Trusted, Automoderated users
17,538
edits
Homosexuality: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→Homophobia: added behavioral immune system and split into more subsections
(→Homophobia: added behavioral immune system and split into more subsections) |
|||
| Line 77: | Line 77: | ||
==Homophobia== | ==Homophobia== | ||
Homophobia is the fear of being socially excluded for being regarded as gay, i.e. the fear that other men will destroy one's reputation of one's willingness and ability to compete for women. | Homophobia is the fear of being socially excluded for being regarded as gay, i.e. the fear that other men will destroy one's reputation of one's willingness and ability to compete for women. A variety of not necessarily contradictory evolutionary hypotheses for homophobia have been proposed: | ||
=== Ineffective male coalitions === | |||
Another hypothesis is that gays are avoided and excluded because they are seen as ineffective coalition partners when competing for women.<ref>https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-53145-010</ref> However historical male warrior societies like Sparta (mannerbund concept being typically correlated with homosexuality, see also the Stumabteilung (SA) in Nazi Germany, which was riddled with homosexuality, including the leader of the SA, Ernst Röhm, before the leadership was purged during the Night of the Long Knives) and Thebes (the legendary Theban band, made up solely of male homosexual couples) seem to seem to challenge the theory that homophobia results from poorer male group cohesion. | Another hypothesis is that gays are avoided and excluded because they are seen as ineffective coalition partners when competing for women.<ref>https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-53145-010</ref> However historical male warrior societies like Sparta (mannerbund concept being typically correlated with homosexuality, see also the Stumabteilung (SA) in Nazi Germany, which was riddled with homosexuality, including the leader of the SA, Ernst Röhm, before the leadership was purged during the Night of the Long Knives) and Thebes (the legendary Theban band, made up solely of male homosexual couples) seem to seem to challenge the theory that homophobia results from poorer male group cohesion. | ||
An alternate hypothesis claims that homophobia is not mediated by homosexual men being poorer coalition partners, but is instead caused by friction between men who seek to forge coalitions based on competence and accrual of resources vs men who forge alliances based on intimate homosexual relationships.<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124201903000302</ref> | An alternate hypothesis claims that homophobia is not mediated by homosexual men being poorer coalition partners, but is instead caused by friction between men who seek to forge coalitions based on competence and accrual of resources vs men who forge alliances based on intimate homosexual relationships.<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124201903000302</ref> | ||
=== Gossip and competition === | |||
Much of homophobia may be born from male intrasexual competition in accusations of gayness. Homosexuality may be banned in so many cultures as it taps into these evolved mechanism of competition, so it feels natural to [[bully]], punish and exclude males who cannot get sexuality in the natural way, that is by competing for reproductive opportunities with other men. However, in many traditional cultures more importance is attached to the sexual role a man takes than to the sex of his partners. Most 'homophobic' stigma is directed toward 'effeminates' (passive males), while active homosexuals are received with indifference or even congratulated on their dominance and sexual success. In cultures with moral systems that sanction all sexual relations between men, there is still some difference in the way they are received: passive homosexuality is seen as a shameful degradation of the self, active homosexuality a form of violence against others. This shame/violence matrix explains why the Ancient Greeks preferred non-penetrative forms of homosexual copulation between free males. It was considered poor form for an erastes to subject his eromenos to sodomy: an act of violence in a loving relationship meant to engender virtue. | Much of homophobia may be born from male intrasexual competition in accusations of gayness. Homosexuality may be banned in so many cultures as it taps into these evolved mechanism of competition, so it feels natural to [[bully]], punish and exclude males who cannot get sexuality in the natural way, that is by competing for reproductive opportunities with other men. However, in many traditional cultures more importance is attached to the sexual role a man takes than to the sex of his partners. Most 'homophobic' stigma is directed toward 'effeminates' (passive males), while active homosexuals are received with indifference or even congratulated on their dominance and sexual success. In cultures with moral systems that sanction all sexual relations between men, there is still some difference in the way they are received: passive homosexuality is seen as a shameful degradation of the self, active homosexuality a form of violence against others. This shame/violence matrix explains why the Ancient Greeks preferred non-penetrative forms of homosexual copulation between free males. It was considered poor form for an erastes to subject his eromenos to sodomy: an act of violence in a loving relationship meant to engender virtue. | ||
