At a recent informal meeting of New York City sex therapists to discuss his new book Sex at Dawn, psychologist Chris Ryan played us a videotape showing a bonobo orgy.How can we not see the chimp as a kind of raw capitalist and the bonobo as a raw socialist? Indeed, the author of the post is astounded that such a pro-social, egalitarian primate is only found in capitalism's heart of darkness, the Congo.The tape was several minutes long. It showed a small crew of cute little apes cavorting in the grass in all possible heterosexual and homosexual variations. He explained that this was a bonobo “quickie.” There didn’t seem to be a lot of orgasms. Each encounter was just a few quick strokes, then on to the next partner.
Ryan explained that the group sex we’d just been watching had been prompted by someone throwing some apples into the midst of the group.
The part about the apples didn’t make any sense, until he explained to us more about bonobo society.
Bonobos like apples. They like them a lot. As a matter of fact, it’s difficult to do bonobo research without a supply of green apples to motivate them to do the experiments.
But they like group harmony most of all. And the sudden appearance of the apples in their midst immediately raises the threat of discord. Who will get to eat the apples?
If these were chimpanzees, the strongest males would immediately claim the fruit. There would be a fair amount of shoving, and possibly some bloodshed.
But bonobos are so communal that the tension produced by something so precious as an apple in their midst must be dispelled by a gesture of community. In this case, everyone gets to cool off with a little sexual comfort from their neighbor. Then, self-interest replaced by a certain yummy group feeling, they settle down to share the apple.