In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species
between a mating pair, often leading to the production and rearing of
offspring and potentially a lifelong bond. Pair-bonding is a term coined
in the 1940s that is frequently used in sociobiology and evolutionary biology circles. The term often implies either a lifelong socially monogamous
relationship or a stage of mating interaction in socially monogamous
species. It is sometimes used in reference to human relationships.
Monogamous voles (such as prairie voles) have significantly greater density and distribution of vasopressin
receptors in their brain when compared to polygamous voles. These
differences are located in the ventral forebrain and the
dopamine-mediated reward pathway.
Peptide arginine vasopressin (AVP), dopamine, and oxytocin
act in this region to coordinate rewarding activities such as mating,
and regulate selective affiliation. These species-specific differences
have shown to correlate with social behaviors, and in monogamous prairie
voles are important for facilitation of pair bonding. When compared to montane voles, which are polygamous, monogamousprairie voles appear to have more of these AVP and oxytocin neurotransmitter receptors. It is important that these receptors are in the reward centers of the brain because that could lead to a conditioned
partner in the prairie vole compared to the montane vole which would
explain why the prairie vole forms pair bonds and the montane vole does
not.
Varieties
Black-backed jackals are one of very few monogamous
mammals. This pair works together in teamwork to hunt down prey and
scavenge. They will stay together until one of the two dies.
According to evolutionary psychologists David P. Barash and Judith Lipton, from their 2001 book The Myth of Monogamy, there are several varieties of pair bonds:
Short-term pair-bond: a transient mating or associations
Long-term pair-bond: bonded for a significant portion of the life cycle of that pair
Lifelong pair-bond: mated for life
Social pair-bond: attachments for territorial or social reasons, as in cuckold situations
Humans can experience some or all of the above-mentioned varieties of
pair bonds in their lifetime. These bonds can be temporary or last a
lifetime, same age or with different age groups. In a biological sense
there are two main types of pair bonds exhibited in humans: social pair bonding and sexual
pair bonding. The social pair bond is a strong behavioral and
psychological relationship between two individuals that is measurably
different in physiological and emotional terms from general friendships or other acquaintancerelationships.
On the other hand, the sexual pair bond is a behavioral and
physiological bond between two individuals with a strong sexual
attraction component. In this bond the participants in the sexual pair
bond prefer to have sex with each other over other options. Social pair
bonds are usually more wide-ranging than their sexual counterparts due
to the sexual nature involved in the latter. In humans and other mammals, these pair bonds are created by a combination of social interaction and biological factors including neurotransmitters like oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine.
Pair bonds (social and/or sexual) are a biological phenomenon and are not equivalent to the human social institution of marriage.
Marriage can be associated with a sexual or social pair bond; however,
married couples do not necessarily have to experience both or either of
these bonds. Marriage can be a consequence of pair bonding and vice
versa; however, neither always creates or leads to the other. Pair
bonding in humans helps explain extreme "bonds" that we may share with others but are unable to articulate in terms of contemporary "love".
Examples
Birds
Close to ninety percent of known avian species are monogamous,
compared to five percent of known mammalian species. The majority of
monogamous avians form long-term pair bonds which typically result in
seasonal mating: these species breed with a single partner, raise their
young, and then pair up with a new mate to repeat the cycle during the
next season. Some avians such as swans, bald eagles, California condors, and the Atlantic Puffin are not only monogamous, but also form lifelong pair bonds.
When discussing the social life of the bank swallow, Lipton and Barash state:
For about four days immediately prior to egg-laying, when copulations
lead to fertilizations, the male bank swallow is very busy, attentively
guarding his female. Before this time, as well as after—that is, when
her eggs are not ripe, and again after his genes are safely tucked away
inside the shells—he goes seeking extra-pair copulations with the mates
of other males…who, of course, are busy with defensive mate-guarding of
their own.
Male (left) and female (right) mallard ducks form seasonal monogamous pairs.
In various species, males provide parental care and females mate with
multiple males. For example, recent studies show that extra-pair
copulation frequently occurs in monogamous birds in which a "social"
father provides intensive care for its "social" offspring.
Fishes
A University of Florida scientist reports that male sand gobies
work harder at building nests and taking care of eggs when females are
present – the first time such “courtship parental care” has been
documented in any species.
In the cichlid species Tropheus moorii, a male and female will form a temporary monogamous pair bond and spawn; after which, the female leaves to mouthbrood the eggs on her own. T. moorii broods exhibit genetic monogamy (all eggs in a brood are fertilized by a single male). Another mouth brooding cichlid - the Lake Tanganyika cichlid (Xenotilapia rotundiventralis) has been shown that mating pairs maintain pair bonds at least until the shift of young from female to male. More recently the Australian Murray cod has been seen maintaining pair bonds over 3 years
Mammals
As
noted above, different species of voles vary in their sexual behavior,
and these differences correlate with expression levels of vasopressin
receptors in reward areas of the brain. Scientists were able to change
adult male montane voles' behavior to resemble that of monogamous
prairie voles in experiments in which vasopressin receptors were
introduced into the brain of male montane voles.
Concealed ovulation or hidden estrus
in a species is the lack of any perceptible change in an adult female
(for instance, a change in appearance or scent) when she is fertile and
near ovulation. Some examples of perceptible changes are swelling and redness of the genitalia in baboons and bonobos, and pheromone release in the feline family. In contrast, the females of humans and a few other species that undergo hidden estrus have few external signs of fecundity,
making it difficult for a mate to consciously deduce, by means of
external signs only, whether or not a female is near ovulation.
