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Lesser-Known Theories of Homosexuality

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

Homosexual behavior; Homosexual orientation; Homosexual preference; Same-sex sexuality

Definition

Unfamiliar theories that do not fit the dominant evolutionary theories of homosexuality.

Introduction

There are a number of evolutionary hypotheses about homosexuality that do not fit either of the three main hypotheses discussed elsewhere in this encyclopedia (Kin Selection Hypothesis; Sexually Antagonistic Hypothesis; Overdominance Hypothesis). Many of these lesser-known hypotheses were initially introduced to explain the occurrence of homosexuality in nonhuman animal species, which may perhaps account for the fact that they tend to be less familiar to evolutionary psychologists. Some of these hypotheses cannot be made to bear on human homosexuality (e.g., reproductive suppression hypothesis); others could perhaps be made relevant to human homosexuality (e.g., sperm competition hypothesis); still others have in fact so been applied (e.g., dominance hierarchy hypothesis)....

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Correspondence to Pieter R. Adriaens or Andreas De Block .

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Adriaens, P.R., De Block, A. (2016). Lesser-Known Theories of Homosexuality. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_55-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_55-1

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