Thoughts on Ev Psych
Like all things, homosexuality is both biological and sociologically influenced. And if homosexuality is indeed hereditary, the “gay gene” can still only be passed down by heterosexual copulation. While exclusive homosexuality is rare (most homosexual men actually lose their virginity to a woman earlier than straight men) it seems like society is slowly becoming more accepting.
So, as gay marriage brings the pressures of monogamy and youthful experimentation with homosexuality is considered a little more normal and less of something to hide (or cover with bearded relationships), should we see a decrease in the proliferation of the gene? I would think that the gay gene find it harder and harder to be passed on to another generation. Obviously it would take a long time for such changes to be noticeable, if I wouldn’t be surprised if ultimately the data showed a peak and then a gradual decline–that is of course if the conditions remain stable.
And from “Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters“:
“If a woman meets a strange man, she has no basis on which to form an opinion of him. He can be a high-quality man, or he can be a low-quality man; she just doesn’t know. However, if he has a wife, that means that at least one woman, who presumably closely inspected his quality before marrying him, found him good enough to marry. So he couldn’t be that bad after all; at least one woman found him desirable. So being married is one cross-culturally transportable ornamentation or lekking device that signifies men’s superior mate value.”
So it seems like a rather small leap to apply informational cascades to sexual selection. It takes but a small patterned consistency to tip it either negatively or positively in the way of a cascade: yes, no, yes, yes yes yes ad infinitum. But the converse is that they can be thrown off equally easily. I’m not sure if the statistical data bears it out by I would imagine that each subsequent divorce makes a mate less attractive to a potential mate. That is, if you had subjects rate identical hypothetical suitors, each divorce on their record would lead to a substantial decrease in appeal. And this is probably why rejection breeds rejections or the whole “when it rains, it pours” aspect of dating.
That’s very interesting. I haven’t read any of the latest research, but I didn’t think that it had been widely accepted that homosexuality was genetically linked. In fact, I thought I saw some studies that showed children of a homosexual were not more likely to be homosexual than other children. I think another hypothesis is that it is some sort of mistake (for lack of a nicer word), which could happen to anybody. I’m thinking along the lines of gender identity disorders, which may be caused by receiving the wrong sex hormone at the wrong time in the womb.
Anyway, it’s an interesting idea that if it is genetically inherited, then it is a gene that is not conducive to its own survival, and could eventually decline in prevalence.
Homosexuality is almost certainly genetic in someway. And there is only ONE WAY for genes to be passed around: heterosexual reproduction.
we have talked about this a lot in my gender class.
I dont think it would be to far off basis to say that we all have the genotype to be bisexual at least but its the phenotype which i guess same as height or other aspects of our life that are influenced by environment.
Because a lot people who are gay or straight have had experiences with the other side even if it was only once.
But the real thing is why people have to have everything so clearly defined. Everyone needs to have a box to check and worrying what other people are checking, instead of just living their own life.
Dont get me started on religion.
Your first paragraph is tenuous at best, pointless at worst. Dude, one of the great things about a careful study of evolutionary psychology is the vehement emphasis on rigorous thinking and built-in bias against “just so” stories. You are a smart kid, but you don’t have enough understanding of this field to write about it without looking foolish to those who do get the field.
Have you read The Adapted Mind yet? Do not write anything else about evpsych until you read that. It is absolutely required reading for anyone who wants to speak intelligently about this field.