[meandog]

Sexually, we resemble baboons. This is, and to a certain extent ought to be, true. But saying it seems like a dig, a put-down. We know that human sexuality is something like other mammalian sexuality, and at the same time something more. For us, as for apes, mating fulfills an appetitive drive and satisfies an itch. Like other primates, we reproduce sexually. Again like other primates, we use sexual gestures to express affinity or “matedness” or belonging on some level: Our mating patterns order our herd, our group, our community....

Not true. Only among the bonobo is sexuality somewhat similiar... and then a lot of the contact is same sex
Like humans, bonobo females are sexually receptive throughout most of their estrus cycle. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), on the other hand, only mate during the few days when a female is fertile. Generally, the ranking males in chimp society “get the girls.” Male chimps make macho displays to impress females and can be quite vehement in their demands. Consequently, chimp females do not have much control over who they mate with. Bonobo males tend to be a bit more polite. They ask first, by displaying themselves in a persuasive but non-aggressive manner, offering food or making other propositions—and bonobo females have the right to refuse. Baboons, gorillas, orangs and chimps usually only mate when the female is in estrus (heat)... heres a link click here

[Mrs. Don-o]

You wrote: "Only among the bonobo is sexuality somewhat similiar...Baboons, gorillas, orangs and chimps usually only mate when the female is in estrus (heat)... "

Zological science has always interested me (though I take sociobiology with a huge grain of salt.) I remember reading that most mammalian males can't perform a completed act of intercourse (mounting + penetration + ejaculation) in the absence of female pheromones which act as physiological triggers to the process. Do you know anything about that?