Academic accuses Attenborough documentaries of ignoring same-sex behaviour in animals

Re: Academic accuses Attenborough documentaries of ignoring same-sex behaviour in ani

Eh, I kinda take some issue with this argument. Firstly, there are plenty of interesting biological phenomena that nature documentaries have to ignore due to time issues. Secondly, I think the prime goal of any nature documentary should be to present a scientifically interesting and accurate story that makes people more interested in the natural sciences. And frankly, I'm not sure that it's very good science to call animals "homosexual". I would argue that in most animals male homosexuality is just one example of what Attenborough talks a lot about already -- male-male bonding or dominant/submissive behavior.

I'll probably get some flack for this: but frankly, as a biologist I look at every animal behavior that must be improving its fitness in some way (there is a lot of interesting work on group selection, but I won't go into that). Chimp A might engage in sexual relations with another male for numerous reasons. It might increase group cohesion when they get in their next fight with another tribe, or it might give Chimp A a change to mate with the other chimp's females.

There is a great example of homosexuality in Albatrosses in which female-female pairs are bonded. But still, I wouldn't call it homosexuality in the same way humans do, to do so would be a mistake. In all of the populations of Albatrosses where female-female pairs occur females greatly outnumber males. It is completely impossible for Albatrosses to raise a chick on their own, alternative mating strategy is to bond with another female and raise one of your chicks (which they got from mating with a random male) together.

To give a Garter Snake example: males emerge before females in the spring and each female will only mate once, whoever gets warm first gets to the female and gets the mate. Some males mimic the pheromones of females and other males mate with them. The actual adaptive reasons for this (supposedly) is that the other males will help heat up the faker faster and so he can get to the female faster. There is actually a really cool nature documentary that addresses this (I don't know if it was Attenborough or just "Life")

So yes, there are very interesting stories involving "homosexual" behavior in animals that nature documentaries don't address, but I also think that it's important that we don't try to impose our sexualities upon animals. Homosexuality is incredibly rare among animals because to be completely homosexual is maladaptive, any animal that doesn't at least attempt to mate with the opposite sex isn't going to have offspring (again, it might not necessarily be maladaptive if homosexuality somehow increases group fitness and is a condition which is selected for at the group level). It's an incredibly complex thing, and we don't really soundly understand why it is adaptive for some animals to be homosexual.

 

Re: Academic accuses Attenborough documentaries of ignoring same-sex behaviour in ani

Actually such explanations have already been provided:
Taking care of orphaned, if not all off-spring of the species for example.
Also if you admit it's adaptive, why then do you claim it is maladaptive?

 

Re: Academic accuses Attenborough documentaries of ignoring same-sex behaviour in ani

I said that complete homosexuality is maladaptive: bisexuality isn't, sorry I didn't make that clear. Also: taking care of orphaned offspring ins't a very convincing argument, because how does that increase fitness? I guess I'm the one guilty of bringing up sexuality in animals: it's not very useful to talk about animals as homosexual or hetereosexual, but it is useful to talk about whether behavior is homosexual in nature.

 

Re: Academic accuses Attenborough documentaries of ignoring same-sex behaviour in ani

One could make an argument that it does not have to do with homosexuality as it has more to do with domestic partnership and raising children. After all, it's entirely possible that animals of two same-sex had agreed raise orphan together with no to little sexual interest. That's all it need to prove that it has more to do with domestic partnership than homosexuality.

 

Re: Academic accuses Attenborough documentaries of ignoring same-sex behaviour in ani

what the actual fuck? hahaha.

someone missed science again