Werner10.30

Biology, Psychology and Anthropology

Anthropological Studies

Many anthropologists feel somewhat frustrated with the biological and psychological work on male homosexuality because it seems to account so poorly for the cross-cultural variation in male-male sexual relations. This variation is so great that it seems impossible even to define homosexuality in a cross-culturally valid way. To find causes of homosexuality that are cross-culturally valid seems preposterous. For example, Dickemann (1993) cites the case of homosexuality in medieval Europe. She argues that during the period of Charlemagne parents simply decided that their last born son would adopt homosexuality, and apparently the parental decisions were followed. When we consider the even more "exotic" cultures of New Guinea (Herdt 1993; Kelly 1974), the arbitrariness of cultural definitions of homosexuality seems even clearer. In societies like the Sambia or Etoro, all boys are expected to have sexual relations with older males. Indeed, people believe that the boys' maturation would be impossible if they did not receive semen from the older males. Among the Etoro sexual relations between men and women are taboo most days of the year, although homosexual relations are constantly encouraged.