Primate (Homo)Sexuality and the Origins of Culture

Homosexuality is part of our evolutionary heritage as primates: anyone looking at the prevalence and elaboration of homosexual behavior among our closest relatives in the animal kingdom will be led, eventually, to this conclusion. In fact, primatologist Paul L. Vasey traces the occurrence of homosexuality in primates back to at least the Oligocene epoch, 24-37 million years ago (based on its distribution and characteristics among contemporary primates).⁴⁹ Some of the most organized and developed forms of homosexuality among animals can be found in the more than 30 species of monkeys and apes where this behavior occurs. Bonobos, for instance, engage in both male and female homosexual interactions with disarming frequency and enthusiasm, and they have also developed many unique forms of sexual expression, including a type of lesbian tribadism known as genito-genital rubbing. Similar elaborations of homosexual patterns are found among Stumptail Macaques, Gorillas, Hanuman Langurs, and many other monkey and ape species. In addition to highly developed systems of same-sex interaction and diverse sexual techniques, a number of other aspects of homosexual activity in primates are particularly salient. Among these are various forms of pair-bonding such as consortships, “favorite” partners, or sexual friendships; evidence for exclusive or preferential homosexual activity in some individuals (as discussed in the preceding section); female orgasm in monkeys and apes, in both homosexual and heterosexual contexts; female-centered or matrifocal societies, as well as male alliances and other groups of cooperating males in some species; and the wide range of nonreproductive heterosexual activities found in many primates.⁵⁰

In addition to being part of our evolutionary heritage, homosexuality is also part of our cultural heritage as primates—for same-sex activity in monkeys and apes offers us some startling examples of cultural traditions among animals. Although “culture” is something that we typically associate with human beings, many animals innovate behaviors and then pass them on from generation to generation through learning. Zoologists speak of this as “cultural” behavior in animals—or, if the activity is less well developed, as “precultural” or “protocultural” behavior. Animal cultural traditions are widespread and often highly complex, occurring in many different kinds of species and involving behaviors as diverse as foraging and hunting techniques, communication patterns and song dialects, forms of social organization, response to predators, characteristics and locations of home sites and shelters, and migration patterns.⁵¹ Perhaps the most famous example of animal cultural behavior concerns food-gathering techniques in wild Japanese Macaques: in the mid-1950s, one female invented several ways of accessing novel food items (introduced by investigators), including sweet-potato washing, peanut digging, and “placer mining” for wheat. Within ten years 90 percent of all troop members had acquired these habits, which were being learned spontaneously by younger animals and passed on to subsequent generations.

“Culture” can also involve social behaviors: male caretaking of infants in Japanese Macaques, for example, is characteristic of only certain populations and appears to be a learned behavior, acquired by some individuals or troops and not others. Sexuality—including homosexual activity—can also bear the hallmarks of cultural activity. Scientists studying mounting behavior by females—once again in Japanese Macaques—suggest that whether and how females mount male or other female partners may represent a form of protocultural behavior. Certain mounting positions, for example, seem to become more “popular” in some troops over time, only to wane and be replaced by others. Likewise, masturbation among females appears to be learned through observation or other social channels. Although a capacity for homosexual activity (along with reverse mounting and masturbation) is probably an innate characteristic of the species (as evidenced by at least some level of these activities in most populations), its occurrence between different troops and individuals is highly variable. Key aspects of such activities are apparently being learned and passed on through space and time. This indicates that “traditions” or patterns of sexual activity may be innovated and then transmitted via a web of social interactions, moving between and within population groups, geographic areas, and generations. Sexuality, including aspects of both same-sex and opposite-sex interactions, is also considered to exhibit aspects of cultural traditions in at least two other primates, Stumptail Macaques and Savanna Baboons.⁵²