Human females
In
humans, an adult woman's fertility peaks for a few days during each
roughly monthly cycle. The frequency and length of fertility (the time
when a woman can become pregnant) is highly variable between women, and
can slightly change for each woman over the course of her lifespan.
Humans are considered to have concealed ovulation because there is no
outward physiological sign, either to a woman herself or to others, that
ovulation, or biological fertility, is occurring. Knowledge of the
fertility cycle, learned through experience or from educational sources,
can allow a woman to estimate her own level of fertility at a given
time (fertility awareness).
Whether other humans, potential reproductive partners in particular,
can detect fertility in women through behavioral or invisible biological
cues is highly debated. Scientists and laypersons are interested in
this question because it has implications for human social behavior, and
could theoretically offer biological explanations for some human sexual
behavior. However, the science here is weak, due to a relatively small
number of studies.
Several small studies have found that fertile women appear more
attractive to men than women during infertile portions of her menstrual
cycle, or women using hormonal contraception. It has also been suggested that a woman's voice may become more attractive to men during this time. Two small studies of monogamous
human couples found that women initiated sex significantly more
frequently when fertile, but male-initiated sex occurred at a constant
rate, without regard to the woman's phase of menstrual cycle. It may be that a woman's awareness of men's courtship signals
increases during her highly fertile phase due to an enhanced olfactory
awareness of chemicals specifically found in men's body odor.
Analyses of data provided by the post-1998 U.S. Demographic and
Health Surveys found no variation in the occurrence of coitus in the
menstrual phases (except during menstruation itself).
This is contrary to other studies, which have found female sexual
desire and extra-pair copulations (EPCs) to increase during the
midfollicular to ovulatory phases (that is, the highly fertile phase).
These findings of differences in woman-initiated versus man-initiated
sex are likely caused by the woman's subconscious awareness of her
ovulation cycle (because of hormonal changes causing her to feel
increased sexual desire), contrasting with the man's inability to detect
ovulation because of its being "hidden".
In 2008, researchers announced the discovery in human semen of hormones usually found in ovulating women. They theorized that follicle stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, and estradiol
may encourage ovulation in women exposed to semen. These hormones are
not found in the semen of chimpanzees, suggesting this phenomenon may be
a human male counter-strategy to concealed ovulation in human females.
Other researchers are skeptical that the low levels of hormones found
in semen could have any effect on ovulation. One group of authors has theorized that concealed ovulation and menstruation were key factors in the development of symbolic culture in early human society.
Evolutionary hypotheses
Evolutionary psychologists have advanced a number of different possible explanations for concealed ovulation.
Some posit that the lack of signaling in some species is a trait
retained from evolutionary ancestors, not something that existed
previously and later disappeared. If signaling is supposed to have
existed and was lost, then it could have been merely due to reduced
adaptive importance and lessened selection,
or due to direct adaptive advantages for the concealment of ovulation.
Yet another possibility (regarding humans specifically) is that while
highly specific signaling of ovulation is absent, human female anatomy
evolved to mimic permanent signaling of fertility.
Paternal investment hypothesis
The paternal investment hypothesis is strongly supported by many evolutionary biologists. Several hypotheses regarding human evolution integrate the idea that women increasingly required supplemental paternal investment
in their offspring. The shared reliance on this idea across several
hypotheses concerning human evolution increases its significance in
terms of this specific phenomenon.
This hypothesis suggests that women concealed ovulation to obtain men's aid in rearing offspring. Schoroder[14]
summarizes this hypothesis outlined in Alexander and Noonan's 1979
paper: if women no longer signaled the time of ovulation, men would be
unable to detect the exact period in which they were fecund. This led
to a change in men's mating strategy: rather than mating with multiple
women in the hope that some of them, at least, were fecund during that
period, men instead chose to mate with a particular woman repeatedly
throughout her menstrual cycle. A mating would be successful in
resulting in conception when it occurred during ovulation, and thus,
frequent matings, necessitated by the effects of concealed ovulation,
would be most evolutionarily successful. A similar hypothesis was proposed by Lovejoy in 1981 that argued that concealed ovulation, reduced canines and bipedalism evolved from a reproductive strategy where males provisioned food resources to his paired female and dependent offspring.
Continuous female sexual receptivity
suggests human sexuality is not solely defined by reproduction; a large
part of it revolves around conjugal love and communication between
partners. Copulations between partners while the woman is pregnant or
in the infertile period of her menstrual cycle do not achieve
conception, but do strengthen the bond between these partners.
Therefore, the increased frequency of copulations due to concealed
ovulation are thought to have played a role in fostering pair bonds in humans.
The pair bond would be very advantageous to the reproductive fitness
of both partners throughout the period of pregnancy, lactation, and
rearing of offspring. Pregnancy, lactation and caring for
post-lactation offspring require vast amounts of energy and time on the
part of the woman. She must at first consume more food, then provide
food to her offspring, while her ability to forage is reduced
throughout. Supplemental male investment in the mother and her
offspring is advantageous to all parties. While the man supplements the
woman's limited gathered food, the woman is enabled to devote the
necessary time and energy to the care of their offspring. The offspring
benefits from the supplemental investment, in the form of food and
defense from the father, and receives the full attention and resources
of the mother. Through this shared parental investment, both man and
woman would increase their offspring's chances for survival, thereby
increasing their reproductive fitness. In this way natural selection
would favor the establishment of pair bonds in humans. To the extent
that concealed ovulation strengthened pair bonding, selective pressure
would favor concealed ovulation as well.
Another, more recent, hypothesis is that concealed ovulation is
an adaptation in response to a promiscuous mating system, similar to
that of our closest evolutionary relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees.
