Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity

Homosexuality has a “natural history” in every sense of the term: that is, it has both biological (“natural”) and social or cultural (“historical”) dimensions that are interconnected and inseparable. It is not a uniform phenomenon in either animals or people: it takes many forms, and it exhibits numerous variations and idiosyncrasies. The interplay of biology and environment in shaping these features—and indeed, the very definitions of what is “cultural” as opposed to “biological”—is far more complex than polarized debates would have us believe. Because the discussion is often framed in terms of misleading dichotomies such as “nature versus nurture” or “genetics versus environment,” the possibility that both are relevant (and can influence one another) is repeatedly overlooked, as is the possibility that sexual behavior in some animals has a significant sociocultural component. Yes, homosexuality occurs in nature and apparently always has. But does this make it “natural” or simply “animalistic”? The answer to this question is entirely in the eye of the beholder, rather than in any inherent quality or context of the phenomenon itself.

Homosexuality in the Home and on the Farm: Pets and Domesticated Animals

Nowhere are questions of interpretation more vividly illustrated than with the animals we often consider to be the most “human”—our pets. Here it is not genetic similarity (as with primates) but our emotional and physical proximity that establishes the animal-human connection, whether it is with the creatures we keep as companions or domesticated animals on farms and ranches. Same-sex activity is readily familiar to pet owners and animal trainers/handlers, many of whom can give examples of homosexual mounting, pair-bonding, or other same-sex (or bisexual) activities in their own animals or those of friends. These anecdotal reports have been confirmed by scientific studies of domesticated animals.⁸² Same-sex pair-bonding as well as homosexual mounting (including ejaculation during interactions between males) has been documented in Dogs, including breeds such Beagles, Basenjis, Cocker Spaniels, and Weimaraners. Examples of both female and male homosexual behavior in Cats have also been confirmed, including mutual genital stimulation and mounting between females, and mounting leading to orgasm among males. Homosexuality has also been verified in other animals kept as pets, including same-sex courtship and mounting in Guinea Pigs; homosexual mounting in female domesticated Rabbits and Hamsters; and same-sex pair-bonding, courtship, and mounting among caged birds such as Zebra Finches, Bengalese Finches, and Budgerigars. Many common aquarium fish also exhibit homosexuality or transsexuality.

Homosexual behavior has been studied in a wide variety of domesticated and farm animals as well: Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, and Horses of both sexes participate in homosexual mounting, while same-sex pair-bonds have also been reported for Pigs, Sheep, and Goats. In fact, homosexual activity is so routine among domesticated hoofed mammals that farmers and animal breeders have coined special terms for such behavior: mounting among male Cattle is referred to as the buller syndrome (steers who are mounted are called bullers, the males who mount them are riders), female sows who mount each other are described as “going boaring,” mares who do so are said to “horse,” while cows are said to “bull.” Same-sex activity is often utilized, paradoxically, in breeding programs. In some species homosexual mounting among females is used as a reliable indicator of when they are in heat, while young bulls or steers (known as teasers) are often presented to mature bulls to arouse them and allow their semen to be collected (for later use in artificial insemination) .⁸³