Homosexuality in animals

[Rakala]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_animals

I found this pretty interesting. Finally I can prove to gay bashers that homosexuality is NOT unnatural considering the fact that it occurs in nature!  At this point there are very few arguments against it.

[Zedd]

Old news im afraid and nothing really new

[techmaster-glitch]

Yup. And the worst part is, even with this proof (the fact that it doesn't seem to be well-known yet notwithstanding), the bashers still say homosexuality is wrong. Mainly because they outright reject any natural proof of this sort when presented with it.

[Ragesquid]

I don't support it, but I certainly don't go around looking for gays and yelling in their face "YOU'RE GOING TO HELL."

I actually think homosexuality in animals is somewhat amusing. I had gay lizards, once. >.>

[thegayhare]

I had a gay dog

Ohh everyone said that Zues trying to mount my sisters pit bull was a dominance thing but I don't buy it.  The would french kiss,  I don't mean licking each others faces I mean licking each others tongues.

[Faerie Alex]

I don't know about French kissing, but I do know that mounting is a dominance thing for dogs.

Also, I suppose the problem with attempting to justify homosexuality to those who will refuse to believe it is similar to any debate about religion v. science. It reminded me about this quote from Wikipedia:

I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.

No matter how much evidence you can present, someone somewhere will always choose to stick to their beliefs.

[Madcow]

And I think that also proves that animals don't only rely on raw instinct.

[Jack McSlay]

Yeah I had a gay dog in my house once. the funnier part being he kept trying to hump my non-gay dog and so making him really angry

[ShadesFox]

There was a scientist who wrote a paper concerning the gay necrophilia he saw ducks exhibit.  It won him an ignoble prize.

[Alondro]

Hate to burst your bubble, but simply because animals do it doesn't make it normal.  In fact, the percentage of pure homosexuality (ie, the animal will not show sexual responses to the opposite sex) in the typical animal species is even lower than among humans. 

All it demonstrates is that it is an uncommon trait and that humans are even weirder than most animals.   But I've been saying that, like, forever.   

Like all studies of this nature, it's how people decide to interpret meaning in the data.  Purely statistically, primary homosexually in animals is a very anomalous trait, save for a few species such as the all-female lizard species, which are quite abberational themselves.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

... or when you put a lot of animals together in too little space, I thought?

Doing such causes an increase in "abnormal" behaviours, like homosexuality, incest, murder, and a belief in an invisible all-seeing, all-knowing person in the sky watching everything you do, or so I understand.

[rabid_fox]

Yes, but animals don't have souls, so it's still only a sin for people to be gaying it up all the livelong day.

[King Of Hearts]

There was also that old news clip I read a while back... about how a leopard seal tried to "rape" a male penguin.

it may exists in the animal world, but its quite the rarity.

[Nelix]

Alondro, I'm wondering, what would make it 'normal' behaviour?

[Alondro]

Alondro, I'm wondering, what would make it 'normal' behaviour?

I would say when it follows a typical bio-psychological profile for the species as a whole.

IE, when there are as many homosexuals as heterosexuals, and that ratio is caused by natural evolutionary processes rather than artificial social/behavioral pressures, then it's normal.

Geniuses are abnormal too, you know.   

[Vidar]

Homosexuality in animals is old news. Bonobo chimps have up to 50% of their sexual relationships with their own gender.
People who claim it is wrong do so most often because of their religion, often quoting a verse out of their holy book. Christians famously quote Leviticus 18 and 20 ("Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; it is an abomination." and "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." respectively), while ignoring the rest of the chapter.
If they would be consistent about their faith, they would be condemning people who eat shrimp, lobster, mussels, oysters, etc to hell as well. Leviticus 11 clearly states:

"These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you."

Eating insect is also a path to hell (Lev 11:44), but I've never heard Phelps rave about that either.
The religious claiming that gays go to hell first need to read their own holy books. It would really help if they knew what they believed in.

[Tapewolf]

What about mushrooms?  They aren't even in the Bible.

[Vidar]

What about mushrooms?  They aren't even in the Bible.

I'm an atheist, so my comments are likely biased, but when it comes to the monotheistic religions the general rule of thumb seems to be "If pleasure can be had from it a tall, it will lead straight to hell", so you should ask yourself: do you like mushrooms? Well, do you?

[Tapewolf]

...the general rule of thumb seems to be "If pleasure can be had from it a tall, it will lead straight to hell", so you should ask yourself: do you like mushrooms? Well, do you?

Work of the Evil One, they are.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Then you're allowed to eat them. ;-]

[Alondro]

You can eat locusts and grasshoppers.   

I don't eat shrimp, lobsters or clams... clams looks like snot inside anyway.  Actually, I hate seafood altogether.

