Cover of Of Maybugs and Men
Of Maybugs and Men A History and Philosophy of the Sciences of Homosexuality
by Pieter R. Adriaens and Andreas De Block
University of Chicago Press, 2022
Cloth: 978-0-226-82242-6 | Paper: 978-0-226-82244-0 | Electronic: 978-0-226-82243-3
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226822433.001.0001

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ABOUT THIS BOOKAUTHOR BIOGRAPHYREVIEWSTABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

A much-needed exploration of the history and philosophy of scientific research into male homosexuality.

Questions about the naturalness or unnaturalness of homosexuality are as old as the hills, and the answers have often been used to condemn homosexuals, their behaviors, and their relationships. In the past two centuries, a number of sciences have involved themselves in this debate, introducing new vocabularies, theories, arguments, and data, many of which have gradually helped tip the balance toward tolerance and even acceptance. In this book, philosophers Pieter R. Adriaens and Andreas De Block explore the history and philosophy of the gay sciences, revealing how individual and societal values have colored how we think about homosexuality.

The authors unpack the entanglement of facts and values in studies of male homosexuality across the natural and human sciences and consider the extent to which science has mitigated or reinforced homonegative mores. The focus of the book is on homosexuality’s assumed naturalness. Geneticists rephrased naturalness as innateness, claiming that homosexuality is innate—colloquially, that homosexuals are born gay. Zoologists thought it a natural affair, documenting its existence in myriad animal species, from maybugs to men. Evolutionists presented homosexuality as the product of natural selection and speculated about its adaptive value. Finally, psychiatrists, who initially pathologized homosexuality, eventually appealed to its naturalness or innateness to normalize it. 

Discussing findings from an array of sciences—comparative zoology, psychiatry, anthropology, evolutionary biology, social psychology, developmental biology, and machine learning—this book is essential reading for anyone interested in what science has to say about homosexuality.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Pieter R. Adriaens is associate professor at the Institute of Philosophy at KU Leuven in Belgium. Andreas De Block is professor at the Institute of Philosophy at KU Leuven. 

REVIEWS

"Adriaens and De Block present an incisive review of research into male homosexuality from a philosophical perspective. They carefully dissect the meanings of terms that researchers often employ without a great deal of thought. Their ideas about the evolution of homosexuality are especially illuminating."
— Simon LeVay, author of Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why

“Prejudice against those who identify as LGBT is ongoing in our culture. This makes the magnificently comprehensive and thoughtful Of Maybugs and Men: A History and Philosophy of the Sciences of Homosexuality a work of pressing contemporary relevance. Covering a wide range of topics, from the questions of homosexuality in animals and of evolutionary perspectives on homosexuality, to the philosophical and social implications of judging any kind of sexuality as healthy or otherwise, indeed of even asking such questions, it is essential reading: for researchers, for those making and enforcing social policy, and more widely for all who think we should strive to understand the nature of ourselves, human beings. A very important book.”
— Michael Ruse, author of Atheism: What Everyone Needs to Know

"Against a long backdrop of simplistic discussions of the etiology of homosexuality, Of Maybugs and Men is a breath of fresh air. Pieter Adriaens and Andreas De Block explore not only the science of sexual orientation but also the indispensable value judgments that permeate empirical investigation. A must-read for anyone working on these topics—indeed, for anyone interested in how to approach history, science, and sexuality with rigor and nuance."
— John Corvino, author of What’s Wrong with Homosexuality?

"With contemporary attitudes and concepts around gender, sex, and sexual orientation evolving at a breakneck pace, it can be hard to find one's footing or coherently navigate through the ever-changing—highly politicized—discourse. Helpfully, Adriaens and De Block have taken on the subject of same-sex sexual orientation from an interdisciplinary perspective: they draw on history, philosophy, and sociology of science, among other disciplines, to provide a much-needed, rich and illuminating frame of reference that will inform and challenge even the most seasoned scholars of sex and sexual orientation. At the same time, beginners will appreciate their clear, fresh writing tethered to many concrete examples and illustrations. Their book is a delight to read and marks an important contribution to our understanding of who we are as sexual beings."
— Brian D. Earp, coeditor of The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Sex and Sexuality

TABLE OF CONTENTS


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226822433.003.0001
[history of science;philosophy of science;homosexuality]
This chapter explores how history of science and philosophy of science can enrich each other. It considers various views on the relationship between these two (sub)disciplines. The guiding principle is that a truly integrated history and philosophy of science can help to better understand and even correct current scientific perspectives on homosexuality.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226822433.003.0002
[naturalness;innateness;social constructivism;essentialism]
How natural is homosexuality? This question is often answered by referring to scientific findings. Yet it is far from certain that the naturalness or unnaturalness of a human phenomenon can be determined by science. This certainly has much to do with the vagueness of the term "natural," and related terms such as "innate". However, attempts to further specify "naturalness"by linking it to technical concepts from the sciences such as "heritable"or "canalized"have not been very successful. Likewise, the proposition that homosexuality is naturalbecause it is not a social construction does not bring much clarity. This chapter concludes that one should be very careful when expecting science to provide a definitive answer about the naturalness of homosexuality.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226822433.003.0003
[animal homosexuality;animal models;homosexual behavior]
In the nineteenth century, observations of cockchafers performing homosexual acts caused quite a stir. Many experts believed that the male cockchafers mistook the other cockchafer for a female, or that the observations themselves were unreliable. More recent research has made it clear that such behavior is actually much more common in animals than previously thought. At the same time, the question remains to what extent those animals are truly homosexual. This chapter arguesthat homosexuality in (non-human) animals exists, but that it seems to differ from human homosexuality in a number of crucial respects. This implies that animal models of human homosexuality are useful, but that their usefulness should not be overstated.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226822433.003.0004
[evolution;homosexuality;cultural variation;evolutionary social constructivism]
Homosexual men do not seem to reproduce. At the same time, the genes that code for homosexuality do not disappear from the human gene pool. Quite a few evolutionary biologists and evolutionary psychologists have addressed this so-called "Darwinian paradox". This chapter argues that the paradox starts from assumptions that are far less obvious than they seem. For example, there is strong evidence that gay men in many other cultures have a reasonable number of offspring. This does not mean, of course, that evolutionary explanations of homosexuality are redundant or impossible. It does mean, however, that such explanations best account for cultural variation in homosexuality.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226822433.003.0005
[homosexuality;psychiatry;mental disorder;conceptual analysis]
Until the early 1970s, homosexuality was considered a mental disorder in major psychiatric textbooks. Partly due to the protests of homosexual psychiatrists, this changed. At the same time, there remained a lack of clarity as to why homosexuality was not a disorder. Numerous philosophers pondered that question, but their answers did not really satisfy. This chapter discusses how the history of psychiatry is intertwined with the stigmatization of homosexuality, and how philosophy can help in understanding why homosexuality is not a mental disorder.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226822433.003.0006
[homophobia;science and values;censorship]
Biological research on homosexuality is sometimes accused of being homophobic and a threat to the well-being of homosexuals. At the same time, biologists themselves claim that their research contributes to the acceptance of homosexuality. Both views start from a very different idea of what is science is and should be, but both acknowledge at the same time that science and values are not completely separate. This epilogue shows how the sciences of homosexuality can play an emancipatory role, but also highlights the dangers of some scientific studies. The epilogue ends with an assessment of proposals to censure particular strands of research on homosexuality.

Book published by University of Chicago Press, 2022. Page maintained by BiblioVault.