Natural selection favours those that have the most offspring. Why, then, are there still homosexuals?

Question

This isn't a homophobic question, rather a scientific one. Natural selection, the well-proven driver of evolution, selects those that have reproductive superiority over other members of the species. Those that leave offspring with better fitness eventually spread their genes throughout the population.

Gay men and women who never reproduce should be selected against if genes are involved in homosexuality. Yet, up to 10% of humans may be gay. Why are gays still with us?

Answer 1

I read an article about that five years ago. The theory was that homosexuals protected and helped find food for the children within their family units because they were not encumbered with children of their own. In other words, they would gather food and protect their nieces and nephews. Those families that had homosexuals in their group were more likely to survive. Also, if you remember your history, homosexuality was encouraged in at least the Greek army as male lovers were fiercer fighters to protect each other. This may have been the case in earlier times.

Answer 2

I would not say that natural selection favors those that have the most offspring, that is the very reason why they must have more offspring, to ensure their propagation in the gene pool. I would say that there is 'safety in numbers', however some species only have one offspring like humans and we are the dominant species on the planet.

Having more offspring is a result of the evoltuion of reproduction in organisms. Some organisms offspring have a very small chance for survival, others have a great chance and still have fewer offspring.

Natural selection is just a process by which organims are able to adapt to their environment and reproduce. An organsim's 'fitness' is determined by whether its offspring reproduce, if the offspring do not reproduce then the parent is not 'fit'.

Come on people, there is all types of homosexuality in monkeys and other animals. If you think this is something new and created by humans, you are sadly mistaken. It is a perfectly natural thing for animals to do in the wild. However, humans have placed a social stigma on it. So many think it to be unnatural, even though they will take their children to the zoo and watch the monkeys going at it, they still fail to realize that in the wild it is natural, however it is not conducive of successful reproduction. Recently some researchers have found an area in the brain that is different in homosexuals than heterosexuals, but still there is not enough evidence to say whether homosexuality stems from DNA or environment.

Homosexuality is something that people over analyze. It is simply two organsims giving sexual and emotional pleasure to one another. If an organism that is homosexual never has any offspring that reproduce then that organism is not 'fit' and his/her DNA will not be passed on.

If you would like an evolutionary aspect as to why there are homosexuals it would be very difficult because it is almost impossible to measure the human mind. Some people are homosexual because it is natural for them to be so, however others choose to be. We would have to figure out what % of homosexuals are also bi-sexual. If they are bi-sexual it would mean that they have a better chance of reproducing. A more interesting answer would be that the world's popuation is increasing at an exponential rate. The more people there are the more of every kind of person there will be. The bigger the world gets the more competetion there is for resources and fewer and fewer babies are being born.

Innate homosexuality could be a way of mother nature controlling the population of the world. But, then again, there are so many factors that play a role in this I don't think anyone can say for certain.

This question encompasses more than just biology, it is culture, environment, psychology...etc. There is not one right answer to this question but I think a better question would be not why are there still homosexuals, rather what is homosexuality itself and why is it present in some organsims and not others?

Answer 3

More and more evidence is showing that homosexuality is caused by defects in the brain. Scientists are hypothesizing that these changes are occurring due to stress in the whom. When brains of homosexuals are studied, they are finding that some women share characteristics more common of a male brain. The reverse is also true. Some people are literally born with an overdose of the wrong hormone whether it be testosterone or estrogen. This is why in identical twin studies, if one twin is gay, the likely hood that the other will be is greater then 50%. I do believe there are some who participate in these activities like they're some sort of trend though. AKA the "college years". But it does explain why some people truly feel opposite of what their physical appendages say.

Answer 4

Assuming that there is a genetic basis to homosexuality, the phenotype - a person to be openly homosexual - is dependent not only on genetics but also environmental factors. So in the past, a person may carry a homosexual genotype and may be pre-disposed to homosexuality but it was not accepted in society and was forced to marry from the other sex and having offspring, thus passing the homosexual genetics on to their offspring. So now that homosexuals live they way the want with less societal pressure to not, again assuming that there is a genetic basis, their genes will not be passed on and less 'homosexual genes' will be in the future population gene pool.

Answer 5

Because they can adopt the offsprings heterosexuals don't want therefore bettering the world one child at a time. Note: this does not mean that when homosexuals adopt children their children with be homosexuals as well. Sexual orientation has nothing to with genetics, its just a choice one makes.

Answer 6

Because the gene that determines sexuality isn't one for "gay" or "straight" opposites, but for points on a spectrum, if there is even a gene. The simple reason is that enough people with the gene end up bisexual instead of homosexual to be able to pass it on. But since most people ignore bisexuality, it seems like a dichotomic impossibility, right?
My own personal theory is that there isn't a gene at all. Everyone is bisexual to some degree. The only difference is how you were raised and to what degree you are willing to accept your sexual fluidity as a human being. We are all capable of making the decision to pursue partners of either sex, but most people aren't comfortable doing so, thus they end up in one of two groups recognized as legitimate. Everyone else is seen as an anomaly by that dual sexualized majority, gay and straight, and isn't accepted as a normal member of the sexual equation.
But once we realize that everyone is really bisexual and that we only differ by degrees, the discussion of these matters, and life in general, will become exponentially simpler.

Answer 7

Natural selection as you write of it applies More to the animal, plant species rather than human for we possess intellect, emotions etc and in general we usually don't select mates based on natural selection. Natural selection also refers to species etc and gays are not a species apart from heterosexuals but both the human species. Within that alleged 10% of the gene pool its not natural selection involved but a digression of x and y in the chromosomes and its not all genetic.some is also what occurs in the developmental years and possible abuse before adulthood.

Answer 8

2 explanations that I can think of:

1. It takes thousands of generations to completely eliminate something that does not contribute to reproduction. How long has homosexuality been around? I'd be willing to say that it's only a few thousand years old.

2. Homosexuals still have the biological capability to reproduce, they just CHOOSE not to, so there's really no reason to eliminate them.

Answer 9

I'm totally pulling this from my butt....but.....
Human beings have taken over the world. Our habitat is everywhere. There are over 6 billion of us. Homosexuality would presumably slow the spread of humans. And there's selection pressure there as well because obviously we can't keep spreading because we'll run out of things like food and places to live.

Answer 10

I too believe homosexuality is a choice and a spiritual problem. There are now many ex-homosexuals who have renounced the life style, and realize it is just another sin caused by the temptation of the devil. Whether you have any kind of sex is a choice, and who you have sex with is a choice, so certainly what gender is a choice. Why should "I was born disposed that way " be any more of an excuse for sinful sex than for sinful murder?

Answer 11

so far as i know there is no genetic predisposition to be gay. obviously most homosexuals have hetero parents, with the exception of a few... well, closet cases i guess.
I have never heard that children of gay couples that have children via sperm donor or surrogate mother have any greater chance of homosexuality than any one else.
homosexuality is not really genetic, any more than say being inteligent or graceful. some people are, some arent, just at random