The theory is that concealed ovulation evolved in women to lessen
paternity certainty, which would both lessen the chances of infanticide
(as a father is less likely to kill offspring that might be his), and
potentially increase the number of men motivated to assist her in caring
for her offspring (partible paternity). This is supported by the fact that all other mammals with concealed ovulation, such as dolphins and gray langurs,
are promiscuous, and that the only other ape species that have
multi-male communities, as humans do, are promiscuous. It is argued that
evidence such as the Coolidge effect,
showing that a man does not seem to be naturally geared towards sexual
mate-guarding behavior (that is, preventing other males from having
access to his sexual partner), supports the conclusion that sexual
monogamy (though perhaps not social monogamy and/or pair bonding) was rare in early modern humans.
Reduced infanticide hypothesis
This hypothesis suggests the adaptive advantage for women who had hidden estrus would be a reduction in the possibility of infanticide by men, as they would be unable to reliably identify, and kill, their rivals' offspring. This hypothesis is supported by recent studies of wild Hanuman langurs, documenting concealed ovulation, and frequent matings with males outside their fertile ovulatory period. Heistermann et al. hypothesize that concealed ovulation is used by women to confuse paternity and thus reduce infanticide in primates.
He explains that as ovulation is always concealed in women, men can
only determine paternity (and thus decide on whether to kill the woman's
child) probabilistically, based on his previous mating frequency with
her, and so he would be unable to escape the possibility that the child
might be his own, even if he were aware of promiscuous matings on the
woman's part.
Sex and reward hypothesis
Schoroder
reviews a hypothesis by Symons and Hill, that after hunting, men
exchanged meat for sex with women. Women who continuously mimicked
estrus may have benefited from more meat than those that did not. If
this occurred with enough frequency, then a definite period of estrus
would have been lost, and with it sexual signaling specific to ovulation
would have disappeared.
Social-bonding hypothesis
Schoroder
presents the idea of a "gradual diminution of mid-cycle estrus and
concomitant continuous sexual receptivity in human women" because it
facilitated orderly social relationships throughout the menstrual cycle
by eliminating the periodic intensification of male–male aggressiveness
in competition for mates.
The extended estrous period of the bonobo (reproductive-age females are
in heat for 75% of their menstrual cycle) has been said to have a
similar effect to the lack of a "heat" in women. While concealed human
ovulation may have evolved in this fashion, extending estrus until it
was no longer a distinct period, as paralleled in the bonobo, this
theory of why concealed ovulation evolved has frequently been rejected.
Schroder outlines the two objections to this hypothesis: (1) natural
selection would need to work at a level above the individual, which is
difficult to prove; and (2) selection, because it acts on the
individuals with the most reproductive success, would thus favor greater
reproductive success over social integration at the expense of
reproductive success.
However, since 1993 when that was written, group selection models have seen a resurgence.
Cuckoldry hypothesis
Schroder
in his review writes that Benshoof and Thornhill hypothesized that
estrus became hidden after monogamous relationships became the norm in Homo erectus.
Concealed ovulation allowed the woman to mate secretly at times with a
genetically superior man, and thus gain the benefit of his genes for
her offspring, while still retaining the benefits of the pair bond with
her usual sexual partner. Her usual sexual partner would have little
reason to doubt her fidelity, because of the concealed ovulation, and
would have high, albeit unfounded, paternity confidence in her
offspring. His confidence would encourage him to invest his time and
energy in assisting her to care for the child, even though it was not
his own. Again, the idea of a man's investment being vital to the
child's survival is a central fixture of a hypothesis regarding
concealed ovulation, even as the evolutionary benefits accrue to the
child, the woman, and her clandestine partner, and not to her regular
sexual partner.
As a side effect of bipedalism
Pawlowski presents the importance of bipedalism
to the mechanics and necessity of ovulation signaling. The more open
savannah environment inhabited by early humans brought greater danger
from predators. This would have caused humans to live in denser groups,
and, in such a scenario, the long-distance sexual signaling provided by
female genital swellings would have lost its function. Concealed
ovulation is thus argued to be a loss of function evolutionary change
rather than an adaptation. Thermoregulatory systems were also modified in humans with the move to the savannah
to conserve water. It is thought that female genital swellings would
have incurred added cost because of ineffective evaporation of water
from the area. Pawlowski continues by saying the change to bipedalism
in early hominins changed both the position of female genitals and the
line of vision of males. Since males could no longer constantly see the
female genitals, swelling of them during estrus as a mode of signaling
would have become useless. Also, anogenital swelling at each ovulatory
period may have interfered with the mechanics of bipedal locomotion, and
selection may have favored females who were less hindered by this
occurrence. This hypothesis ultimately concludes that bipedalism, which
was strongly selected for, caused the physiological changes and a loss
of function of sexual signaling through female genital swelling, leading
to the concealed ovulation we now observe.
Pawlowski's paper offers views that differ from the other
hypotheses regarding concealed ovulation in that it pinpoints
physiological changes in early humans as the cause of concealed
ovulation rather than social or behavioral ones.
One of the strengths of this is derived from the other hypotheses'
weaknesses – it is difficult to track the evolution of a behavior as it
leaves no verifiable evidence in the form of bone or DNA. However, the
fact that the Hanuman langurs
also display some concealed ovulation and that it is not directly
caused by a physiological change to bipedalism may suggest bipedalism
was not, at least, the sole cause of concealed ovulation in humans. As
stated earlier, it is possible for many elements of different hypotheses
to be true regarding the selective pressures for concealed ovulation in
humans.
