loose rules concerning sexuality, and so have we Europeans and Americans.

Peoples that don't have an average life span of - a for our size definitely whopping - 75 years, are struggling to survive in years the harvest is sub-par, and certainly would perish without having their kids helping out with getting by, don't know homosexuality. Not in a way like we do, anyway. If they do, it might be ridden with symbolism. For example, with some indigenous american peoples, one could easily switch gender. As a man, all you had to do was to declare you were now a woman, and of course act like one, dress like one, etcetera, and it was accepted. In fact it was more than that; it would make you holy. People would want to take you into their families so they'd have more status, heterosexual men would actually want to marry you. And for women, this was exactly the same.
However, that the entire tribe wasn't saturated with cross-dressers if it made you holy, that it was rare for such people to pop up, to me that shows that these people were probably quite honest in their transgenderedness.

So yeah, I'm kicking my own evolutionist theory to death right now but I'm just philosophising a little here. People who knew me would know that I'm not a big fan of water-proof theories and undebunkable statements anyway.

 

Yea, lets all support baby killing why dont we.

 

Most of you talk like homosexuality hasnt been around that long. Being gay is so mainstream these days that more people are coming out. Its a ridiculous theory that homosexuality is evolution trying to rid the human race of over population. Instead of focusing on homosexuality as an abnormality and finding its roots, maybe the research should be directed more towards the fact that maybe, just possibly (its only a theory) that homosexuality has always been. Maybe its a natural feeling that some of us have to be attracted to the same sex. The only problem is focusing on homosexuality "as" a problem.

 

I was talking about the correlation of homosexuality as a solution to population issues in the same way that you're talking about it as a problem.

Anyway, I'm fascinated by a lot of what's been said here. HTKingBaby, I've wondered a lot and heard about other cultures that are quite.. reverent to homosexuality. In particular, [at least some] Native American tribes apparently hold it as sacred. (By the way, I'm quite honestly considering leaving my culture and going to join a tribe of some sort.. ever read 'Ishmael'-Daniel Quinn? If you havent, I now formally recommend it to you )
As you say, hipunk, the GBLT community does have a lot to offer. As evidence of such from my own experience, I feel that my lack of parallelity with heterosexual culture has given me many gifts of insight into media, relationship and presentness/myself that I suspect I would not have experienced had I been totally caught up in, well, sexual feelings

 

Thanks so much I love the insight


Be Kind to Earth, Kind to Others, & Kind to Yourself