Not only is sexuality itself a form of cultural behavior, it can also impact and intersect with other sorts of cultural innovations in primates, often in surprising ways. In fact, nonreproductive sexual activities, including homosexual behaviors, may have contributed to the development of a number of significant cultural “milestones”: hallmarks of evolutionary and cultural change that are considered to be defining characteristics of “humanness,” yet which also exist in prototypical form in some of our primate relatives (and presumably also in our protohuman ancestors). In this section we’ll briefly consider the role that sexuality might have played in the development of primate communication systems and the origin of language, in the manufacture and use of tools, and in the creation of social taboos and rituals. Caution must always be exercised in making direct comparisons between animals and people, and most of these areas are only beginning to be studied in any detail. Nevertheless, primate (homo)sexuality and the “traditions” associated with it offer us a striking mirror of some of our most “human” characteristics—and perhaps even a window into our evolutionary past and cultural history.

Language

Bonobos (also sometimes known as Pygmy Chimpanzees) have one of the most varied sexual repertoires of any species, with a wide variety of behaviors and positions used in sexual interactions, both heterosexual and homosexual. As a result, some Bonobos have developed an extraordinary system of gestural communication that is used specifically during sex. First discovered by pioneering ape-language researcher Susan Savage-Rumbaugh and her colleagues in the mid 1970s, this gestural system has far-reaching implications for our understanding of primate communication systems and the development of human language.⁵³

A “lexicon” of about a dozen hand and arm gestures—each with a specific meaning—is utilized by Bonobos to initiate sexual activity and negotiate various body positions with a partner (of the same or opposite sex). For example, one gesture involves flicking the hand back-and-forth sideways from the wrist, meaning (approximately), “Move your genitals around”; this is used to get one’s partner to position his or her genitals so as to facilitate a sexual interaction. Another gesture, lifting the arm with the palm downward, is employed when a Bonobo wants a sexual partner to move into a facing position for copulation. A catalog of some of the other gestures is given in the accompanying illustration. Hand signals may even be strung together in short sequences, and there is some evidence that the order of the gestures is significant.⁵⁴ These manual signs are used during both heterosexual and homosexual activity, although it appears that they may be more prevalent in opposite-sex interactions, and males and females may also employ some of the gestures with different frequencies.

Most of the hand signals are iconic, which means that they bear a physical resemblance to the meanings (i.e., body movements) they represent, although some are less transparently representational than others. Thus, the meaning “Turn your body around” can be related to the circular movement of the corresponding gesture, but this meaning is also conventionalized, since the intended action conveyed by the gesture must be agreed upon and understood by both participants for the gesture to be effective. An individual who hasn’t learned the gestural system, for instance, wouldn’t necessarily know what sort of “turning around” is intended by such a gesture. In conjunction with these hand gestures, a variety of positioning movements involving direct touching and placement of a partner’s body or limbs are also used to facilitate sexual interactions. Together with the more abstract manual gestures, a total of at least 25 signals used during sex have been identified. In addition, patterns of eye contact and gaze also appear to have significant communicative value.

DESCRIPTION: Arm is partially extended, hand flicks back and forth with sideways movement from wrist

MEANING: “Move your genitals around”—used to get partner to position his or her genitals to facilitate a sexual interaction

DESCRIPTION: Arm is extended, hand bends at wrist and makes rapid, vigorous circular motions

MEANING: “ Turn your body around”—also used as an invitation for a sexual interaction if other methods of initiation have not worked

DESCRIPTION: Hand is held outstretched toward partner (arm extends upward and outward with palm of hand angled toward the other individual)

MEANING: “Approach”—used to get partner to move closer; also used simply as an invitation for a sexual interaction

A DESCRIPTION: Arm is extended, hand bends at wrist and flips toward self

MEANING: “ Come here”—used to get partner to move closer during a sexual interaction

DESCRIPTION: Arm is partially extended and raised while hand flips upward at wrist

MEANING: “ Stand up ” —used to get partner to stand on hind legs before engaging in a face-to-face sexual interaction

