Why do people disapprove of homosexuality?

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rape is an inborn natural instinct, is that what you're saying? that's a disgusting thing to say. men dont rape women to spread their genes. rape, whatever gender it is perpetuated by, is a crime of power. to say it is a natural instinct absolves the perpetrator of the criminality of the act. i'm not talking about it's legal criminality. also saying it is an innate instinct is quite demeaning to humanity- here you are specfying men- because it suggests they are out of control animals with no sense of morality or animals that place their base desires above morality and regards for the rest of humaity. when a man rapes a woman their thoughts are not "i feel horny, this is my body telling me to spread my seed, the other person is going to get screwed whether they like it or not." also your theory disregards same sex rape.
and the minute homophobia is voiced it ceases to be a thought crime and becomes vilification. not to mention it perpetuates those ideas and bigotry that will become something more than thought crimes.

I don't think it's so much religion as it is the culture of an area where people are raised, though religion does play a big part in it. People are naturally uncomfortable around things they consider different from their own culture. Take for example the fact that there have been countries where homosexuality was accepted. The Greeks had many gay and bisexual gods and heroes in their mythology, the Roman army was largely made of homosexual males, and in Japan many samurai often formed a sexual relationship with the young boys that they trained. But in countries where homosexuality used to be unheard of and was treated as a sexual crime, these countries often have a hard time accepting that it's something that exist even when they try to convince their people that it's OK. The US is a good example of this, much of the media is trying to potray homosexuals in a positive light yet the majority of Americans are still pretty anti-gay and probably will continue to be for a long time. A country's culture doesn't change over night and you can't predict how it will change.

Evolution selected against homosexuality, most heteromen are disgusted by homosexuality even ones who tolerate gays. It's a deeply ingrained biological phenomenon.

^ ~ Evo Psych bullsit.

If evolution selected against it why does it exist? Why do some animals practice it? I think sexuality is learnt behaviour, but learnt subconsciously.

I doubt homosexuality had anything to do with reproduction, probably more for bonding, and passing the time. Evolution didn't select against it, evolution created it.

Your armchair must be too comfy.

Assaulting someone because they appear weak, or to impress another person is a sign of psychopathy. Social conditioning doesn't cause psychopathy - if it wasn't homosexuals they'd find another group to prey upon.

Last edited by Telekon on 03 Jan 2012, 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Tourette's Syndrome exists in most populations but that doesn't mean it aided reproduction. The pathogenesis of homosexuality is like a birth defect. Humans are hardwired to reward reproductive enhancing behavior. That's why athletes are worshiped and why most straight people have a natural aversion to homosexuality. Show 1000 straight people gay pornography and see how they react.

That could just be social conditioning.

Actually, straight men naturally have a chauvinistic attitude toward gay men, and it seems to be a run-off from a similar behavior toward women. Some degree of it ought to be tolerated, and the effect can be muted to an extent through education and custom.

If we are bringing evolution into the picture, a tolerant society would make much more sense. Encouraging gay men and women to form rock-solid, faithful relationships would serve to reduce the chances of these genes being transmitted while at the same time stabilizing the gay and lesbian members of their society. In the most primitive scenario, gay men would reduce competition for females, and it would therefore make the most sense for straight guys to encourage homosexuality in would-be competitors.

I think it's a lot simpler than what some people try to make it out to be. In a primitive society, it is necessary to purge from the community members that would be a burden or danger to others. Someone who has begun to behave abnormally might have a transmissible illness. Our primitive ancestors really had extremely limited resources, so they were actually reduced to eliminating anything that struck them as "unnatural," especially in times of stress.

Therefore my argument that homophobia stems largely from the fact that there is no "natural" place for homosexuality in some people's minds. In a society in which gay people are considered to be a "normal minority" or at worst "a harmless and apparently non-transmissible defect" (if you must be an ass), you will find that gay people are looked upon with nothing worse than some annoying superciliousness...which, as stated above, can be controlled through education and custom.

It's an interesting paradox, though, isn't it? That homosexuality does exist despite the evolutionary process where reproduction leads to more reproduction and where homosexuality (unless I'm missing something (not unlikely)) doesn't lead to reproduction.

It is not so much a paradox when you realize that homosexual people have had kids ever since the dawn of time. History if full of characters that were homosexual or bisexual but had to marry and had children for whatever reason.

Consider that marriage in many cultures has not been a matter of what you decide but a matter of what your tribe decides for plenty of ages now. That means that there is a significant amount of homosexuals, bisexuals, heterosexuals and asexuals that were forced to reproduce with someone of the other sex they did not want to reproduce with.

And of course, your local tribe picked your partner on truly evolutionary advantageous attributes such as the amount of money, power or lineage.

(And besides, we have no reason to believe yet that homosexuality is a genetic trait)

Good reply. I take it on board.

Very likely the case. Homosexuality among males was rampant in Sparta and Athens. But the people of that place and time were biologically the same as moderns.

ruveyn

Homosexuality among males was unknown in the ancient world. Same-sex acts were illegal - males convicted of same-sex acts could lose their citizenship or even receive the death penalty.