===Inceldom and homophobia=== | === Behavioral immune system === | ||
Homophobia may be an instance of the so called ''behavioral immune system'', referring to behavioral adaptations such as **disgust** for avoiding infectious disease.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6562335/</ref><ref>https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.2010.0117</ref> As evidenced in the [[#Statistics|statistics]] section, the excessive promiscuous lifestyle of male homosexuals is a major vector for sexually transmitted infectious diseases, especially since most androphile men are in fact bisexuals, meaning they potentially then spread disease through sex with females. That may explain why people of either sex may have disgust adaptations against male homosexuals. | |||
=== Inceldom and homophobia === | |||
Sexless beta or omega males ([[incels]]) hence avoid often physical closeness to other men to avoid being seen as gay. | |||
On the other hand, men who have already proven their competitive ability to get a woman, may feel more relaxed around gays, especially since this can even act as a costly signal of their status. | |||
Many incels lack heterosexual experience as well as the ability to impress women or intimidate other men and they occupy low social status. As a result, many incels are possibly vulnerable being accused of gayness. | Many incels lack heterosexual experience as well as the ability to impress women or intimidate other men and they occupy low social status. As a result, many incels are possibly vulnerable being accused of gayness. | ||
| Line 93: | Line 103: | ||
===Repressed homosexuality=== | ===Repressed homosexuality=== | ||
A common feminist claim is that male homophobes often have repressed homosexual impulses, which seems to have been indicated by phallometry suggesting a surprising amount of men may really do have slight or even strong androphilia.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latent_homosexuality#Links_to_homophobia</ref> | A common feminist claim is that male homophobes often have repressed homosexual impulses, which seems to have been indicated by phallometry suggesting a surprising amount of men may really do have slight or even strong androphilia.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latent_homosexuality#Links_to_homophobia</ref><!-- DEMARCATED THIS SECTION AS THERE APPEARS TO BE MIXED EVIDENCE FOR THE CLAIM THAT HOMOPHOBIA IS ROOTED IN REPRESSED HOMOSEXUAL DESIRES. THERE APPEARS TO BE BOTH EVIDENCE AGAINST THIS ASSERTION AND MODERATING EVIDENCE THAT SUGGESTS THERE ARE DISTINCT SUBSETS OF HOMOPHOBIA, WITH THE SELF-DECEPTIVE SUBSET MENTIONED HERE POSSIBLY BEING ACTUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH REPRESSED/LOWER SEXUAL DESIRES IN GENERAL. WILL REWRITE THIS SECTION LATER TO PRESENT THE VARIOUS EVIDENCE FOR AND AGAINST THIS HYPOTHESIS, AS THIS SUBSECTION IS IMPORTANT, ESP GIVEN HOMOPHOBIAS POSSIBLE ROLE AS A PROMINENT TACTIC OF MALE INTRASEXUAL COMPETITION. For instance, one study gathered men who claimed to be exclusively heterosexual. The men were quizzed on their antipathy to homosexuals. They were then fitted with penile circumference monitors and exposed to video tapes depicting heterosexual, gay, and lesbian pornography. Only the homophobic men exhibited increased erections in response to the gay pornography.<ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8772014/</ref> It is typically insinuated that such homophobic males have merely internalized anti-gay views, but in truth homophobia may rather be a rational reaction to a real threat to men's status due to a natural way men compete. --> | ||
<!-- DEMARCATED THIS SECTION AS THERE APPEARS TO BE MIXED EVIDENCE FOR THE CLAIM THAT HOMOPHOBIA IS ROOTED IN REPRESSED HOMOSEXUAL DESIRES. THERE APPEARS TO BE BOTH EVIDENCE AGAINST THIS ASSERTION AND MODERATING EVIDENCE THAT SUGGESTS THERE ARE DISTINCT SUBSETS OF HOMOPHOBIA, WITH THE SELF-DECEPTIVE SUBSET MENTIONED HERE POSSIBLY BEING ACTUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH REPRESSED/LOWER SEXUAL DESIRES IN GENERAL. WILL REWRITE THIS SECTION LATER TO PRESENT THE VARIOUS EVIDENCE FOR AND AGAINST THIS HYPOTHESIS, AS THIS SUBSECTION IS IMPORTANT, ESP GIVEN HOMOPHOBIAS POSSIBLE ROLE AS A PROMINENT TACTIC OF MALE INTRASEXUAL COMPETITION. For instance, one study gathered men who claimed to be exclusively heterosexual. The men were quizzed on their antipathy to homosexuals. They were then fitted with penile circumference monitors and exposed to video tapes depicting heterosexual, gay, and lesbian pornography. Only the homophobic men exhibited increased erections in response to the gay pornography.<ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8772014/</ref> It is typically insinuated that such homophobic males have merely internalized anti-gay views, but in truth homophobia may rather be a rational reaction to a real threat to men's status due to a natural way men compete. --> | |||
===Gay acceptance and homosocial intimacy=== | ===Gay acceptance and homosocial intimacy=== | ||