A DESCRIPTION: Arm is extended and raised till about head level with palm facing downward and placed lightly on another individual’s back or shoulder

MEANING: An invitation for a sexual interaction

DESCRIPTION: Knuckles are rested on partner’s arm or back and arm moves back toward self

MEANING: “ Move closer”—used to get partner to assume a stance compatible with front-to-back sexual interaction

DESCRIPTION: Arm is lifted up with palm down

MEANING: “ Position yourself” — used to get partner to move into a face-to face position

DESCRIPTION: Hand and forearm move across body in a sweeping motion

MEANING: “Turn around” — used to get partner to rotate his or her entire body

DESCRIPTION: Both arms wave or open out from body

MEANING: “Spread your legs andlor arms”—used to get partner to open limbs to facilitate face-to-face positioning

Researchers studying the Bonobo gestural system have suggested that the more abstract hand signals may have developed out of the simpler positioning movements. ⁵⁵ Communication during sex may initially have involved only fairly crude attempts to move one’s partner, from which more ritualized touching and directive gestures may have evolved, which then gradually became more and more stylized until, in some cases, fairly opaque hand gestures resulted. This sequence is significant, because it represents the sort of progression from purely representational gestures to highly codified manual signals that has been identified in the development of human sign languages.⁵⁶ More broadly, it shows the beginnings of abstraction or arbitrariness—that is, the creation of symbols —which is a hallmark of human language in general. The Bonobo gestural repertoire is certainly not a “language” in the true sense of a complete human linguistic system, and by no means does it have the complexity or subtlety of even the simplest human gestural systems, let alone of a fully developed signed, spoken, or written language. Nevertheless, it is a formalized communication system that exhibits a level of sophistication unparalleled in any other nonhuman primate—perhaps even with a rudimentary “syntax” (in terms of the ordering of gestures)—and it may indeed represent a precursor to human language.

Even more significantly, Bonobos devised this system spontaneously: they invented the hand signals on their own and were not taught to use them by people. Attempts to teach apes various forms of human sign language or other communication systems have demonstrated that our primate relatives in many instances possess formidable linguistic capacities, but in all cases human prompting and intervention (at least initially) are involved. What is unique about the sexual gestures is that Bonobos themselves developed the hand signals and taught them to each other (or learned them from one another), in response to a communicative need that arose naturally within their own social interactions.⁵⁷ Moreover, the specific social context that prompted this development is also unique: it was sexual behavior, or rather, the highly variable and plastic nature of Bonobo sexuality, that led to this development. Because of the wide variety of heterosexual and homosexual activities that characterize Bonobo sexual interactions, a supplementary communication system arose to help negotiate sexual interactions. In response to an unsurpassed sexual capacity in this species—including prominent homosexual activities—an unsurpassed animal communication system was created.

Not only is the Bonobo gestural system an outstanding example of the spontaneous development of cultural traditions in animals, it offers some clues into the origin of the human linguistic capacity. A number of theorists have suggested that the first human communication system may indeed have been a gestural language, that is, a system of hand signals.⁵⁸ Why language should have evolved in the first place among human beings, however, is a subject shrouded in mystery and controversy. Of the many theories that have been put forward, a number suggest that language developed in response to social factors, such as the need to coordinate complex group activities such as hunting or farming. The Bonobo system demonstrates that another factor may also have been involved—one that is rarely, if ever, considered in discussions of the origin of language: sexuality. In particular, as sexual interactions became more variable over the course of evolution, gestural systems of greater complexity may have developed to facilitate sexual encounters.

