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But It's Unnatural!
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summer_jackel's journal knows that gay sex is ALL thoughout the animal kingdom.
But in case anyone has had their eyes shut and their fingers in their ears, here's an article about it (all emphasis mine) (Thanks to Phil Plait's, the Bad Astronomer, tweet for the link!):
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616122106.htm
"Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research."
"It's clear that same-sex sexual behavior extends far beyond the well-known examples that dominate both the scientific and popular literature: for example, bonobos, dolphins, penguins and fruit flies," .
"For example, male fruit flies may court other males because they are lacking a gene that enables them to discriminate between the sexes," Bailey said. "But that is very different from male bottlenose dolphins, who engage in same-sex interactions to facilitate group bonding, or female Laysan Albatross that can remain pair-bonded for life and cooperatively rear young."
"Same-sex behaviors—courtship, mounting or parenting—are traits that may have been shaped by natural selection, a basic mechanism of evolution that occurs over successive generations," Bailey said. "But our review of studies also suggests that these same-sex behaviors might act as selective forces in and of themselves."
"But like any other behavior that doesn't lead directly to reproduction—such as aggression or altruism—same-sex behavior can have evolutionary consequences that are just now beginning to be considered,"
" We are pursuing work on the Laysan Albatross, in which females form same-sex pairs and rear young together. Same-sex behavior in this species may not be aberrant, but instead can arise as an alternative reproductive strategy."
summer_jackel's journal knows that gay sex is ALL thoughout the animal kingdom.But in case anyone has had their eyes shut and their fingers in their ears, here's an article about it (all emphasis mine) (Thanks to Phil Plait's, the Bad Astronomer, tweet for the link!):
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616122106.htm
"Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research."
"It's clear that same-sex sexual behavior extends far beyond the well-known examples that dominate both the scientific and popular literature: for example, bonobos, dolphins, penguins and fruit flies," .
"For example, male fruit flies may court other males because they are lacking a gene that enables them to discriminate between the sexes," Bailey said. "But that is very different from male bottlenose dolphins, who engage in same-sex interactions to facilitate group bonding, or female Laysan Albatross that can remain pair-bonded for life and cooperatively rear young."
"Same-sex behaviors—courtship, mounting or parenting—are traits that may have been shaped by natural selection, a basic mechanism of evolution that occurs over successive generations," Bailey said. "But our review of studies also suggests that these same-sex behaviors might act as selective forces in and of themselves."
"But like any other behavior that doesn't lead directly to reproduction—such as aggression or altruism—same-sex behavior can have evolutionary consequences that are just now beginning to be considered,"
" We are pursuing work on the Laysan Albatross, in which females form same-sex pairs and rear young together. Same-sex behavior in this species may not be aberrant, but instead can arise as an alternative reproductive strategy."
no subject
Honestly, I think that anyone who works with enough animals for long enough notices that homosexual activity is actually pretty common. With the dogs, it's mostly a dominance thing...but I'm not convinced it's _just_ a dominance thing, they sure look like they're having fun. The lesbian mares were definitely in it for eroticism. My poultry coop is just downright kinky.
And let's not forget my friend's two bonded-for-life lesbian cockatiels, who flatback (parrot sexual display) for one another, share egg duty and in all ways act like bonded birds. (One of them is somewhat more "butch", and spends less actual time on the nest, just minding it while her girlfriend has a bite to eat; the traditionally male role in their species). When there was a male 'tiel in the flock (which includes 2 other 'tiel hens and many parrots of other species), they ignored him.
There's the famous gay penguin couple (I think in a NYC zoo?) who kept trying to hatch rocks, until the zookeeper took pity and gave them an egg that had been abandoned by another bird. They raised the chick successfully.
A friend of mine once knew a pony and donkey stud who were housed together. The pony would regularly mount the donkey, apparently including occasional penetration, with the donkey's full consent, cooperation and obvious happiness. (equines can't hide it, yo). People keep telling me anecdotes like this.
My experience observing animals leads me to believe that strictly hetero behavior in a species, particularly mammals and birds, would be really unusual.
no subject
I particularly liked in the article where it says there are many different reasons so far identified for homosexual behaviour, none of which are "linked" ... as in, each species seems to have independently developed the trait and it's not as simple as a single gay gene or circumstances forcing the behaviour :-)
no subject
They start out saying "homosexuality is UNNATURAL." You then point out what you have here, that it's PERFECTLY natural, and point to the animals. They then respond "But man is NOT an animal, he thinks and so can overcome his urges!"
:-(
no subject
When someone pulls that one on me, then I respond with "you can't have it both ways. Either your argument is that it's wrong because it's "unnatural", or you have to allow that it *is* natural and argue instead that man should overcome it. But it can't be both unnatural and "man can overcome his urges" at the same time.