Sexuality of bonobo chimpanzees

[Rodion Romanovich]

So apparently bonobos have sex about once every two weeks, while humans on average have sex 3-4 times a week (average for unmarried couples, according to the Kinsey report and various other studies). Bonobos seem to have a much smaller birth rates than humans, too.

- Do you think humans being more sexualized than their ancestors is a result of culture or of evolution/self-breeding/civilization? I.e. would you if living in a rain forest with all women in your herd constantly naked only want to have sex once every two weeks, or as much as or more often than you want it in a civilized society?
- Do you think our society form favors human beings who are oversexualized over human beings who are good survivors? I.e. do people who contribute more to overpopulation have more success in the short term because they get many more children. Unlike what is the case in most animal herds, where the survival pressure from nature forces the successful lovers to also be good contributors to the herd so that also less successful lovers and less overseuxalized individuals pass on their heritage to each generation?
- Do you think civilization gives undeserved privileges to people who are good lovers but don't contribute to society in any other ways?
- Do you think civilization oppresses people who aren't good lovers?
- Do you think, as some claim, that sex lies behind the bonobo tendency to be more peaceful than the common chimpanzee? Some scientists claim that the fact that bonobos have sex all the time is the reason why they are a little less violent than the common chimpanzee, but if that is true, how can humans be both more violent than common chimpanzees if they have a lot more sex than the bonobos?
- Are you more proud of having the bonobo or the common chimpanzee as your ancestor?

[Adrian II]

So apparently bonobos have sex about once every two weeks (..)Make that about every two hours...

[Rodion Romanovich]

Hm after some further research here's the result: bonobos have intercourse once every two weeks, but engage in different forms of non-intercourse sexual activities about every two hours.

[CrossLOPER]

Make that about every two hours...
I see what you did there...

BOT: There's no question that sex plays a vital role in civilization, but I do not think that the cases you mentioned are unique in neither situational nor chronological ways. "Good lovers" were always sought after, but humans tended to look for other things in other people as they mature.

I don't think that anyone who is a "bad lover" has ever been too repressed, but one's abilities always seem to come into question to others at certain times. I would add more, but I wish you (LegioXXXUlpiaVictrix) would elaborate a bit on some of your points.

As for how bonobos regard sex, I think that they don't think of it much. Yes they have their own unwritten codes of conduct that they understand and follow, but they see sex as something perfectly normal to employ in social situations, not just to make children. Obviously this is much different than how humans regard sex. Our societies tend to shun it so much that it becomes something of a huge curiosity that only "perverts" would think of. No that I'm saying that anyone should let sex dominate their mind, I just saying that I believe that it is overly regarded as taboo.

[Rodion Romanovich]

I don't think that anyone who is a "bad lover" has ever been too repressed, but one's abilities always seem to come into question to others at certain times. I would add more, but I wish you (LegioXXXUlpiaVictrix) would elaborate a bit on some of your points.

Elaboration: do you think people who in various ways are skilled at getting many children and contribute to overpopulation are more successful in today's evolutionary pressure than was the case before civilization? I.e., do we in every generation pick out those who are most prone to driving overpopulation forward, or do we have a society system where we are keeping a balance so that each new generation as about as much prone to overreproducing as the previous? The other question was whether you think overreproduction was a culture-induced thing, or just evolution gone wrong?



As for how bonobos regard sex, I think that they don't think of it much. Yes they have their own unwritten codes of conduct that they understand and follow, but they see sex as something perfectly normal to employ in social situations, not just to make children. Obviously this is much different than how humans regard sex. Our societies tend to shun it so much that it becomes something of a huge curiosity that only "perverts" would think of. No that I'm saying that anyone should let sex dominate their mind, I just saying that I believe that it is overly regarded as taboo.
I agree

[CrossLOPER]

There was a conversation a while back about population "replacement" being a favorable thing to fill in the contribution holes our communities have when people 1)Grow to old to fulfill that role or 2)die. I believe it is a natural, yet primitive, impulse to have many children in hopes that maybe one or two may be able to survive and even be able to contribute to a society. In our time, however, many cultures have gained the ability to bypass this once-necessary role, but not overcome it (I don't think that many would want to anyway.)