Primate evolution has been characterized by an ever-increasing separation of sexuality from its reproductive “functions,” including the development of numerous types of homosexual and nonprocreative heterosexual activities—most prominent in human beings and Bonobos (considered by some to be the primate most similar to humans), less so in Common Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and other apes. Scientists have also identified a corresponding increase in complexity of communication systems used during sexual interactions among apes, proceeding from Gorillas to Common Chimpanzees to Bonobos (and onward, of course, to human beings).⁵⁹ The progression is probably not quite as orderly as this sequence suggests, and multiple factors are surely involved in the genesis of each species’ particular communication systems. The general trend, however, is clear: as sexual interactions become more variable, sexual communication systems become more sophisticated. It is possible, therefore, that sexuality—particularly the fluidity associated with nonreproductive sexual practices—played a significant role in the origin and development of human language.

Tools

A hallmark of human cultural evolution was the development of tools, later elaborated into the full array of material technologies that we know today. But many animals, especially primates, also use inanimate objects to manipulate or affect things in their environment in ways that can be seen as precursors to similar activities in human beings. Over 20 different types of tool use have been identified in primates and other species—Common Chimpanzees, for example, employ objects as weapons, as levers, and as drinking and feeding implements of various sorts (such as the well-known example of sticks being used to capture and eat termites or ants). Tools can also be used to affect an animal’s own (or another’s) body, for example as part of a “hygiene” or grooming regimen. Chimpanzees and other primates, for example, often use leaves, twigs, straw, rags, or other objects to clean themselves and wipe away bodily secretions (such as saliva, blood, semen, feces, and urine). Chimps and Savanna Baboons have also been observed using sticks, twigs, and stones to clean their own or each other’s teeth (and even perform dental extractions). Chimps also sometimes tickle themselves with various items such as stones or sticks, and Japanese Macaques occasionally use similar items to groom one another.⁶⁰

Less well known, however, is the use of objects for purposes of sexual stimulation. A number of primates employ various implements as masturbatory aids (in both the wild and captivity), and this aspect of tool culture has not received widespread attention in discussions of the development of animal and human object manipulation. Female Orang-utans, for instance, sometimes masturbate by rubbing objects on the clitoris or inserting them into the vagina; tools used for this purpose include pieces of liana bitten off to an appropriate size or (in captivity) pieces of wire. Male Orangs also use objects to stimulate their genitals, including one individual who ingeniously fashioned an implement by pushing a hole through a leaf with his finger. He inserted his erect penis into this “orifice,” then rubbed the leaf up and down the shaft to stimulate himself. Males also sometimes hold a piece of fruit (such as an orange peel) in their hand and masturbate against it.⁶¹

A female Orang-utan in the forests of Sumatra masturbating with a tool she made from a piece of liana

Common Chimpanzees have also developed several innovative masturbation techniques using a variety of different tools. One female gathered a small collection of sticks, pebbles, and leaves, from which she would carefully select a particular item to stimulate herself with. By placing a leaf underneath her vulva, for example, and flicking the stem with her knuckle, she made the leaf vibrate and thereby externally stimulate her genitals. She also repeatedly inserted the stem into her vagina, often lubricating it with saliva and manipulating it with her hand so as to stimulate herself internally. In one instance, she rocked back and forth with the stem inserted, rubbing the leaf against a vertical surface so that the stem actually vibrated inside her. On other occasions, she repeatedly inserted and withdrew a pebble from her vagina or used a small stick to stimulate her genitals. Other female Chimps have also been observed rubbing or tickling their external genitals with items or inserting them into the vagina, including pieces of mango, twigs, and leaves, as well as man-made objects such as small boxes or balls. Similarly, several young males assembled collections of stones, fruits, or even pieces of dried dung, which they would thrust against to stimulate their genitals. Male and female Bonobos occasionally employ inanimate objects for masturbation as well, stimulating themselves with (or thrusting against) branches, wood shavings, and other items.⁶²

Like Orang-utans, one female Bonnet Macaque invented some relatively sophisticated techniques of tool manufacture, regularly employing five specific methods to create or modify natural objects for insertion into her vagina. For example, she stripped dry eucalyptus leaves of their foliage with her fingers or teeth and then broke the midrib into a piece less than an inch long. She also slit dry acacia leaves in half lengthwise (using only a single half) and fashioned short sticks by breaking longer ones into several pieces or detaching portions of a branch. Implements were also sometimes vigorously rubbed with her fingers or between her palms prior to being inserted into her vagina, and twigs, leaves, or grass blades were occasionally used unmodified.⁶³

