The Old Weblog

Last night, I got hold of an episode of the PBS series, Evolution called “Why Sex”. The Evolution series is an informative and entertaining look at the processes that have resulted in the evolution of life on earth. This particular episode focussed on the evolutionary reasons why most species on earth have different sexes. The show also explained that while sex is the most efficient way of mixing up the genetic pool and thus maintaining a diverse genetic makeup, reproduction is not the only reason a number of species indulge in sex. A case in point was the sexual behavior of a primate known as the bonobo.

Bonobos are a close cousin of the chimpanzee and are not very far from the human evolutionary branch. Although they are close relatives to the chimpanzees, bonobos display a social structure and behavior that is drastically different.

Chimpanzees live in mostly male dominated societal structures. The females have the responsibilites of taking care of the offspring and are usually the weaker ones. They are also physically abused and beaten up quite often for sex by their male counterparts. The strongest male in the group is known to force himself on all the females of his group. What fascinated me even further was that each female will in fact have sex with almost all of the males in the group at some time or the other. Researchers have several hypotheses for this behavior and one of them is that it helps the females in protecting their young. Chimpanzees show instances of infanticide and the hypothesis is that the female have sex with as many males as possible so that each male thinks that the offspring his. This creates a feeling of fatherhood in the males and they tend to be less abusive with the offspring.

In sharp contrast with chimpanzees, bonobos have a very calm and peaceful existence. They live in groups where the females have a strong sense of togetherness. They are treated by their male counterparts with love and affection. The bonobo society is characterized by equality amongst the male and female of the species. They are also very playful in groups and indulge in various games with each other.

Just like us humans, bonobos have sex for pleasure and do it in all sorts of different positions. The even more curious thing is that bonobos are bi-sexual. Bonobo males indulge in sexual activity with other males with sexual acts ranging from anal sex to “penis-fencing” (stimulation of their penises by rubbing them against each other). Females also display a liking for other females and lesbian behavior is not uncommon. Tongue kissing, face-to-face vaginal intercourse, oral sex and genital rubbing are all observed amongst the females.

The bonobos are not alone. Homosexuality has been observed in several other animal species too. The National Geographic recently produced a show called “Girl Power”.

The team caught female Japanese macaques engaged in intimate acts which, if observed in humans, would be in the X-rated category.

Turning to homosexuality in humans, I’d like to point to a debate currently ongoing in India. The Delhi High Court just recently rejected a petition that sought to legalize homosexuality in India. India still has laws that treat homosexuality as a criminal act. In India, engaging in a homosexual act, regardless of where one engages in it, is punishable by law. These set of draconian laws can only be done away with by education of the population of what constitutes homosexuality. This lack of information and exposure to the fact of homosexuality is evident in the line of arguments made in the case. One of those arguments made by the Indian government lawyers was that homosexuality is an “unnatural sex act”.

Well, nature and its varied species are telling us a different story. Will we listen?

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