October 18, 2006

The gay-Indian connection

Heard an interesting fact on Conan O'Brien last night and found it on Google today. Scientists have identified 1,500 species of animals with homosexual traits. Did these animals opt to be gay as a "lifestyle choice"? I'm guessing not.

How is that relevant to this blog? Conservative Christian Americans were just as sure that Indians were deviants and blasphemers as they are about gays. And they're just as wrong now as they were then. The objective evidence, such as that found in this posting, proves they don't know what the hell they're talking about.

4 comments:

Rob said...

The article in question didn't address the reasons for homosexual behavior in animals in depth. But the brief explanations it did offer had nothing to do with stress or overpopulation. As the project leader noted, "The sexual urge is strong in all animals. ... It's a part of life, it's fun to have sex."

Furthermore, factors such as overpopulation are still natural phenomena. If an animal lives in a certain ecological niche, it often doesn't have an option such as moving elsewhere. If its instinctual response to a natural stressor is homosexuality, I'd say that still falls under the heading of biological programming. Animals don't have "lifestyles" so they can't "choose" to be gay.

But this is far from my area of expertise. If anyone has more information on the subject, feel free to post it.

Rob said...

Comment from a correspondent on the original posting:

Same sex relationships are a natural part of existence--a fact now well-documented scientifically in a recent definitive book: BIOLOGICAL EXUBERANCE by Bruce Bagemihl. It's an excellent work.

From Kirkus Reviews, 11/28/98, via Amazon.com:

"A scholarly, exhaustive, and utterly convincing refutation of the notion that human homosexuality is an aberration in nature. ... Bagemihl does realize that some among us will never be convinced that homosexuality occurs freely and frequently in nature. But his meticulously gathered, cogently delivered evidence will quash any arguments to the contrary."

Rob said...

Amazon.com ranked Biological Exuberance #99,223 in sales as of today.

Among thinking people, it's pretty well established that homosexuality is primarily biological in origin. Among conservatives it may be a different matter.

Rob said...

Conservatives conserve their wealth and privileges, mostly.