Posted on 08/20/2003 6:54:15 AM PDT by Lazamataz
At a time when religious and conservative right-wing groups are attempting to dismiss homosexuality as "unnatural," a leading zoologist has said gay people could be seen as the "pinnacle of evolution."
Speaking at the Edinburgh Book Festival, Clive Bromhall said that humankind's evolution has resulted in our present state of "infantilism," in which we break the primate mold by being playful, creative and childlike right into adulthood.
"From men's obsession with swollen breasts to our constant search for a pseudoparental God, everything about the human species is infantile," Bromhall said in a lecture.
"Like baby chimps, we have soft, downy bodies, flat faces and large, rounded heads. Like them, we too want to be kissed, cuddled and stroked; we remain playful, compliant and comparatively mild-mannered for the whole of our lives," he added.
Bromhall claims that infantilism is rejected by straight people as they age -- and that by remaining in same-sex relationships, gay men and women are actually displaying superiority over their peers.
"We've known for years that homosexuality is linked to a playful, creative character," he said.
"Homosexuals excel as artists, thespians and other playful, mimetic professions. Being playful is at the heart of being human. It's something that should be celebrated. You could say that homosexuals are at the pinnacle of human evolution."
Bromhall was speaking to promote his new book "The Eternal Child" at the festival.
"I thought the book might be a bit dry but I started reading it and could not put it down. The content about how we are all super babies and developed the way we have including female and infantile social structures, changed the way we cooperate in large groups and become 'daydreamers' and all that entailed was quite fascinating. The grouping of humans into four categories and the explanation of homosexual and lesbian behaviour is a real thought provoker towards the end of the book. A great read. The ideas will stay with me a long time."
By that time, they will look like this and self pollinate.
4 categories? Where do bisexuals fit into this picture?
How about asexuals?
Clown Suits! Crawl spaces! The Gacy Day Parade!
That's what I got out of his screed, so far.
LOL! Cute.
You said 'buttress'. Hehh hehehhh hehheheh hehehehh HUHHHUHHH HUHHHUHUHH HUUUHUHHUHU HUHHHUHHH
That's how you define it. But that's obviously not how Bromhall defines it. To him, the goal of evolution is to be hugged and kissed and ... stuff.
It's a narcissistic view of the world, in which "what happens after I'm gone" is completely without meaning. And so offspring -- the ultimate in "what happens after I'm gone" -- are also meaningless.
There is a certain twisted elegance to this logic. If one believes that homosexuality is an evolved trait, then the inability to produce offspring must be proof that evolution has a different goal.
I find it fascinating, BTW, that Bromhall's "infantilism" does not seem to differ in any practical sense from Ayn Rand's description of man's "highest moral purpose":
Man every man is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.
Like Bromhall, Rand rejects the notion that offspring have any moral import. And Bromhall, like Rand, is espousing "happiness" as the highest moral purpose in a rational universe.
At first glance, this article is simply preposterous. But after a bit of thought, I find it contains a lot of useful insights -- probably none of which would make Mr. Bromhall particularly happy.
The omission of trans-gendered folk ~may~ mean that they will eventually compete with the gay folk for pinnacle status.
I've always had the opinion that queers are not so much interested in the "same" sex, rather interested in sex with themselves, so queer sex is the ultimate masturbation.
Also, evidence mounts that "gays" are anything but and are generally more miserable than they let on.
The choice of label "gay" is itself an attempt to counter the reality -- i suspect "miserable-narcissist" would be more accurate ;)
That said, the author has a weak argument that the internal sense a person has of themselves (e.g.- as an eternal child) is the end goal of evolution, which doesn't make sense since it seems to me at least that spiritual advancement, and consciousness of the universe is a more likely goal.
Being drawn into an obsession with sex seems like a pretty lame end goal for the human race. the feeling from stimulation of the sex organs is a pretty limited thing compared with beholding the face of God and the wonders of the Universe.
And those black people just got natural rhythm. < /sarcasm >
====================
LOL! Yeah, and white men can't jump.
Well, if Bromhall's right, then it would appear that the answer was XXX42....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.