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The Evolution of Human Homosexual Behavior.

Kirkpatrick, Plato, Lévi-Strauss

    Current Anthropology
    |April 18, 2000
    PubMed
    Summary
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    Homosexuality may have evolved through reciprocal altruism, where same-sex alliances offer reproductive advantages. This challenges kin selection and supports parental manipulation as less likely evolutionary drivers.

    Area of Science:

    • Evolutionary Psychology
    • Anthropology
    • Behavioral Biology

    Background:

    • Homosexuality presents an evolutionary paradox, challenging traditional views of adaptation measured by reproductive success.
    • Understanding the evolutionary origins of non-reproductive behaviors like homosexuality is crucial for behavioral science.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To review and compare three adaptationist hypotheses for the evolution of homosexuality.
    • To assess the validity of kin selection, parental manipulation, and reciprocal altruism in explaining homosexual behavior.

    Main Methods:

    • Review of existing adaptationist hypotheses.
    • Comparison of hypotheses with anthropological and primatological literature.
    • Analysis of evidence for reproductive advantages of same-sex alliances.

    Related Experiment Videos

    Main Results:

    • Little evidence supports kin selection; homosexual members do not appear to confer lineage reproductive advantages through offspring care.
    • Moderate support exists for parental manipulation, as parents sometimes influence children's reproductive decisions and homosexual behavior.
    • Strongest support is for reciprocal altruism, where homosexual behavior maintains beneficial same-sex alliances, observed in nonhuman primates and potentially early humans.

    Conclusions:

    • Homosexual behavior is partly an emergent quality of human same-sex affiliation, with reciprocal altruism offering the most compelling evolutionary explanation.
    • While adaptationist explanations are valuable, they do not fully account for human sexual behavior, highlighting the role of social and historical factors.