Anthropological perspective on homosexuality?

Question

What is the current anthro perspective on homosexuality?

Please no moral/religiously bias comments, this is strictly anthropological.

Answer 1

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2...

http://www.aaanet.org/committees/cfhr/sy...

http://books.google.com/books?id=390MT6r...

Answer 2

you can simplify this perspective. as a collector or observer of culture in any form primitive or advanced, it would not objectify the cultural patterns, merely accept and learn from, not change them. so i suggest a response specific to the culture it occurs in to have more value.

Answer 3

I saw a report that suggested g**s passed on their heritage as being good uncles. While they didn't pass their genes on, their support of families and their sibling's children ensured a new generation.

Answer 4

Don't really know re Anthropology perspectives but my theory is that homosexuality has always existed and it might be natures way of not having too many alpha males running around and causing havoc in whatever "tribe" and selecting those Adonises to be parents to stronger children (dunno about these days though as females maybe go for nerds and good money-making potential sometimes??) not like way back when you had to be a d**n good hunter to keep the chicks happy??   Anyway maybe men could be more attracted to other men if the chicks don't want them but no that can't be right can it?? as it is more a genetic leaning I think.   It might be natures way of keeping some people from breeding without threatening the survival of the species.

Answer 5

Rare physical anthropological and more common medical research focuses on the physiological differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals, including gene differences and neurological differences like a larger and differently shaped hypothalamus in homosexuals.  Physical anthropology has seldom had access to preserved soft tissue evidence, such as body organs, to examine evolutionary development of homosexuality.  But, with rapid advances in DNA science, archives of archaeological bone tissue may now be examined to identify early human homosexual differences in genes, but, I am unaware if that research is being conducted.  s*x in a species actually evolves.  It would be quite fascinating to examine the evolution of homosexuality and their gametes somehow.  Medical embryology, where many of the secrets from the past are revealed, has not really entered the exploration of this subject, yet, as much as it should be.

Anthropology and medicine recognizes homosexuality in primates, including human, as a mutation that probably occurred DURING the binary gamete (ova -sperm)reproduction system  evolutionary development in some multicellular organism that was our common ancestor.  BUT, there isn't any research really confirming that.  I don't think there's even any research focused on the gametes of homosexuals.  Are there any differences in their gametes?  If so, homosexuality would probably be some genetic backup "third" s*x, perhaps.  There are no known multicellular species with third sexes, but species, like some ants, can have two kinds of females and one kind of male.  The process remains binary.  But s*x evolves continuously in a species.

All species that evolved from that multicelluar organism, which includes all of the Animal Kingdom, carry the genes for that "mutation".  Genetically expressed homosexuality is found throughout the Animal Kingdom but because DNA science is new not much is coming out yet about any evolutionary histories or commonalities throughout the Animal Kingdom related to those "homosexual" genes. Cultural anthropologists find recorded evidence of homosexuality in all early tribes and cultures of humans.  Pre-human evidence of homosexuality is presumed based on observations of homosexuality in all other primates.  Homosexuality is not usually scorned in a society unless fascist cultural movements are present.

Long ago, humans grouped the "elements" of nature in four simple groups: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.  Later, we learned that everything is constructed of tangled-up energy, energy that tangles up in over a hundred ways, not just four ways.  See the Periodic Chart of Elements.  We do the same simple grouping with s*x: Male-Female, just two simple groups.  In actuality, all human s*x characteristics and chemistries CLUSTER into two groups that we call "male" and "female" but those characteristics and chemistries flow between a full spectrum of extremes with a continuous representation of humans throughout the spectrum.  Our "s*x" is really rather unique to each individual.

I always sorta thought that homosexuality was somewhere in that full-spectrum of the binary reproduction set of genes.  But, with gross physiological differences like the larger hypothalamus, homosexuals are clearly on a different evolutionary bell curve all their own, at least sexually (?) as are we all are as sexual individuals.  I have difficulty perceiving homosexuality as a mutation, and we do not know if it is.  I have no basis for this opinion, just a feeling related to being a naturalist, that Nature would not have allowed  unnecessary genes to survive.  And, the appearance of homosexuality is so early in the evolution of Life.  Certainly errors and mistakes and mutations occur.  But, they do not survive for as long as homosexuality, which actually emerged at the same time as our binary "Male and Female" nature.  While some superstitious magical-thinking people today refer to as a "mistake" (homosexuality) might very well be some secret species survival rabbit-in-the-hat that Nature programmed us with to save our species someday.  Christian/Judeo cultures have corrupted our objectivity in this matter.

Answer 6

I've heard it theorized that homosexuality is a natural byproduct of dense population, most likely to slow down overpopulation.

Answer 7

I would think you would want the biological findings on homosexuality, but suit yourself

Answer 8

Maybe evolutionary perspective, possibly mutation. Could also be survival of the species through enabling one gender to continue perhaps as humans we are all evolving and homosexuallity will become more common.