The use and manufacture of tools by primates is considered an important example of cultural behavior in animals, and a forerunner of the activities that are so widespread among human beings. Although many different forms and functions are evident in animal tool use, these examples show that nonreproductive sexual activities are part of the overall behavioral pattern: the primate capacity for object manipulation extends seamlessly into the sexual sphere. Apes and monkeys use a variety of objects to masturbate with and even deliberately create implements for sexual stimulation by cutting or forming materials such as leaves or twigs (often in highly creative ways). Similar types of activities occur among people, of course, and sexual implements of various sorts have a long and distinguished history in human culture. Dildos or phalli made of stone, terra-cotta, wood, or leather, for example, were used in ceremonial “deflowering” and fertility rites—as well as for masturbation and inducing sexual pleasure in a partner—in ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, India, Japan, and Europe. Examples have been recorded from at least as far back as the Paleolithic through medieval times—including some biblical references—as well as in the ongoing traditions of many indigenous peoples throughout the world.⁶⁴ However, few (if any) anthropologists have ever considered the possibility that sexual stimulation may have been a component of tool use among early humans or even played a part in the origin and elaboration of material culture. Of course, technological complexity is not the only measure of cultural development—some of the most complex linguistic and oral history traditions, for example, are to be found among the South African San peoples and the Australian Aborigines, whose material culture is relatively simple. And certainly many more “utilitarian” functions can be identified in the development of tool use among our human, protohuman, and primate ancestors. Nevertheless, the pursuit of sexual pleasure may have contributed, in some measure, to our own heritage as creatures whose tool-using practices are among the most polymorphous of any primate.

Taboo

The vast majority of human cultures prohibit sexual relations between people who are related. There is still ongoing debate among scientists as to whether this prohibition—commonly known as the incest taboo—is instinctual or learned. Regardless of the extent to which biological factors are involved, there are clearly strong social and cultural components to incest avoidance. Different human cultures and societies vary widely in how they define incestuous relations and to what extent such activities are both stigmatized and practiced. For example, although parental incest (father-daughter, mother-son) is prohibited in virtually all societies (yet still occurs, despite such prohibition, with varying frequencies), there is wider latitude regarding other blood relations. Cousin marriage is considered acceptable in some cases, unacceptable in others, while some societies make a further distinction between relations with cross cousins as opposed to parallel cousins—a biologically arbitrary distinction, since there is no evidence of any greater genetic “harm” in one form of cousin marriage than another. Brother-sister marriage was widely practiced in ancient Roman Egypt, and among the royal families of some central African and Balinese societies, ancient Incans, Hawaiians, Iranians, and Egyptians—in fact, Cleopatra is thought to have been the product of 11 generations of incestuous marriages within the Ptolemaic dynasty.⁶⁵

Further evidence of a learned or cultural component to incest prohibitions relates to the role played by social familiarity as opposed to genetic relatedness in choice of partners. In our culture, sexual relations between adoptive or stepfamily members are generally frowned upon even though the individuals involved are not related by blood. Conversely, people who are genetically related but, because of social circumstance (e.g., separation at birth), are unaware of their biological connection may develop a relationship (at least until they learn of their relatedness). Other societies vary considerably in this regard: in the Israeli kibbutzim, for instance, unrelated individuals who are brought up together hardly ever marry one another. In contrast, a traditional form of Taiwanese marriage involved girls being adopted into families as children and then, on reaching adulthood, marrying their stepbrothers, although such marriages were considered less preferable than other arrangements. Among the Arapesh people of New Guinea, a similar practice of stepsister marriage was widely accepted and preferred.