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners.
The term can carry a moral judgment if the social ideal for sexual
activity is monogamous relationships. A common example of behavior
viewed as promiscuous by many cultures is the one-night stand, and its frequency is used by researchers as a marker for promiscuity.
What sexual behavior is considered promiscuous varies between
cultures, as does the prevalence of promiscuity. Different standards are
often applied to different genders and civil statutes. Feminists have traditionally argued a significant double standard
exists between how men and women are judged for promiscuity.
Historically, stereotypes of the promiscuous woman have tended to be
negative, such as "the slut"
or "the harlot", while male stereotypes have been more varied, some
expressing approval, such as "the stud" or "the player", while others
imply societal deviance, such as "the womanizer" or "the philanderer". A
scientific study published in 2005 found that promiscuous men and women
are both prone to derogatory judgment.
Promiscuity is common in many animal species. Some species have promiscuous mating systems, ranging from polyandry and polygyny
to mating systems with no stable relationships where mating between two
individuals is a one-time event. Many species form stable pair bonds, but still mate with other individuals outside the pair. In biology, incidents of promiscuity in species that form pair bonds are usually called extra-pair copulations.
Humans
Accurately assessing people's sexual behavior is difficult, since strong social and personal motivations occur, depending on social sanctions and taboos, for either minimizing or exaggerating reported sexual activity.
American experiments in 1978 and 1982 found the great majority of
men were willing to have sex with women they did not know, of average
attractiveness, who propositioned them. No woman, by contrast, agreed to
such propositions from men of average attractiveness. While men were in
general comfortable with the requests, regardless of their willingness,
women responded with shock and disgust.
The number of sexual partners people have had in their lifetimes
varies widely within a population. A 2007 nationwide survey in the
United States found the median number of female sexual partners reported
by men was seven and the median number of male partners reported by
women was four. The men possibly exaggerated their reported number of
partners, women reported a number lower than the actual number, or a
minority of women had a sufficiently larger number than most other women
to create a mean significantly higher than the median, or all of the
above. About 29% of men and 9% of women reported to have had more than
15 sexual partners in their lifetimes.[6] Studies of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases
consistently demonstrate a small percentage of the studied population
has more partners than the average man or woman, and a smaller number of
people have fewer than the statistical average. An important question
in the epidemiology
of sexually transmitted infections is whether or not these groups
copulate mostly at random with sexual partners from throughout a
population or within their social groups.
A 2006 systematic review
analyzing data from 59 countries worldwide found no association between
regional sexual behavior tendencies, such as number of sexual partners,
and sexual-health status. Much more predictive of sexual-health status
are socioeconomic factors like poverty and mobility.[7]
Other studies have suggested that people with multiple casual sex
partners are more likely to be diagnosed with sexually transmitted
infections.
In 2008, a U.S. university study of international promiscuity found that Finns have had the largest number of sex partners in the industrialized world, and British people have the largest number among big western industrial nations. The study measured one-night stands, attitudes to casual sex, and number of sexual partners. A 2014 nationwide survey in the United Kingdom named Liverpool the country's most promiscuous city.
Britain's position on the international index "may be linked to
increasing social acceptance of promiscuity among women as well as men".
Britain's ranking was "ascribed to factors such as the decline of
religious scruples about extramarital sex, the growth of equal pay and
equal rights for women and a highly sexualised popular culture".
The top-10-ranking OECD
nations with a population over 10 million on the study's promiscuity
index, in descending order, were the United Kingdom, Germany, the
Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Australia, the United States, France,
Turkey, Mexico, and Canada.
A nonscientific survey conducted in 2007 by condom-maker Durex
measured promiscuity by a total number of sexual partners. The survey
found Austrian men had the highest number of sex partners of males
globally with 29.3 sexual partners on average. New Zealand women had the
highest number of sex partners for females in the world with an average
of 20.4 sexual partners. In all of the countries surveyed, except New
Zealand, men reported more sexual partners than women.
The data can differ quite drastically between studies due to the
small number of people that participate. A study funded by Durex,
published in 2009 (collected in 2006) shows in all counties surveyed,
except New Zealand, men reported fewer sexual partners than women. In
this case, New Zealand women were the only country to report a lower
average number of partners than men.
One review found the people from developed Western countries had
more sex partners than people from developing countries in general,
while the rate of STIs was higher in developing countries.
According to the 2005 Global Sex Survey by Durex, people have had
on average nine sexual partners, the most in Turkey (14.5) and
Australia (13.3), and the least in India (3) and China (3.1).
In many cases, the population of each country that participates
is approximately 1000 people and can equate to less than 0.0003% of the
population, e.g. the 2017 survey of 42 nations surveyed only 33,000
people. In India, data was collected from less than 0.000001% of the
total population at that time.
A 1994 study in the United States, which looked at the number of
sexual partners in a lifetime, found 20% of heterosexual men had one
partner, 55% had two to 20 partners, and 25% had more than 20 partners. More recent studies have reported similar numbers.
A 1989 study found having over 100 partners to be present though rare among homosexual males. General Social Survey
data indicates that the distribution of partner numbers among men who
have sex exclusively with men and men who have sex exclusively with
women is similar, but that differences appear in the proportion of those
with very high number of partners, which is larger among gay men, but
that in any case makes up a small minority for both groups. OkCupid
discovered a similar pattern in the data collected from its vast number
of users, published in 2010: the median number of self-reported
lifetime sexual partners for both gay and straight men was six; however,
a small minority of gay men (2%) were having a disproportionate share
of all self-reported gay sex (23%).[23]
According to updated OkCupid data published in 2014, gay male users
self-reported a lower median of lifetime sex partners than straight male
users: four for gay men and five for straight men.[24]
A 2007 study reported that two large population surveys found "the
majority of gay men had similar numbers of unprotected sexual partners
annually as straight men and women."