So to begin to answer your question, I will say that I do not think that potency is as much a major concern as it once was, since there are ways to bypass such a problem in some cases, and that it may not even be necessary since problems occur more rarely than they once did. Drawing from that conclusion, I believe that certain cultures and certain portions of cultures, such as some Christian(western US and Ukraine[though it is no longer as much of a religious standard in Ukraine]) and Moslem (Saudi Arabia in particular) families, that retain original beliefs (that sexual intercourse is only for the creation of children) that where created in different circumstances end up contributing to overpopulation. Where as this may have been a fine condition for some, it no longer functions in the same way since most offspring tend to survive in many more cases today. These are not (only?) the key factors, however. I believe it is the cultures that have been aided in one way (given food and some treatment against disease) but not allowed to advance in terms of economy and social structure, whether due to exterior or interior factors, contribute to overpopulation the most.

As civilizations advance, I believe population growth will begin to taper off and become constant. This has been evident in Europe and the CIS for some time and is beginning to become evident in Asia. The US, however, is not showing this because of constant immigration of people from some uneven cultures that have different expectations.

NOTE: I suggest that you update the title so as that other may not think that this thread is all about GG monkey sex.

[Shahed]

Every TWO HOURS !!!?? YES !

DAMM! my ideal girlfriend is an ape ?

[Aenlic]

Clearly, this bonobo is feeling left out of the general action.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/17/ape.alarm.ap/index.html

[Shahed]

LMAO ! Those chimps are clever.

...Wait !! NON penetrative every two hours yeah ? ARRGGH ??
Ok well I'll settle for it. Is there a way to teach this to human females ? cause I'm not into the inter-species beastiality (?) thing.
Now THAT is THE most important question.

(joking)

[ajaxfetish]

- Do you think humans being more sexualized than their ancestors is a result of culture or of evolution/self-breeding/civilization?

. . .

- Are you more proud of having the bonobo or the common chimpanzee as your ancestor?
I do hope you're not trying to argue that humans are the descendants of bonobo chimpanzees.

Ajax

[CrossLOPER]

I believe he meant to say that humans and bonobos have a common ancestor.

[ajaxfetish]

That's the intent I'm hoping for.

Ajax

[Adrian II]

Obviously this is much different than how humans regard sex. Our societies tend to shun it so much that it becomes something of a huge curiosity that only "perverts" would think of.Good grief, what does that make me? I think of it all the time.. :pimp:
The other question was whether you think overreproduction was a culture-induced thing, or just evolution gone wrong?Evolution can not go 'wrong' in the sense that it denies nature. That would be a contradiction in terms.
I do hope you're not trying to argue that humans are the descendants of bonobo chimpanzees.Bonobos are not chimpanzees. They are altogether different species. And we do not descend from either of them; we seem to have descended from a common ancestor, though.

Frans de Waal, one of the world's leading experts on chimps and related species, has recently published an excellent book on the ethology of primates and its implications for man: Our Inner Ape (2005). It's all about the various (often opposite) strategies of bonobos, chimps and other primates to solve problems and resolve issues within their communities. It it also a serious scientific indictment against popular nonsense about innate human selfishness and so-called 'selfish genes'.

[BDC]

You always get the impression bonobos really know something everyone else could do with learning. I mean look at the different way these 3 closely related species solve social issues:

1) Chimpanzees - have a fight
2) Humans - lawyers
3) Bonobos - sex

Who has a better time?

[Ronin]

Good grief, what does that make me? I think of it all the time.. :pimp:

that´s what makes you a man.....welcome to the club :laugh4:

[Banquo's Ghost]

You always get the impression bonobos really know something everyone else could do with learning. I mean look at the different way these 3 closely related species solve social issues:

1) Chimpanzees - have a fight
2) Humans - lawyers
3) Bonobos - sex

Who has a better time?

The lawyers?

Since much of human sexuality seems to end up in the courts too... :bounce:

[Adrian II]

that´s what makes you a man.....welcome to the club :laugh4:Pheww.. muito obrigado! :sweatdrop:

[Fragony]

Frans de Waal wrote a pretty cool book about primates and their behaviour,

'van nature goed'

pretty interesting stuff, go bonobo's