Straight Science? Homosexuality, Evolution and Adaptation

by Jim McKnight

A genetic basis for homosexuality has been all but proved, yet Darwinism, the most widely accepted evolutionary theory, emphasises successful reproduction. How do we explain a lifetime preference for non-reproductive sex?
Whilst social constructionism offers explanations in terms of social learning and cultural preferences, the body of evidence for a genetic predisposition to homosexuality grows. Social learning argues that homosexual sex is merely misdirected and therefore futile, but far from dying out it continues through the ages and is found in different cultures.
What if there was an evolutionary advantage to homosexuality? Straight Science? Homosexuality, Evolution and Adaptation dares to ask such questions.

Genres: Science

232 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 1997

Reviews

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly good book about the possible biological & evolutionary origins of homosexuality. However, this book was published in 1998 and needs to be updated on the research that has occurred in the past decade. This book also threw me for a loop when it used the terms "Darwinism" or "Darwinistic" instead of "evolution" or "evolutionary" in the beginning. The word "Darwinism" isn't a very good choice of words since the meaning of it has changed multiple times ever since it was first coined by Thomas Huxley in 1860. Many scientists feel it is an inappropriate term for the modern evolutionary theory that encompasses many scientific ideas not known to Darwin (example: the field of genetics). Not to mention, the word "Darwinism" is often used as a pejorative term by creationists.