Empress Catherine II is remembered in popular culture for her sexual promiscuity.
In 1994, a study in the United States found almost all married
heterosexual women reported having sexual contact only with their
husbands, and unmarried women almost always reported having no more than
one sexual partner in the past three months. Lesbians who had a
long-term partner reported having fewer outside partners than
heterosexual women.
More recent research, however, contradicts the assertion that
heterosexual women are largely monogamous. A 2002 study estimated that
45% to 55% of married heterosexual women engage in sexual relationships
outside of their marriage.
While the estimates for heterosexual males in the same study were
greater (50–60%), the data indicate a significant portion of married
heterosexual women have or have had sexual partners other than their
spouse, as well.
One possible explanation for hyper sexuality is child sexual
abuse (CSA) trauma. Many studies have examined the correlation between
CSA and risky sexual behavior. Rodriguez-Srednicki and Ofelia examined
the correlation of CSA experienced by women and their self-destructive
behavior as adults using a questionnaire. The diversity and ages of the
women varied. Slightly fewer than half the women reported CSA while the
remainder reported no childhood trauma. The results of the study
determined that self-destructive behaviors, including hypersexuality,
correlates with CSA in women. CSA can create sexual schemas that result in risky sexual behavior.
This can play out in their sexual interactions as girls get older. The
sexual behaviors of women that experienced CSA differed from those of
women without exposure to CSA. Studies show CSA survivors tend to have
more sexual partners and engage in higher risk sexual behaviors.
Since at least 1450, the word 'slut' has been used, often pejoratively, to describe a sexually promiscuous woman. In and before the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, terms like "strumpet" and "whore" were used to describe women deemed promiscuous, as seen, for example, in John Webster's 1612 play The White Devil.
Thornhill and Gangestad found that women are much more likely to sexually fantasize about and be attracted to extra-pair men during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle than the luteal phase, whereas attraction to the primary partner does not change depending on the menstrual cycle.
A 2004 study by Pillsworth, Hasselton and Buss contradicted this,
finding greater in-pair sexual attraction during this phase and no
increase in attraction to extra-pair men.
Evolution
Evolutionary psychologists propose that a conditional human tendency for promiscuity is inherited from hunter-gatherer
ancestors. Promiscuity increases the likelihood of having children,
thus "evolutionary" fitness. According to them, female promiscuity is
advantageous in that it allows females to choose fathers for their
children who have better genes than their mates, to ensure better care
for their offspring, have more children, and as a form of fertility
insurance. Male promiscuity was likely advantageous because it allowed males to father more children.
Primitive promiscuity
Primitive promiscuity or original promiscuity was the 19th-century hypothesis that humans originally lived in a state of promiscuity or "hetaerism" prior to the advent of society as we understand it.
Hetaerism is a theoretical early state of human society, as postulated
by 19th-century anthropologists, which was characterized by the absence
of the institution of marriage in any form and in which women were the
common property of their tribe and in which children never knew who
their fathers were.
Other animals
Many animal species, such as bonobos and chimpanzees, are promiscuous as a rule; they do not form pair bonds. Although social monogamy occurs in about
90% of avian species and about 3% of mammalian species, an estimated 90% of socially monogamous species exhibit individual promiscuity in the form of copulation outside the pair bond.
In the animal world, some species, including birds such as swans and fish such as Neolamprologus pulcher, once believed monogamous, are now known to engage in extra-pair copulations. One example of extra-pair fertilization (EPF) in birds is the black-throated blue warblers. Though it is a socially monogamous species, both males and females engage in EPF.
The Darwin-Bateman paradigm, which states that males are
typically eager to copulate while females are more choosy about whom to
mate with, has been confirmed by a meta-analysis.
This article focuses on Japanese definitions of gender and sexuality, Japanese reactions to queer
life, the clash between traditional and contemporary ideas, and the
cultural restraints of being queer in Japan. The Western term “queer,”
an umbrella term for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender represents a
change in thought pertaining to gender and sexuality in contemporary
Japan.
Japanese definitions of gender and sexuality
In
Japan, gender and sexuality are not conceptualized through a binary
frame within the context of individualism (homo- heterosexual,
man-woman) but rather through a spectrum wherein the various social
roles of the “all encompassing” group are emphasized. Under this
construction, expressions of gender and sexuality are varied, as is
evidenced by Japan's gender-bending communities.
The history of transgender people in Japan began during the Edo period. Women actors were banned from kabuki
theatre performances and, in turn, effeminate male performers took on
the roles of women. Such actors maintained their dress both inside and
outside of the theater. It was widely believed, at the time, that only
men could really know what beauty in a woman looked like. Moreover, if a
man acted like a woman, dressed like a woman and took on the social
roles of a woman, he was simply socialized as one. The latter is a
result of how Japan conceptualized gender and sexuality in terms of
adopted social roles. As Japan becomes more westernized there is
growing concern for the treatment of the sexual and gender minorities.
With the introduction of Buddhism, one of the earliest forms of
non-heterosexuality documented in Japan is found in young male
homosexual practices during the Heian period
(745 to 1185). Buddhism came to Japan from China by way of Korea
during the Kofun period (300 to 710). Because Buddhist monks lived on
steep mountains isolated within their own societies, they developed
their own sexual customs. Young boys (age 11 to age 17) called “Tigo”
served the monks sexually because female relationships were strictly
forbidden.
