Science Blogging

I am a certified Pharyngulite and an ERV fan.

I have new reading obsessions: The Frontal Cortex and Brain Posts.

A month ago, I read this post about Gay animals. Who wouldn't be interested in this? I wonder what the homophobes out there are gonna call this?

My favorite part of the whole article is this:

"The more complex and sophisticated a social system is," she writes, "the more likely it is to have homosexuality intermixed with heterosexuality."

"Nevertheless, most biologists continue to regard homosexuality as a sexual outlier. According to evolutionary theory, being gay is little more than a maladaptive behavior."

"Joan Roughgarden, a professor of biology at Stanford University, wants to change that perception. After cataloging the wealth of homosexual behavior in the animal kingdom two years ago in her controversial book Evolution's Rainbow--and weathering critiques that, she says, stemmed largely from her being transgendered--Roughgarden has set about replacing Darwinian sexual selection with a new explanation of sex. For too long, she says, biology has neglected evidence that mating isn't only about multiplying."

Isn't that enlightening? Those scientists have a point don't they?

Now consider this comment from a reader:

"I think one reason for 'gay' animals might be that animals are horny and stupid.

A bored dog will have a bash at humping a cat*. A dog humping another male dog is not that much different. I've seen a few human-leg-osexual dogs in my time too."

He/She also has a point, eh?

Ah, science... That's what makes it all interesting...