Not to mention, with all the mercury and PCB's and other crap seafood's absorbing these days, I wouldn't eat it even if I liked it.

Anyway, once more, homosexual behavior in mammals is fairly common.  Exclusively homosexual animals, however, are very rare except in overcrowded conditions or where they are housed only with animals of the same sex for nearly their entire lives.

Bisexuality is the biological norm for primates.

[AngelSephy]

It's common for animals to exhibit bisexuality, but very rare when it comes to being gay altogether! This isn't completely from any scientific backing, this is just from mostly observation of various animal's behavior throughout the years.

[gh0st]

look under every guy that is labeled gay it still doesn't change the fact that he's still a guy, yes i personally believe that being gay is a sin, no i don't think that gay people are bad. i would rather hate only the sin and have a good friend than have yet another enemy.

now bisexuality in the animal kingdom could just be the human equivalent to experimenting during summer camp or something.

[Alondro]

I actually get rather annoyed, though, when people use what animals do to justify what they're doing.

Many species practice infanticide and cannibalism.  Does that make it ok for people too?  Somehow, everyone becomes very apologetic when it comes to matters of sex. 

Of course... if cannibalism is ok cuz animals do it... VORE... yessssssssss...   

Naturally, I'm kidding.  Basically, I'd just be happy is people everywhere learned some damned self-control!  Humans have a big freakin frontal cortex and it'd be nice to see more than 1% of the population using it for a change!

PS:  I'm still a virgin.  My biological instincts have been crushed by my sheer willpower!  The insanity helped too!   I rewired the primitive amygdalar arousal pathways to only be turned on by furries, which don't exist, therefore I can never be tempted! 

Of course now I have to use my genetics knowledge for evil and create a perfect, glorious, god-like leonine furry race to whom I shall gladly offer myself as a sex slave, which will obviously then trigger Armageddon somehow...  meh, ya win some, ya lose some.   

PS:  It's too hot today.   

[Vidar]

look under every guy that is labeled gay it still doesn't change the fact that he's still a guy, yes i personally believe that being gay is a sin, no i don't think that gay people are bad. i would rather hate only the sin and have a good friend than have yet another enemy.

Your reasoning for hating homosexuality are based on your personal religion. That's fine, as long as you don't expect everyone else to behave according to your personal beliefs.
Unfortunately, there are too many people who arrogantly think that their religious beliefs give them the authority to force other behave according to their own beliefs.

Telling gays that homosexuality is a sin, and that they will burn in hell is the equivalent of calling African Americans "niggers" in terms of hate speech. It may be your personal beliefs that homosexuality is wrong, but that does not give anyone the right to tell them where they go after they die. That right would lie with the God the religious profess to believe in, and not his followers.

Gh0st, I don't know if you say such hurtful things to homosexuals.  I'm just trying to make a point here.

now bisexuality in the animal kingdom could just be the human equivalent to experimenting during summer camp or something.

In that case bonobo's do a hell of a lot of experimenting. 

[Sunblink]

...the general rule of thumb seems to be "If pleasure can be had from it a tall, it will lead straight to hell", so you should ask yourself: do you like mushrooms? Well, do you?

Work of the Evil One, they are.

I love mushrooms.

I'm going to hell when I die.

Yes, but animals don't have souls, so it's still only a sin for people to be gaying it up all the livelong day.

Is it wrong that I laughed hysterically the first time I saw this, and still do to this day?

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Auron]

Heh, if I go to hell, it won't be becuase I'm gay... It will most likely be becuase someone pushed me a little to far and broke the wall holding up the pent up rage only a life of pacifism could create...

On a brighter note... Gay feral smexies?

[Alondro]

Just read this.  How interesting.

Alberta Council of Stupidity

So now the offended person can file charges against private religious citizens for their opinions and have the government force payment.  I guess Canada doesn't have that 'separation of church and state' thing.

Now, I'd love to see what they'd do if a Muslim in Canada denounced homosexuality. 

[techmaster-glitch]

Alberta Council of Stupidity

I applaud this. It's about time one of those wacko evangelicals got it stuck to them.

I would like to see a Muslim, or any other fundamentalist guy for that matter, throw a fit and get their asses handed to them as well.

I hope Fred Phelps moves to Canada

[Alondro]

Alberta Council of Stupidity

I applaud this. It's about time one of those wacko evangelicals got it stuck to them.

I would like to see a Muslim, or any other fundamentalist guy for that matter, throw a fit and get their asses handed to them as well.

I hope Fred Phelps moves to Canada

Uhm, what about freedom of speech?  This is not a case where there was any physical attack.  It was one person's opinion.  The government doesn't even have any business getting involved.

And frankly, my point about the Muslim is that they would never have dared to do prosecute in any fashion, lest suicide bombings commence.