The fact that homosexual relations are usually prohibited between related individuals also points to the importance of nonbiological factors in the incest taboo. In most human cultures that “permit” some form of same-sex eroticism, from contemporary America to indigenous tribes of New Guinea, the choice of homosexual partners is subject to distinctions of “kin” and “nonkin.” This is in spite of the fact that no children, and hence no potentially harmful genetic effects, can result from such unions. Typically the same restrictions are applied to homosexual as to heterosexual relations. In a number of New Guinean societies, however, slightly different kinship constraints regulate the choice of same-sex and opposite-sex partners. In fact, homosexual partners in some tribes are actually required to be more distantly related than heterosexual ones—the exact opposite of what would be expected if incest taboos were based solely on biological factors.⁶⁶

This is significant, because most theories about the biological basis of the incest taboo focus on the potential for increased rates of birth defects and lower genetic variability as a result of inbreeding. Even for heterosexual relations, though, the evidence is not nearly as unequivocal as one would suppose: numerous studies of small populations that have practiced inbreeding for many generations reveal no deleterious effects, owing to the rapid elimination of genetic defects and subsequent stabilization of the gene pool.⁶⁷ To adduce further evidence for a biological basis to the prohibition, scientists often point to the existence of “incest taboos” in animals. Ironically, though, many animal species actually show evidence of a “cultural” or “social” dimension to their avoidance of sexual activity between relatives that parallels the human examples—most notably among primates, and most notably involving homosexuality.

There is a great diversity of incestuous activity among animals, not only in the frequency and types of relations that occur but also in the degree to which such activity is avoided or pursued, in both heterosexual and homosexual contexts. Even among primates, many different scenarios and versions of “taboos” are found. In Rhesus Macaques, for instance, incest of any sort is not common although mother-son, brother-sister, and brother-brother relations do occur (some males actually appear to prefer mating with their mothers). In Gibbons, heterosexual incest (both parental and sibling) is sometimes practiced and homosexual relations are almost always incestuous, while both heterosexual and homosexual activity between siblings (or half-siblings) occurs in Gorillas. Most strikingly, several species appear to have developed systematic homosexual “incest taboos,” each with its own socially defined set of “acceptable” and “unacceptable” partners. In some cases, these restrictions differ significantly from those governing the corresponding heterosexual relations (as in some human populations).

Homosexual consortships (pair-bonding with sexual activity) among Japanese Macaques, for example, virtually never occur between mothers and daughters or sisters. In contrast, heterosexual brother-sister or mother-son relations, while not common, are much more prevalent than homosexual incest in this species. Interestingly, aunts and nieces among Japanese Macaques do not generally recognize each other as kin—when intervening on behalf of individuals during aggressive encounters, for example, aunts do not assist their nieces any more often than do nonrelatives, and significantly less often than do mothers, grandmothers, and sisters. Consequently, some blood relatives are able to form consortships with one another: about a third of all aunt-niece dyads interact homosexually. In other words, Japanese Macaques have an overall pattern of incest avoidance unique to homosexual relations, within which apparently incestuous aunt-niece pairs are “permitted” because such partners do not count as kin in the larger social framework.

In Hanuman Langurs, both heterosexual and homosexual incest taboos are in effect, but with slightly different restrictions. Heterosexual incestuous relations of any kind are generally avoided; sexual activity between mothers and daughters is also “prohibited” (accounting for only about 1 percent of all homosexual mounting). In contrast, half sisters (females with the same mother but different fathers) are “allowed” to have sexual relations with one another—and in fact, more than a quarter of all mounts between females occur between half sisters. In Bonobos, incestuous relations between females also generally appear to be avoided: when females immigrate into new troops as adolescents, they are usually unrelated to most of the other troop members, but sexual activity is not practiced with those females to whom they are related.⁶⁸

