Tolerance for Queers has probably never been a winning strategy in the game of life presented by the chaos and predation of the untamed jungle.

(Click "Tolerance..." at left for more detail.)

"Queer", as use here, refers to an individual in a village who does not conform to the gender roles dictated by the way of life of the village.

From the time that role specialization, including gender roles, appeared a half million years ago, there have probably always been individuals who could not, or would not, conform.

Almost by definition, the presence of nonconformers within a village would conflict with the collective interests of the village. If having such individuals around enabled success, then the way of life of the village would evolve to include such a role. It is difficult to imagine how a village would benefit by allowing an able bodied male to remain in the safety of the village rather than assist the other males with hunting in the jungle. It is also difficult to imagine how a village would benefit by allowing a pregnant or fertile female to participate in the dangerous and strenuous activity of hunting.

Over the half million years that human groups have been characterized by role specialization, including gender roles, any tolerance for nonconformers was likely not beneficial and existed only because the harm was small and enforcement was impractical.