Werner20.10

Evolutionary Theories for Homosexuality

Biological Adaptation and Male Homosexuality

There are at least three different levels at which homosexuality may be seen as adaptive, and each of these levels has its own implications with regard to how homosexuality manages to continue among humans. At the most concrete level, we might posit genetic differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals. I'll call this the "genetic" level. Some biological studies seem to support this view. At a more "abstract" level, we might assume that homosexuals and heterosexuals have the same genes, but that during ontogeny universal genetically determined "programs" get "switched on" or "switched off" depending on environmental influences. Thus, people may have the same genotypes, but these genotypes may produce different phenotypes in different situations. This might be called the "epigenetic" level. Many theories (including Freudian ideas) about the psychological dynamics behind homosexuality are of this type. At the most abstract level, homosexuality might be unrelated to genetic differences or to universal genetic programs that determine ontogeny. Instead, homosexuality may be culturally determined in a manner far removed from direct genetic influences. Following Dawkins' (1976), we might call this the "memic" level.