These examples demonstrate that, at least in some nonhuman primates, homosexual (as well as heterosexual) relations are subject to various social prohibitions regarding choice of appropriate partners, especially where relatives are involved. These choices are not due to instinct (i.e., avoidance of an activity that would yield harmful genetic effects), because no offspring result from such relations, and because not all incest taboos are identical. Nor are they simply a “carryover” from heterosexual taboos, because same-sex and opposite-sex relations often have different prohibitions. Crucial distinctions exist between species, populations, and even between heterosexual and homosexual activity in the same species, concerning “allowable” incestuous relations—differences that cannot be attributed solely to biological (genetic) factors. Only some relatives actually “count” as related for the purpose of incest taboos, and which individuals are “tabooed” is, to a large extent, arbitrary. In other words, primates must learn what sort of kinship system(s), if any, govern sexual associations—both homosexual and heterosexual—in their social group. While the occurrence and expression of same-sex activity in these animals very likely has an instinctual or genetic component as well, homosexual relations exhibit important “cultural” characteristics that probably involve a high degree of social learning. “Taboos” exist in animals, and homosexuality is one area where such prohibitions manifest themselves in particularly compelling ways.

Ritual

Where do human rituals such as taking an oath come from? In a fascinating study of Savanna Baboon social systems, primatologists Barbara Smuts and John Watanabe offer a startling answer: they suggest that such symbolic gestures might be traced to the ritualized homosexual activities that take place between male Baboons. ⁶⁹ As part of their social interactions, male Savanna Baboons perform a variety of formalized sexual and affectionate behaviors with each other, most notably “diddling,” that is, fondling of the penis and scrotum. Other ritualized homosexual activities include mounting; grabbing, fingering, and nuzzling of the rump; kissing and nuzzling of the genitals; and embracing and kissing on the head or mouth (similar activities are also found in a number of other primates, including Common Chimpanzees, Bonnet Macaques, and Crested Black Macaques). Although these behaviors undoubtedly have an affectionate or “pleasurable” tactile component as well as a sexual dimension, they have also been characterized by some scientists as “greetings” interactions, and it is thought that they may serve to negotiate and solidify cooperation between males as well. Indeed, two males sometimes pair up and form a stable “coalition” with each other in which their mutual defense and aid is symbolized by the reciprocity of their ritual sexual exchanges with one another. Smuts and Watanabe suggest that sexual gestures such as diddling, which involve one male placing his most vulnerable and intimate organs literally in the hands of another, are in a sense a prototypical form of oath-swearing: one male, by his actions, is indicating his trust and commitment to cooperate with the other.

 

 

Two male Bonnet Macaques embracing each other in a “greeting” gesture. The male on the left is fondling the scrotum of the other male with his right hand, an activity also found in male Savanna Baboons, where it is known as “diddling.”

But what does this have to do with human rituals of oath-taking? In our society at least, oaths usually involve gestures such as raising of the right hand, crossing the heart, or perhaps even placing the hand on a Bible, but certainly nothing so forward as fondling of the genitals. Surprising as it may seem, though, Smuts and Watanabe present some intriguing clues that gestures similar to the ritual homosexual activities of Baboons (and other primates) may in fact have been a part of human oath-taking at one time and are even still used in some contemporary cultures. In a number of Australian Aboriginal tribes, for example, holding of the pe- ¹ nis is traditionally used as a gesture to express male allegiance and cooperation, as well as a ritual part of resolving disputes between “accused” and “defending” parties. Among the Walbiri and Aranda people, when different communities get together or when grievances need to be settled in formal “trials,” men participate in what is known variously as touch-penis, penis-offering, or the penis-holding rite. Each man presents his semi-erect organ to all the others in turn, pressing it into each man’s palm and drawing it along the length of the upturned hand (held with the fingers toward the testicles). By offering and grasping each other’s penis—said to represent “paying with one’s life”—the men make an avowal of mutual support and goodwill between them, or symbolize and solidify the agreement they have reached during the settling of a dispute. A similar gesture involving stroking of the genitals and/or scrotum is used as a greeting in some New Guinea tribes such as the Eipo and Bedamini.⁷⁰

