--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have a lot to learn from [bonobos]…" description: "\"We have a lot to learn from [bonobos], because they're a very egalitarian society and they're a very empathetic society. Sexual behavior is not confine..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/sue-savage-rumbaugh-43053_animal_we-have-a-lot-to-learn-from-bonobos-beca_1377273.jpg" --- # We have a lot to learn from \[bonobos\], because they're a… ![“We have a lot to learn from [bonobos], because they're a very egalitarian society and they're a very empathetic society. Sexual behavior is not confined to one aspect of their life that they set aside. It permeates their entire life.” quote by Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/sue-savage-rumbaugh-43053_animal_we-have-a-lot-to-learn-from-bonobos-beca_1377273.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/sue-savage-rumbaugh-43053_animal_we-have-a-lot-to-learn-from-bonobos-beca_1377273.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/sue-savage-rumbaugh-43053_animal_we-have-a-lot-to-learn-from-bonobos-beca_1377273.jpg) > “We have a lot to learn from \[bonobos\], because they're a very egalitarian society and they're a very empathetic society. Sexual behavior is not confined to one aspect of their life that they set aside. It permeates their entire life.” [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bonobos demonstrate an egalitarian, empathetic social structure where sexuality is integrated throughout life **In simple terms:** Bonobos live in equal, caring societies with pervasive sexuality Key Takeaway Learn from bonobo social dynamics to foster equality and empathy Themes equality empathy sexuality social structure Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type anthropological educational When to use this quote - education - team building - conflict resolution - relationship counseling Key Concepts anthropology ethology social psychology Questions to Reflect On - What can we adopt from bonobo social practices? - How does integrated sexuality affect social cohesion? A Different Perspective Human societies may not fully replicate bonobo egalitarianism ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Bonobos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bonobos/) [Entire life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entire-life/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) ## Related quotes > [Being both more systematically brutal than chimps and more empathetic than bonobos, we are by far the most bipolar ape. Our societies are never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/being-both-more-systematically-brutal-than-chimps-and-more-empathetic/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“In England, art was much less likely to be mentioned in polite society than sexual perversions or methods of torture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-st-aubyn/in-england-art-was-much-less-likely-to-be-mentioned-in-polite-society/) [Edward St. Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn/) > [It is interesting to note that the "sexual revolution" was sometimes portrayed as a communal utopia, whereas in fact it was simply another stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/it-is-interesting-to-note-that-the-sexual-revolution-was-sometimes/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [“It's a fact...that in societies like ours sex truly represents a second system of differentiation, completely independent of money; and as a system of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/it-s-a-fact-that-in-societies-like-ours-sex-truly-represents-a-second/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [The more equality women have, the fairer, more civilized and tolerant society will be. 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Any nineyear-old can go into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/we-live-in-a-society-now-where-the-sexual-taboo-for-children-has/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [ \[John Boswell\] introduction of the concept of "gay" (in the way he defines it) provides us both with a useful instrument of research and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/john-boswell-introduction-of-the-concept-of-gay-in-the-way-he-defines/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Sexual behavior in our species goes through three characteristic phases: pair formation, precopulatory activity, and copulation, usually but not always in that order. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-morris/sexual-behavior-in-our-species-goes-through-three-characteristic/) [Desmond Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-morris/) > [Let's reach the students who will abide by a "yes means yes" standard in sexual behavior and reeducate them to use it. And as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-grigoriadis/let-s-reach-the-students-who-will-abide-by-a-yes-means-yes-standard/) [Vanessa Grigoriadis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-grigoriadis/) > [(RE: Sexual Behavior in the Human Female- Kinsey) Kinsey's evidence suggested that women were less sexually active than men in all aspects of sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/re-sexual-behavior-in-the-human-female-kinsey-kinsey-s-evidence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The human female’s sexual behavior is typically far more malleable than the male’s. Greater erotic plasticity leads most women to experience more variation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/the-human-female-s-sexual-behavior-is-typically-far-more-malleable/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) > [“Most religions offer tremendous patterns of “pushing against” as they scrutinize human behavior looking for evidence of wrongdoing and sin. And often that perceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/most-religions-offer-tremendous-patterns-of-pushing-against-as-they/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [The problem with every judgment of sexual behavior is that it is made by people who aren't being stimulated as they are making the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/the-problem-with-every-judgment-of-sexual-behavior-is-that-it-is-made/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [The only unnatural sexual behavior is none at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-only-unnatural-sexual-behavior-is-none-at-all/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Regulation of sexual behavior is the preferred route to wider social control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/regulation-of-sexual-behavior-is-the-preferred-route-to-wider-social/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) ## More by Sue Savage-Rumbaugh > [I'm in the role of helping these apes negotiate the human role. I'm just a temporary intermediary in what I think will be eventual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/i-m-in-the-role-of-helping-these-apes-negotiate-the-human-role-i-m/) [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) > [We do not realize how deeply our starting assumptions affect the way we go about looking for and interpreting the data we collect. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/we-do-not-realize-how-deeply-our-starting-assumptions-affect-the-way/) [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) > [I thought if I could understand why apes get mean and horrible and aggressive when they grow up, maybe I could understand why people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/i-thought-if-i-could-understand-why-apes-get-mean-and-horrible-and/) [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) > [“Engagement, and its relationship to the accumulation and processing of information, is a little-studied phenomenon, representing as it does, individual skills rather than those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/engagement-and-its-relationship-to-the-accumulation-and-processing-of/) [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) > [“With the man/animal boundary so deep a part of the Western psyche, it is little wonder that many resist its dismantling on both a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/with-the-man-animal-boundary-so-deep-a-part-of-the-western-psyche-it/) [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) > [“The distinctiveness that we have so assiduously ascribed to ourselves as humans is, in reality, an accident of history. Imagine, for instance, how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/the-distinctiveness-that-we-have-so-assiduously-ascribed-to-ourselves/) [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) > [There is no reason to teach an ape to become human. There are many reasons to teach some apes and some humans to transition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/there-is-no-reason-to-teach-an-ape-to-become-human-there-are-many/) [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) > [“To fail to try to understand the world from the point of view of the lion or the bat is to admit that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/to-fail-to-try-to-understand-the-world-from-the-point-of-view-of-the/) [Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) [Explore all 9 Sue Savage-Rumbaugh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. 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It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have a lot to learn from [bonobos], because they're a very egalitarian society and they're a very empathetic society. Sexual behavior is not confined to one aspect of their life that they set aside. 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