| Thoughout history, even scientists have been prudish about describing homosexual activity in animals. Astounding as it sounds, a number of scientists have actually argued that when a female bonobo wraps her legs around another female… while emitting screams of enjoyment, this is actually “greeting” behavior, or “appeasement” behavior… almost anything, it seems, besides pleasurable sexual behavior. He documents homosexual behaviour in 450 species, including whiptail lizards, bottlenose dolphins, flamingoes, vampire bats, beetles, sheep, dogs, cats, orangutans, orcas and giraffes. Lions, elephants, penguins, and greylag geese form pairings that last longer than heterosexual ones. One thing is clear, however: whilst homosexuality is commonplace in nature, homophobia is not. Even in species where heterosexual matings are often aggressively interrupted (for example by rivals or by dominant individuals) homosexual ones are usually ignored. Next time some bigot starts ranting about homosexuality being “against nature” etc. somebody should point out that it is they who are behaving unnaturally! Salon Review, Seattle Times Review |
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