Closer to home, there is historical—even biblical—evidence that similar rituals may have been a part of the Judeo-Christian and Euro-American heritage. Ironically, the book that is today used in so many of our own oath-swearing ceremonies contains within it an allusion to these earlier practices. In Genesis 24:9 there is a reference to the servant of Abraham swearing an oath by placing his hand under his master’s “loins.” Moreover, according to the Oxford English Dictionary the words testify, testimony, and testicle are probably all related, sharing the common root testis, which originally meant “witness.” Although these connections are somewhat speculative, they suggest a line of continuity between ritualized homosexual behavior in primates and human social rituals such as oath-taking. As Smuts and Watanabe point out, notions of truth and sanctity as expressed by the human ceremonies are vastly different from those of Baboons (if present at all in the nonhuman context). Nevertheless, the forms of these rituals—and their social outcomes—are strikingly similar.

Language, tools, taboo, ritual—each of these is part of a larger puzzle or matrix of cultural development that is traditionally seen as distinct and distant from sexuality. Nevertheless, the occurrence of a number of remarkable primate behaviors revolving around homosexuality and nonreproductive heterosexuality suggests that these domains are much more intimately associated than previously imagined. Sexual gesture systems, masturbatory tools, homosexual incest taboos, and ritualized same-sex “oath-taking” offer extraordinary juxtapositions of culture, biology, society, and evolution. Primate (homo)sexual behaviors such as these exemplify both cultural traditions and evolutionary inheritances. In turn, they may have contributed to the development of some of the most hallowed and cherished landmarks of human cultural history as well.⁷¹

Unnatural Nature

Animals don’t do it, so why should we? Can you even imagine a queer grizzly bear? Or a lesbian owl or salmon?

—from a letter written to Dean Hamer, coauthor of

The Science of Desire: The Search for the Gay Gene and the

Biology of Behavior⁷²

Many people, such as the man quoted above, believe that homosexuality does not occur in nature and use this belief to justify their opinions about human homosexuality. In fact, rarely is homosexuality in animals discussed on its own: inevitably, cross-species comparisons are drawn to ascribe moral value to the behavior—both positive and negative. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the notion of “naturalness” and the entire complex of animal-human comparisons that this problematic term evokes. The prevailing view is an overly simplistic one: if homosexuality is believed to occur in animals, it is considered to be “natural” and therefore acceptable in humans; if it is thought not to occur in animals, it is considered “unnatural” and therefore unacceptable in humans. The debate seems clear and the lines of distinction inviolable.

Any careful consideration of the logic behind the equation occurs in animals = natural = acceptable in humans will show, however, that this line of reasoning is flawed. As many people have pointed out, humans engage in a wide variety of behaviors that do not occur in nature, from cooking to writing letters to wearing clothes, and yet we do not condemn these activities as “unnatural” because they are not found among animals. As author Jon Ward explains, with regard to a friend who asserted “You can’t argue with biology” (believing that homosexuality was “unnatural”):

Has he never fried an egg? The whole of human history is an “argument with biology.” The very civilization which the most homophobic ideologues are eager to defend is the antithesis of nature: law and art.⁷³

We also use our biology and anatomy in ways that “nature did not intend for them to be used” without ascribing a moral value to such activities. As James Weinrich observes, the tongue’s primary biological purpose is for the act of eating, yet its use in acts of speech, bubble-gum-blowing, or kissing is not therefore considered “unnatural.” In addition, many things that do occur spontaneously in animals—diseases, birth defects, rape, and cannibalism, for example—are not considered to be “natural” or desirable conditions or behaviors in most humans. Weinrich aptly remarks, “When animals do something that we like, we call it natural. When they do something that we don’t like, we call it animalistic.”⁷⁴