In modern Japan, it is not uncommon to hear Western terms such as gay and lesbian (ゲイgei and レズビアン rezubian).
Such terms differ significantly from terms used in the past and thus
show a westernizing trend. Before western contact, Japan did not have a
system of identification in which one's identity was determined by
one's biological sexual preference. In fact, “the tripartite taxonomy
of sexual types that has resulted from the social construction [homo-,
bi-, heterosexuality-], held no currency in Japan.”
However, this does not indicate that sexual behaviors between
individuals of the same sex were not practiced. In fact, such behavior
was so common in Japan that documentation of same sex relationships
dates back over a thousand years.
During the Edo period, for instance, male-female sexual relations
were important to secure offspring and social status; however,
male-male sexual relations, particularly amongst the Samurai, were viewed as an intricate part of male socialization. The term “wakashudo” or “shudo,”
literally translated as “the way of the young men,” observes an earlier
form of homosexuality that focused on the sexual relationship between a
Samurai and his pupil. Such relationships established an
unquestionable acceptance of same-sex practices and were not restricted
to men.
Women also engaged in bisexual practices although these practices
are not as well documented as those of men. During the 16th century,
medieval women gained new-found security as wives within virilocal
systems, in contrast to the insecurity of Heian-period wives in uxorilocal and wifevisiting
arrangements where women were easily abandoned by their spouses. This
change was significant because it allowed women to establish more
prominent positions within the household through which they were able to
exert more influence. In turn, this allowed a kind of sexual
liberation for many women.
Unlike Japan's past, however, modern Japan following post-world war II does not paint the same picture of gender fluidity. Specifically, scholars in the social sciences tend to agree that gender roles are more restrictive than ever. To name one example, Sexual Reassignment Surgery in Japan requires the applicant to be medically diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder in order to be accepted by a state-sanctioned clinic.
However, scholars argue that this prerequisite is meant as an
intentional enforcement of binary gender roles, rather than a symbol of
sexual tolerance.
Modern Japanese LGBT life
Dating back to the Edo Period (1603–1857), various literary and
artistic depictions of sexual acts between men and young boys exist.
Homosexuality in the western sense began during the Meiji period (1858–1912) and later in the Taishō period
(1912–1925). In the Meiji period, same-sex practices were considered
personal preferences. However, documentation and case studies only go
back to the 1900s, leaving little room for analysts to distinguish
homosexuality as an ‘obscene sexuality.’
In 1975 twelve women became the first group of women in Japan to
publicly identify as lesbians, publishing one issue of a magazine called
Subarashi Onna (Wonderful Women).
In the 1980s in Tokyo, a group of lesbians who spoke English
began to form, and in 1985 they started having in-person gatherings
called uiikuendo ("weekends") as part of the International Feminists of
Japan conference.
There are various opinions on how far the society has come in
dealing with homosexual people in Japan. McLelland's article, "The
Social Situation Facing Gays in Japan" presents a well rounded
discussion on how the society reacts to homosexual people.
It discusses the social structure of Japanese society and how well it
accommodates the sexual minority. For instance, the sexual minority has
now become a very important part of the Human Rights policies
constructed by the “Tokyo City Human Rights Policy Directive Manual
released in 2000”. Gay people were originally dropped during the first
draft of the policy, but after facing pressure from the public,
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and queer activist groups, the
council eventually pledged to safeguard the human rights of gay people.
Furthermore, awareness and education amongst Japanese people,
specifically pertaining to LGBT issues has improved and information is
now readily available. After the rapid westernization which Japan
underwent in the postwar period, the prevailing view in Japanese society
with respect to gender and sexual minorities shifted as well.
Consequently, lesbian, gay, bisexual and gender-variant identity and
behavior have since come to be seen as aberrant or "diseased", rather
than a natural variation in human behavior or a mere matter of
preference. In more recent times, however, with the influx of LGBT
magazines, research, interviews, case studies, auto-biographies,
journals and activism, more people have a relatively accepting and
respectful attitude towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
individuals. The availability of literature, information and formal
representation of queer voices has helped many young Japanese to
identify themselves with sexual minority groups. More importantly,
awareness has opened a mode of communication between mainstream Japanese
society and LGBT people in Japan.
It would be incorrect to say that Japanese LGBT people do not
face difficulties and that they only enjoy a life of comfort without any
societal prejudice or discrimination. For instance, many men in
contemporary Japanese society express their sexual attraction for other
men; however they do so with a low self-esteem and a lack of
self-confidence. The extensive information on queer life-styles has
helped to change this and now gay people are more comfortable with their
sexual orientation.
In 2017 Japan became the first country in the world to elect an openly transgender man to a public office when Tomoya Hosoda was elected as a councillor for the city of Iruma.
Still, many LGBT people are aware of the negative perception that
much of Japanese society has about LGBT lifestyles. Many LGBT people do
not feel comfortable discussing their problems with their families.
University students who openly discuss their problems with fellow
students categorize themselves as ‘straight’ to avoid uncomfortable
situations when seeking employment. McLelland's article talks about how
gay men in the provincial areas face oppressive and condescending
remarks. While awareness amongst Japanese society has helped queer
people to express their identities, societal restrictions prevent queer
people from living freely and contently in regards to employment and
public accommodations. Furthermore, the lack of clinical psychologists
versed in understanding queer identities does not help the advancement
for social acceptance.
Additional problems arise as awareness spreads. Issues such as
old-age, same-sex partnership laws, marriage, adoption and welfare
systems are all challenges that sexual-minority groups now face. Such
challenges will need to be acknowledged by Japanese leaders before any
positive societal changes can successfully occur.
