For the most part in the animal kingdom, animals, birds, insects, reptiles, etc. are attracted their own species for mating. Also, many are prey to each other.

Most humans prefer other humans and within that group they tend toward their own culture and races. In earlier times this may have been mainly because of geographical reasons and not being able to travel long distances easily.

Do you think like the other animals there could be a genetic reason humans tend toward their own race and culture? Or, is it because we tend to be attracted to what is familiar to us? Why are we attracted to what is familiar? Could this all have been translated into racism by some?

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Genes that predispose humans to seek out other humans for procreation have a far greater chance of replicating themselves than theoretcial genes that cause humans to be attracted to salamanders or limestone.

Yes, and I believe that is genetic in basis also.

Individuals of the opposite sex who have similarities to us are more likely to share more of our genes, and therefore will increase the chance of passing on those genes to your children (since you both have them). That's my best guess at this time, but it makes sense to me.

Probably.

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I think humans being more attracted to their own race is probably more just a learned prejudice, than anything. For hundreds and thousands of years, it's been socially unacceptable to pair outside your race. Even today, while it's more acceptable, many people still frown upon it.

While the animal kingdom does stick to their own species, I'm not so sure that they stick to their own race as much as humans do.

Think about dogs. A poodle doesn't care if it's mate is another poodle, a german shephard or whatever. Lots of muts running around out there.

Only in their own thinking. There are engines of reproduction that seek out differences as well as similarities. If you study the biology of race, and seek out to map the distributions you will simply and utterly fail. There have been attempts to find genetically similar people and you find them scattered across the "races". We've all heard of chimpanzees being closely related to humans but drive this much further - raise the bar as close to twins as you can get and you find your own biological inherentance may be closest to random members of other "races".

Race as such has no biological basis - it's only a socialogical/cultural thing humans have (which is to say that it is very real, but also very much not real, just as English is.) As it is learned it can be unlearned as well as changed from the root experience on to be viewed some other way totally as when a baby discovers Spanish instead of English.

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With those silly haircuts, do other dogs think poodles belong to some weird cult?

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I realize I'm picking on the posed line of question, but seriously, how can ya not add in "humans" to the animals equation in the first paragraph? I mean, I kinda sorta don't understand the purpose of that paragraph with the line of inquiry that follows. For it seems like the final question is evidenced in how you leapt from a species inquiry to a race inquiry with regards to human attraction and preferences.

With the logic of the first paragraph, and what I take to be the main point, I seriously thought the line of inquiry following that paragraph, might show up as:



LK, I do apologize if my belaboring this point offends you, and if so, please let me know. I think a point of observation that is directly related to thrust of your inquiry is that at least some humans are attracted to other species.

Like, for example, I may have an expressed sexual preference for say, turkeys. And even with this rare, but verifiable attraction to those incredibly hot little turkeys, I may still pose questions within the humanity side of my being, asking things such as: You think humans tend to be attracted to each other because of what is familiar to us? Why are we so attracted to what's familiar?

- and -

Has anyone else ever had a deep yearning, almost savory desire for another species, such as, oh...say a turkey?


Happy Thanks Giving,

J

I believe that this is primarily because we are also animals, and even when we fight them, we are still confined in many ways by instinctual urges. Certainly genetically, there is no reason that a white man and black woman cannot love each other and produce totally viable offspring, nor a Native American and an Asian, ect. So I think that rather than anything genetical, that it is more of something instinctual. That doesn't mean that the instincts can't be overcome, and certainly they can be, or there would be no mixed marriages (and I should say right here that I have nothing what so ever against mixed marriages...I doubt seriously that anyone is truely of "pure" bloodline, though I also have no problem with letting people believe that they are, if that is what makes them, happy.). And certainly, this could be translated into racism, if true. But again, it is an instinct that can be overcome.

You have many times commented on the way the threads are worded. You are more than welcome to start your own threads. It takes a lot of daily work to start threads and it would be great to have others start threads.

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People tend to be attracted to people of their own race over other races because there is a standard of beauty that is largely culturally based. You will generally find that when - for instance - a white man finds a black woman attractive it's because some of her features at least are more in line with what you would see in a white woman than what you would typically associate with a black woman. This could be something as simple as a finer nose rather than a broader one.
For someone to not find someone of another ethnic group attractive doesn't have to be because they are a racist - though obviously there are cases when this does occur. Some people prefer blondes...that doesn't mean they have a deep seated prejudice against brunettes.

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