The Evolution of Same-Sex Attraction

ISBN-13: 9783030539276 / Angielski / Miękka / 2021 / 268 str.

Menelaos Apostolou

Spis treści

Chapter 1: What is to be explained?

Sexual orientation

Transgender people and sexual orientation

Prevalence

The myth of sexual fluidity

Longitudinal studies

Small scale studies

Large scale studies

Retrospective evidence

Is sexual fluidity a real phenomenon?

Sexual arousal and sexual attraction

Chapter 2: The genetic basis of same-sex attraction

The genetic basis of sexual orientation

Family Studies

Twin Studies

The heritability of sexual orientation

Does sexual orientation depend on the environment?

Gender reassignment studies

Molecular Genetic Studies

Chapter 3: Environmental factors affecting same-sex attraction

The environment and same-sex attraction

Aspects of the environment

The fraternal birth order effect

Dysfunctional relationships with parents

Adoption by non-heterosexual parents

Seduction by non-heterosexual individuals

Epıgenetıcs

Chapter 4: Evolutionary theories on same-sex attraction

The fitness cost of same-sex attraction

Same-sex attractions in men

Co-occurrence with another trait that is under positive

Increased fecundity of female relatives

Group benefits

Same-sex alliances

Parental manipulation

Inclusive fitness hypotheses

Same-sex attractions in women

Securing alloparental help

Reduction in conflict in polygynous marriages

Assessing the current evolutionary theories

Chapter 5: Same-sex attraction in human history: Classical Greece, Imperial Rome and Christian Europe

When same-sex attraction first appeared

The hunting and gathering period of human evolution

The agropastoral period of human evolution

Historical evidence

Limitations of the historical record

Classical Greece (5th and 4th centuries BC)

Imperial Rome (27 BC – 395 AD)

Ancient Celts (Greek and Roman times)

Christina Europe (5th – 18th centuries AD)

Christianity and homosexuality

Medieval Europe

Later Christian era- Renaissance- Europe

North American Colonies

Christian focus on marriage and children

Chapter 6: Same-sex attraction in human history: Central and South America, Islamic world, and Asia

Central and South America [15th – 16th century AD]

Islamic world (8th century AD – 20th century AD)

Imperial China (3nd century BC – 20th century AD)

Imperial Japan [10th century AD – 19th century AD]

Pre-modern India [8th century BC – 19th century AD]

Chapter 7: Assessing the evidence from the historical record

Summary of the historical records on same-sex attraction

Making sense of the historical evidence

Same-sex attraction is not a recent phenomenon

Variation in the tolerance for same-sex attraction and contact

The mandatory nature of heterosexual marriage

No instances of institutionalized same-sex marriage

Female same-sex attraction was underreported or ignored

Differentiation between the passive and the active role

Male desire for young men

Evolutionary implications

Chapter 8: The Weak Selection Pressures Hypothesis

How the body is sexed

Genetic mutations

The mutation-similar expression hypothesis

Familiality

Pleiotropy

The weak selection pressures hypothesis

Small phenotypic effect

The shielding effect of being in the “correct” sex

Ancestral preferences

Rarity of same-sex outlets

Chapter 9: The weak selection pressures hypothesis: Regulation of mating, male-male competition and social consequences

From parent-offspring conflict over mating to same-sex attraction

Parent-offspring conflict over mating

Converging genetic interests

Parental control over mating

Male-Male competition and violent conflict

Male-male competition and negative selection on same-sex attraction

Social consequences

Chapter 10: The weak selection pressures hypothesis: Male-tolerance, forced sex and desire to have children

Male tolerance

The costs of cheating

Cheating-protection mechanisms and male tolerance

Tolerance to same-sex infidelity

Tolerance to same-sex attractions

Forced sex mating strategy

The nature of rape

The impact of rape on same-sex attraction

Desire for children

Constraints on weak negative selection

Chapter 11: The male choice hypothesis

Why men prefer women who like women

Protection from cuckoldry

Protection from losing a partner

Gaining access to more women

The nature of the male preference for same-sex attraction and contact

The evolution of male preferences for same-sex attraction and contact

Do men prefer women who like women?

Replication studies

Factors that predict the male preference for same-sex attraction and contact

Short-tern vs. long-term partners

Participation effect

Assortative mating for same-sex attractions

Desire for sexual variety and willingness to have sex without commitment effects

Cultural effects

Variation in preference for same-sex attraction

Why not all men prefer women who are attracted to women

Why some women prefer men who are attracted to men

Chapter 12: Assessing the male choice hypothesis

Confounding variables

Porn consumption

Religiosity

Preference for sexual variety and willingness to have sex without commitment

Criticisms from the general public

Limitations

The strength of positive selection on female same-sex attraction

Preference for same-sex attraction and contact and tolerance to same-sex infidelity

The strength of the male preference

Positive selection from male assortative mating

Other sources of positive selection

Chapter 13: Positive selection on male homosexuality

Same-sex attraction in heterosexual men

Preference for similarity and implications for same-sex attraction in men

Positive selection on male homosexuality

Wealth and conflict

The reduced interfamily conflict hypothesis

Predictions from the model

Strengths and weaknesses

Revisiting the fraternal older brother effect

Some implications

Implications on same-sex attraction on heterosexual men and bisexuality

Chapter 14: The evolution of same-sex attraction in men and women

The model

The evolution of same-sex attraction in women

The evolution of same-sex attraction in men

Evaluating the proposed model

Accounting for the environmental component

Environmental dependence fitness

Mutation

Non-germ mutations

Concluding remarks

O autorze

Dr Menelaos Apostolou is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. He was born in Athens, Greece and he completed his post-graduate and graduate studies in the United Kingdom. He has published several peer-reviewed papers, books and chapters in books in the area of evolutionary psychology.

Blurb

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary origins of same-sex attraction, evaluating multiple existing evolutionary theories. It combines empirical findings with theoretical arguments in order to review evidence on the prevalence rates of same-sex attraction and determine its genetic and environmental basis.

Among the topics addressed:

• Attitudes towards same-sex attraction across human history
• Assessing the weak selection pressures hypothesis of attraction
• Assessing the male choice hypothesis of attraction
• Evolution of same-sex attraction in men versus women

The Evolution of Same-Sex Attraction will be of interest to academics and students of evolutionary and psychological sciences, filling a gap in literature on the origins of specifically same-sex attraction.