"Breeder" Reaction

[Gene Ward Smith]

Every time I hear the word "breeder" used as a synonym for
"straight" I am irresisitbly reminded of Larry Niven's sci-fi novel
"The Protector". In this book, "breeders" are persons up to the age of
~45, whereas "protectors" are a further stage in which sexual
characteristics disappear and intelligence greatly increases. This has
a strange affinity to sociobiological theories on the cause of
homosexuality. In this theory, gays are "protectors" of sorts,
although sexual and not superintelligent. In Niven's book, "protectors"
had only ONE motivation: protection of their progeny or other
relatives. So the analogy is bad, but it still makes me crack up.

ucbvax!brahms!gsmith Gene Ward Smith/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
Fifty flippant frogs / Walked by on flippered feet
And with their slime they made the time / Unnaturally fleet.