The “western modes of promoting activism and visibility, such as
LGBT organizations, film festivals and parades in Japanese society have
been taken by some as evidence of a ‘global queering.’ In the realm of
sexuality, globalization results in creative indigenization and cultural
admixture more than it does in any unilateral imposition of western
sexual identities.” Thus, “Japan is home to an alternative sexual
modernity, a modernity produced by hybrid globalizing processes as much
as by the continuation of identities, practices and mentalities
inherited from the past.”
The clash between traditional and contemporary ideas
The
all encompassing term which refers to the non-heterosexual and
gender-variant practices and identities that include gay, lesbian, and
transgender individuals is kono sekai. The term literally translated in English means “this world,” and is used to refer to the wide variety of gender and sexual subcultures.
Homosexual practice is also found among the Samurai aristocracy
in part because of the heavy influence that Buddhism had on their
culture specifically during the early stages of the Edo period
(1600–1868). Also during this period, “there was no necessary
connection made between gender and sexual preference, because men,
samurai in particular, were able to engage in both same and opposite sex
affairs without being stigmatized.” Because same-sex relationships
were governed by a code of ethics, “elite men were able to pursue boys
and young men who had not yet undergone their coming-of-age ceremonies,
as well as transgender females of all ages from the lower classes who
worked as actors and prostitutes.” Although bisexuality in women was
practiced, the notion of lesbianism was not documented and there is “no
way of cognitively linking both male and female homosexuality.
It was not until the Meiji period (1868–1912) that “Japanese
sexuality” was transformed through influence from “the West.” From a
male to male perspective, before the Meiji period, the “behaviors
between a man and a man dealt with the commitment to spend their lives
together, not on their sexual desire.” Current queer expressions were
established through postwar sex magazines, coffee shops (danshoku
kisssaten), gay bars (gei ba), and various queer organizations.
Cultural restraints
The
current social restraints on personal expression and employment
opportunities related to being a sexual or gender minority in Japan
present a modern challenge. As a represented minority in a country where
mainstream conformity is promoted and preferred, the LGBT populace of
Japan are ostracized and stereotyped by society; however they are
commonly portrayed by media components. The media presents those
attractect to the same gender as transgender or transsexual, or vice
versa. However, even these representations are viewed as a performance
instead of sexual expression, further illustrating the media's refusal
to admit the existence of sexual and gender minorities. Mark McLelland
stated that “the homosexual man who is transgender and restricts himself
to the entertainment world is tolerated, even appreciated. However, the
homosexual man who ‘passes’ and turns up to be your boss, your teacher,
your neighbor or even your husband occasions a great deal of anxiety;
he is a figure to be feared and or despised.”
This way of thought represents the restraints on personal expression
by dwelling on LGBT people as a group that crossdresses. However, as
representations of gay sexuality are concerned, only those that are
noticeable, i.e. those that crossdress, are wanted while the
unnoticeable masses are shunned. These forces press for a common
expression of self that likely would not exist if social systems allowed
for their personal expression.
The suppressed expression of self is further expounded by the
cultural practices revolving around family and marriage. The custom of
living at home until marriage presents restrictions of LGBT life in
Japan; the belief that one’s family will shame and disown a child who
comes out as a sexual minority represses these children into living
within a different frame of existence by forcing them to behave in the
same manner as a heterosexual child. Along with this suppression, the
lack of private space restricts the expression of feelings and self
identity during times of growth, which in turn restrains attempts at
finding love in the LGBT community. Along with these family issues the
government’s refusal to acknowledge same-sex marriage forces gay,
lesbian and bisexual people into an outcast position by society’s
preference for marriage and family to which they are refused access.
Further national government influence unofficially restricts
employment opportunities to those who remain in the closet.
“Homosexuality works against the accepted norms of social morality and
can be thought of as contributing to the breaking down of the
established sexual public order of society. Consequently it should not
be sanctioned in modern society.”
This example of government preference on education presents one
example of employment opportunities lost to the LGBT populace of Japan.
Furthermore, many Japanese organizations are incorrectly informed on
LGBT issues which restrain and influence performance reports and
promotional possibilities.
These problems place pressure on sexual minorities to accept their
diminished reputations or leave a company due to unrestrained bigotry
from those in the workforce.
Variants such as GSM ("Gender and Sexual Minorities"), GSSM ("Gender, Sexual and Sexuality Minorities") GSRM ("Gender, Sexual and Romantic Minorities"), and GSD ("Gender and Sexual Diversity") have been considered in academia, but it is SGM ("Sexual and Gender Minority") that has gained the most advancement since 2014. In 2015 the NIH announced the formation of the Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office and numerous professional and academic institutions have adopted this term.
Sexual and gender minority is an umbrella term that encompasses populations included in the acronym "LGBTI" (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex), and those whose sexual orientation or gender
identity varies. It includes those who may not self-identify as LGBTI
(e.g., queer, questioning, two-spirit, asexual, men who have sex with men, gender variant), or those who have a specific medical condition affecting reproductive development (e.g., individuals with differences or disorders of sex development, who sometimes identify as intersex).
Origins
The term sexual minority was coined most likely in the late 1960s under the influence of Lars Ullerstam's
ground breaking book "The Erotic Minorities: A Swedish View" which came
strongly in favor of tolerance and empathy to uncommon varieties of
sexuality, such as paedophilia and "sex criminals". The term was used as analogous to ethnic minority.
