What's the purpose of homosexuality in humans?

[Virge]

By all means, continue.

BTW, I didn't have any difficulty understanding what you were saying. You're asking the question in evolutionary terms because it is counterintuitive IF the sole purpose of sex is procreation (which as you rightly note it is not). What survival advantage does non breeding adults in a family, clan or tribe, have? You've put forward a reasonable hypothesis. Personally I think there's more to it but I don't know fuck and it sounds like you've not only been thinking about this but doing so in the context of research.

Please, continue!

Mike I've talked to you in emails about my problems moving things from the "drawing board" into words.. This is a big one with many complex interlinked parts... it'd take me explaining how all social animals except pelagic fishes have adapted sexually to #A. Best continue a family bloodline and #B. benefit the overall species. ants, termites, wasps, seals, many fishes, birds, mammals, and even us humans and homosexuality does it for us the same way hormonal suppression of adulthood does it mole rats. Read up on what happens when a queen mole rat dies... AND GUESS WHAT??? all of it is done with hormones, not genes... just like homosexuality in humans.

[Borg69]

What's the purpose of brown hair in humans? Or green eyes?

I think species (including humans) have always been experiencing genetic mutations/abnormalities. Probably most of the time, they're a complete failure. Once in a while, it benefits the species in their environment, and becomes the dominate gene. Brown hair and green eyes might not absorb as much sun light and be cooler in warmer climates. They might have also seen it as more desirable in choosing a mate ( think of peacocks). Probably how the various races came into being over the last few million years.

[MikeW]

The prospect of reading up on the hormonal consequences of dead queen mole rats is truly stimulating.



ETA:

[MikeW]

...Probably how the various races came into being over the last few million years.

Uh, the oldest 'modern human' (homo sapiens) fossil is only about 200,000 years. "Racial" differentiation had to have taken place within that. (I put it in quotes because what constitutes "racial" is highly debatable and questionable science.)

[Iceblink]

Something interesting I read just today that I found posted elsewhere.
Born this way? An evolutionary view of ‘gay genes’
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-med...enes’

I found this part particularly interesting:

But rather than thinking of them as “gay genes”, perhaps we should consider them “male-loving genes”. They may be common because these variant genes, in a female, predispose her to mate earlier and more often, and to have more children.

Yay! I got the male-loving gene!

[Iceblink]

And I want ML added to LGBTQQIP2SAA because I'm no longer going by gay. From now on I'm labeling myself as male-loving.

[Virge]

The prospect of reading up on the hormonal consequences of dead queen mole rats is truly stimulating.



ETA:

She dies and then her next oldest daughter who might be 5 years old and never reached sexual maturity because of hormones her mother excreted goes through a complete physical transformation, growing 30% longer and maturing into a breeding female in just a matter of 6 weeks

Mike the best way to help me explain this is ask me to explain things and I can respond to that specific thing rather than ramble.

[MikeW]

What would be the environmental causes of hormonal changes leading clan mothers to give birth to male loving boys?

[Borg69]

Uh, the oldest 'modern human' (homo sapiens) fossil is only about 200,000 years. "Racial" differentiation had to have taken place within that. (I put it in quotes because what constitutes "racial" is highly debatable and questionable science.)

Argh. I saw a documentary on "Lucy" the other day, and was including her 'species' as humanoid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_%28Aus...ithecus%29
"Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago."

... and I kinda meant ALL species (including plants, insects, fish...) have mutations since the beginning... WHENEVER that was.

[Virge]

Something interesting I read just today that I found posted elsewhere.
Born this way? An evolutionary view of ‘gay genes’
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-med...enes’

I found this part particularly interesting:


Yay! I got the male-loving gene!

OKay... important here to stress #1.the gene is shown to give men a tendency towards but they don't say how many heteros carry the gene and show no same sex attraction... and
#2. if human homosexuality is ever proven to be caused by genetics and genetics alone we will be the only species whose sexual variances are not caused by hormones. Do you want to place a bet on those odds?