<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+Jul 1 2009, 07:00 PM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ Jul 1 2009, 07:00 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Of course homosexuality existed in ancient India as it existed in every other human culture & exists today, what kind of dumb question is that.
The rest is the usual Freudian like fluff about "repression" bla bla bla.
Most traditional cultures tolerated homosexuality but they did not accept it as being on par with heterosexuality or encourage it which makes sense considering the survival of the species depended on heterosexuality before invitro fertilization. Even the Greeks who are all made out to be enthusiastic homosexuals by motivated gay activists had people opposing it. In "The Laws" Plato says that homosexuality is "para phusin" or "against Nature", just one example.
[right][snapback]99339[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->With "against nature", did Plato mean it doesn't occur in nature or that, because it produces no offspring, it can be regarded as being unproductive, hence (?) "against nature".
Well, if the former, then it may be because Plato didn't get to see National Geographic's entry (was it?) on homosexuality in the animal world - mammals, birds, insects. (Not that NatGeo is the most scientific or reliable of all natural-world/doco-type outlets, but it's infinitely more reliable than say the modern christist unscience that's been clocking overtime to shout down these findings.)
Yes here:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20..._gayanimal.html
<b>Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate</b>
James Owen in London
for National Geographic News
July 23, 2004
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->But, actually, some same-sex birds do do it. So do beetles, sheep, fruit bats, dolphins, and orangutans. Zoologists are discovering that homosexual and bisexual activity is not unknown within the animal kingdom.
Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo have been inseparable for six years now. They display classic pair-bonding behaviorâentwining of necks, mutual preening, flipper flapping, and the rest. They also have sex, while ignoring potential female mates.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Some hypotheses are offered here:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...al-beetles.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Homosexual Beetle Activity Offers Reproductive Edge</b>
Matt Kaplan
for National Geographic News
November 4, 2008
Homosexual activity among male flour beetles can actually increase the insects' chances of reproducing, a new study finds.
This behavior in the 0.13-inch-long (three-millimeter-long) Tribolium castaneum, which can be found infesting flour in most temperate areas, has been observed for decades.
[image:] homosexual beetles
From an evolutionary perspective, why homosexuality exists at all is a mystery. In theory, males should focus their energies on reproducing with females.
"We noticed that these male beetles spent quite a lot of time in this seemingly counterproductive behavior and wondered what was going on, so we set up some experiments to find out," said lead author Sara Lewis, an evolutionary ecologist at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
Her findings appear in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Homosexual behavior has been seen in many animals, including insects, penguins, and primates.
(Related: "Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate" [July 23, 2004].)
Some researchers suggest that male animals need to practice breeding as much as they can before meeting females.
Others argue that males need to get rid of old, less effective sperm before they encounter females.
Some scientists have even asserted that homosexual behavior is a method of exerting social dominance over other males.
Tracking Success
Lewis's team marked individual males and females, then tracked their sexual exploits while simultaneously monitoring the paternity of any offspring born in the group. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Goes over the page.
IIRC, it was Sparta's men who at one point were predominantly homosexual (?), but all had stay-at-home wives for babies as well (to produce future generations of Spartans). If I didn't confuse history entirely, then one can't really envy the Spartan females of that period.
The rest is the usual Freudian like fluff about "repression" bla bla bla.
Most traditional cultures tolerated homosexuality but they did not accept it as being on par with heterosexuality or encourage it which makes sense considering the survival of the species depended on heterosexuality before invitro fertilization. Even the Greeks who are all made out to be enthusiastic homosexuals by motivated gay activists had people opposing it. In "The Laws" Plato says that homosexuality is "para phusin" or "against Nature", just one example.
[right][snapback]99339[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->With "against nature", did Plato mean it doesn't occur in nature or that, because it produces no offspring, it can be regarded as being unproductive, hence (?) "against nature".
Well, if the former, then it may be because Plato didn't get to see National Geographic's entry (was it?) on homosexuality in the animal world - mammals, birds, insects. (Not that NatGeo is the most scientific or reliable of all natural-world/doco-type outlets, but it's infinitely more reliable than say the modern christist unscience that's been clocking overtime to shout down these findings.)
Yes here:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20..._gayanimal.html
<b>Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate</b>
James Owen in London
for National Geographic News
July 23, 2004
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->But, actually, some same-sex birds do do it. So do beetles, sheep, fruit bats, dolphins, and orangutans. Zoologists are discovering that homosexual and bisexual activity is not unknown within the animal kingdom.
Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo have been inseparable for six years now. They display classic pair-bonding behaviorâentwining of necks, mutual preening, flipper flapping, and the rest. They also have sex, while ignoring potential female mates.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Some hypotheses are offered here:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...al-beetles.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Homosexual Beetle Activity Offers Reproductive Edge</b>
Matt Kaplan
for National Geographic News
November 4, 2008
Homosexual activity among male flour beetles can actually increase the insects' chances of reproducing, a new study finds.
This behavior in the 0.13-inch-long (three-millimeter-long) Tribolium castaneum, which can be found infesting flour in most temperate areas, has been observed for decades.
[image:] homosexual beetles
From an evolutionary perspective, why homosexuality exists at all is a mystery. In theory, males should focus their energies on reproducing with females.
"We noticed that these male beetles spent quite a lot of time in this seemingly counterproductive behavior and wondered what was going on, so we set up some experiments to find out," said lead author Sara Lewis, an evolutionary ecologist at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
Her findings appear in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Homosexual behavior has been seen in many animals, including insects, penguins, and primates.
(Related: "Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate" [July 23, 2004].)
Some researchers suggest that male animals need to practice breeding as much as they can before meeting females.
Others argue that males need to get rid of old, less effective sperm before they encounter females.
Some scientists have even asserted that homosexual behavior is a method of exerting social dominance over other males.
Tracking Success
Lewis's team marked individual males and females, then tracked their sexual exploits while simultaneously monitoring the paternity of any offspring born in the group. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Goes over the page.
IIRC, it was Sparta's men who at one point were predominantly homosexual (?), but all had stay-at-home wives for babies as well (to produce future generations of Spartans). If I didn't confuse history entirely, then one can't really envy the Spartan females of that period.