Bisexuality is often seen as gateway behavior exhibited by those not yet ready for the pride parade, a human affectation created for the sake of saving face in a homophobic world. But consider the bonobo, the planet’s only species that is bisexual across
the board. Every bonobo on earth is a natural switch-hitter, and not only are they polymorphous perverse — they’re the porn stars of the animal kingdom. Bonobos engage in sexual activity about every ninety minutes as a way of defusing conflict within colonies where food and territory can be scarce. While chimpanzees duke it out for the last banana, bonobos go down for it.

    Using sex as a social lubricant and tension breaker has made the bonobo not only a fascinating study, but also the most peaceful primate species in existence. Over the past twenty years, Dr. Frans B. M. de Waal, a director at the Yerkes Primate Center in Atlanta, has become their foremost expert. He is the author of Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape, and his forthcoming book, Our Inner Ape, will look at what we can learn from the bonobo’s peaceful, libidinous ways. Here, he talks about bisexuality, conflict resolution, and learning to share the banana. — Will Doig

Why is the bonobo “the forgotten ape” when other primates have achieved such status in the media?

The chimp has been known since the seventeenth century and studied in captivity. The bonobo was discovered much later and not studied in the field until the mid-1970s. Fieldwork was very limited, and then the Congo fell apart. We also have only very few of them — about 150 in captivity.

Are there so few of them in zoos because zookeepers are bashful about having such a sexual animal on view?

No, I think it’s simply because the area they live in is not next to big ports in Africa, and the species is not as common. Embarrassment by zoo administrators may exist, but any zoo that can get them will try to.

How did you come to study such an uncommon primate?

At the time I worked with chimps. I was interested in war and peace, conflict resolution. So when I looked at bonobos I thought it would be interesting to compare them. At the time I knew nothing of their sexual behavior or that that happened to be their way of conflict resolution. That came out of my studies at the time.

How could you, a knowledgeable primatologist, have been unaware of their sexual habits?

Yes, the sex was very obvious and could not be missed, but many people who knew about it would not talk about it. American scientists are very shy about sex. If they can call it something else then they will. So they’d say things like, “The bonobos are very affectionate,” or some similar euphemism. The word sex was not used very much in the literature.

It’s amazing that scientists could still be prudes in this day and age.

I think Americans are just as prudish as they used to be. We came across these beautiful pictures of bonobos that no Americans wanted, so we went to this publication called Geo in Germany, and they put two copulating bonobos on the cover and called it “Peace Through Sex.”

Are bonobos aware of the fact that they’re using bisexual sex to defuse conflict, or is it happening on such a primal level that when there’s a territorial dispute or a shortage of food, they just suddenly get the urge to go at it?

Many animals are aware of the reasons for certain things, but to make things explicit is an entirely different skill. But they do apply these techniques in intelligent ways. It’s not just random. And they’re not obsessed with sex, even though they do it all the time. Most of it has to do with social contact. There are many primates who use sex in their social life, just like in human society.

Some argue that bisexuality among bonobos proves that bisexuality in humans is natural, while others say it’s proof that bisexuality is animalistic, and therefore is not fit for human society. Which camp are you in?

All of these arguments fall apart when you really look at them. It’s not something we can use to derive moral judgment. If you say bisexuality is animalistic, then breathing is animalistic. Raising kids is animalistic. Heterosexuality is animalistic. Moral judgment cannot be derived from natural tendencies.

Do you ever hear about gay-rights groups using your work to support their activism?

I don’t think gay-rights groups officially use my work, but I do think that the bonobo is popular in the gay community. I think there’s a Bonobo Bar in every gay community I’ve ever been to. The animal has become emblematic there.

Are bonobos, as a species, ever lambasted by social conservatives?

I’ve never had trouble with social conservatives. Lambasting bonobos for doing what they’re doing would be like lambasting elephants for using their trunks.

Newt Gingrich included your book, Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes, on his list of recommended reading for freshman Republicans.

Yes. I’ve met Newt. He lives in Atlanta. He reads books, at least, which is good. Most politicians in this country never take a book in their hands, so the least you can say about him is that he reads.

He’s never struck me as a champion of conflict resolution, though. Do you think your work can really be viably transferred into the realm of politics by Congressional leaders?

It depends on how you look at it. If you look at it as enhancing your political career, you could use Machiavelli, as well. But you could also use my work for peacemaking purposes.

I can see how sex would defuse tension, but I have more trouble understanding how it could actually dissolve conflict. Let’s say there’s only a certain amount of food for a group of primates. Chimps will fight for it, and in the end, that’s how it gets divided up. But bonobos will just start an orgy, and when they’re done, the food’s still not divvied up. How does that solve the problem?

They share the food. Chimps also share food, but bonobos will precede the sharing with sex rather than violence. There can be competition between the males, but unlike with chimps, there are no recorded cases of bonobos ever killing each other.

Are these orgies structured in any way?

They’re basically a free-for-all.

Are there any courting or wooing rituals among bonobos? Do they show gentle affection, or is it all just sex?

There’s plenty of affection in bonobo society. For instance, they groom each other, which we consider affection. There’s a lot of affection mixed with sex. For them, the border between sex and affection is very vague.

Our culture tends to associate a voracious sexual appetite with a lack of intelligence, both in animals and people. But bonobos are really smart. They’re one of the few animals that can recognize their reflection in a mirror as being that of themselves, which many scientists consider to be a bright-line test for intelligence.

And as far as intelligence goes, I consider them to be the most empathetic of all of the apes. In human development, we know that when children begin passing the mirror recognition test [usually around age two], that’s the same time they start developing higher levels of empathy. There’s a correlation between empathy and self-recognition, because you can recognize yourself as a being like other beings. Bonobos will help each other in insightful ways. In one zoo in the U.S., there was a blind bonobo female who would always lose her way, and the oldest male in the colony would grab her hand and lead her where she wanted to go.

That sounds more empathetic than many humans.

Well, we’re selective as to when we apply it. I look at humans as bipolar in the sense that humans have a very nice side and a very nasty side. We can be far nicer and far nastier than almost any primate we know of.  n°

		Click here to read other features from the Bisexuality Issue!     Bisexuality: share your stories