AndrewPD writes:
It is unlikely that I find men attractive because they would make a suitable mating partner.
From an evolutionary perspective that is true. Poking around a little on the Internet I didn't see many strong hypotheses about the role of evolution in homosexuality, but it still easily fits within an evolutionary perspective. Mating combines the traits of two parents, and we know that those traits are variously expressed in the children. Some parental traits are expressed strongly, some weakly, some not at all. Traits from both parents might combine to be more strongly expressed, some might conflict, some might blend. The result is a great deal of variety.
And the result of the genetic combination of traits for you was that homosexual traits were strongly expressed. Assuming you never have children you will not pass on your traits - they will die with you. So why do homosexual traits survive in the population? There are several possibilities, all of which may be true to varying degrees:
- Some homosexuals do have children. I know several homosexuals who were married for a while, and a couple of them have children.
- The random combining of traits results in a certain percentage of homosexuals and it isn't affected much by selection.
- Homosexuality isn't genetic but environmental or developmental.
--Percy