Scientists such as Ritch Savin-Williams support using the term in order to accurately describe adolescent youths who may not identify as any common culturally-defined sexual identity label (lesbian, gay, bisexual, et cetera) but who still have attractions towards those of the same anatomical sex as themselves.
Associated health and social issues
Stress
Social
issues may lead to possible health and psychological issues, especially
in youth. It has been found that sexual minorities face increased
stress due to stigmas.
This stigma-related stress creates elevated coping regulation and
social and cognitive processes leading to risk for psychopathology.
Risky behavior
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published their 2015 study
of large cohorts of ninth to twelfth grade students across the US. One
hundred health behaviors were shown to put LGB students at risk for
health consequences. Sexual minority students engage in more risky
behaviors when compared with nonsexual minority students. Some students
"...had no sexual contact [and] were excluded from analyses on sexual
behaviors [including] female students who had sexual contact with only
females [and] were excluded from analyses on condom use and birth
control use..." Also excluded were "...male students who had sexual
contact with only males [and] were excluded from analyses on birth
control use.”
One small study showed that LGBT adolescents were victimized more
often, had higher rates of psychopathology, left home more frequently,
used highly addictive substances more frequently, and were more likely
to have more multiple sex partners than heterosexual adolescents.
Development
Based
on studies of adolescents, it is concluded that sexual minorities are
similar to heterosexual adolescents in developmental needs and concerns.
However, research has suggested that sexual minority youth (more
specifically LGBT youth) are more susceptible to psychological and
health issues than heterosexual youth.
Adolescent sexual minorities report a higher incidence of the following when compared to heterosexual students:
feelings of not being safe travelling to and from school or in school.
not going to school because they did not feel safe.
forced to do sexual things they did not want to do by someone they
were dating or going out with one or more times during the 12 months
(touching, kissing, or physically forced to have sexual intercourse)
had sexual intercourse.
first had sex before age 13.
had sex with at least four other people.
not using birth control.
had experienced sexual violence.
When compared to the general population, sexual minorities have a higher risk for self-injury.[22]
The treatment of aging sexual minorities seems to be influenced more by
ageism. Support for aging sexual minorities appears to be common.
Discrimination
When gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults reported being discriminated against, forty-two percent credited it to their sexual orientation.
This discrimination was positively associated with both harmful effects
on quality of life and indicators of psychiatric morbidity.
In the media
Sexual minorities are generally portrayed in the mass media as being ignored, trivialized, or condemned. The term symbolic annihilation
accounts for their lack of characterization due to not fitting into the
white, heterosexual, vanilla type lifestyle. It has been suggested that
online media has developed into a space in which sexual minorities may
use “social artillery”. This description centers on how social
networking and connections to oppose instances of homophobia. Still, some individuals have made their way into the media through television and music. TV shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and ABC’s Modern Family star individuals who are open about their non-heterosexual lifestyles. In music, people like Sam Smith and Sia have created songs that express their emotions
and sexuality with a number of followers. While sexual minorities do
have a place in the media, it is often critiqued that they are still
limited in their representations. In shows, if a character is gay, they
are often a very shallow character that is only present for comic relief
or as a plot twist. Compared to a heteronormative counterpart, the
sexual minority is often a mere side-kick. However, since the
integration of actors, musicians, and characters of sexual minorities,
the idea of non-normativity has become more normalized in society.
Cultural issues
Current
and past research has been "skewed toward SM men—and is
disproportionately focused on HIV and other sexually transmitted
infections." Between 1989 and 2011, numerous grants for research were
sponsored and funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) but
funded research for sexual minorities and health made up 0.1% of all
funded studies. Most research has been directed toward gay and bisexual
men. Women sexual minority studies accounted for only 13.5%.[27]
Sexual minorities in South Africa have sexual-orientation-related
health inequities when compared to other countries. One of the highest
prevalences of sexual violence directed toward women of a sexual
minority occurs in South Africa. Women of color who are living in low
income urban areas are notably targeted. The perpetrators of sexual
violence believe they are "correcting the women," and their actions will
cure them of their homosexuality.
Controversy
Some LGBT people object to using the term sexual minorities and prefer the term LGBT. Reasons for these objections may vary. For example, some LGBT people feel that the term sexual minority
reminds them about discrimination and about being a minority. They want
to be not a distinct minority but an integral and respectable part of
the society. Some other LGBT people dislike the term for being too
inclusive, including swingers,
polyamorists, BDSM people and other perceived "sexual strangers". These
LGBT people want to make a larger distance between these sexual
practices and bisexuality/homosexuality/transgender.
Some transgender and transsexual people dislike the term sexual minority
for yet another reason. They argue that the phenomenon of
transsexuality or transgender has nothing to do with sex, sexual
practices or sexual orientation, but it relates to the gender,
gender dysphoria and gender-variant behavior or feelings. Thus, they
feel it is incorrect to classify them as "sexual minority", when, in
fact, they are gender-variant minority.
Some conservative groups oppose the use of the term sexual minority
for completely different reasons. They think or feel that the term
inherently implies some degree of legalisation or protection for those
engaged in such sexual practices, much like ethnic minorities are
protected from being discriminated or persecuted in modern democratic
countries.
Some people dislike the term because it includes minority, when the fact is that not all these categories are really about minorities but actually about minorised groups.
Usually, the term sexual minority is applied only to groups who practice consensual sex: for example, it would be unusual to refer to rapists
as a sexual minority, but the term would generally include someone
whose sexuality gave a major, fetishized role to consensual playing out
of a rape fantasy. Also, someone who very occasionally incorporates of consensual kink or same-sex activity into a largely vanilla, heterosexual sex life would not usually be described as a sexual minority.
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