Is homosexuality natural? Do animals do it too?

Question

Some one ( not a gay person ) told me that homosexuality is natural because many animals ( he said mammals, I think ) do it, including anal sex between males. Is that true? Is there any scientific proof of this?

Answer 1

Yes, your friend is correct.

Homosexuality has been observed in more than 450 species, and yes, some of them exhibit anal sex in male pairs.
I will provide you with some links :

Here's a list of 478 such species:
http://www.borngayprocon.org/pop/specieslist.htm

QUOTE :
"Male big horn sheep live in what are often called "homosexual societies." They bond through genital licking and anal intercourse, which often ends in ejaculation. If a male sheep chooses to not have gay sex, it becomes a social outcast. Ironically, scientists call such straight-laced males "effeminate."

Giraffes have all-male orgies. So do bottlenose dolphins, killer whales, gray whales, and West Indian manatees. Japanese macaques, on the other hand, are ardent lesbians; the females enthusiastically mount each other. Bonobos, one of our closest primate relatives, are similar, except that their lesbian sexual encounters occur every two hours. Male bonobos engage in "penis fencing," which leads, surprisingly enough, to ejaculation. They also give each other genital massages. "
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/06/the_gay_animal_kingdom.php

QUOTE:
Bruce Bagemihl, Ph.D., in his 1999 book "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity," wrote:

"On every continent, animals of the same sex seek each other out and have probably been doing so for millions of years. They court each other, using intricate and beautiful mating dances that are the result of eons of evolution. Males caress and kiss each other, showing tenderness and affection toward one another rather than just hostility and aggression. "
http://www.gayprocon.org/bin/procon/procon.cgi?database=5-A-Subs-4.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=2&rnd=573.4456359396056

Answer 2

Yes it is. Dogs is a fine example and it is not mammals only. Homosexuality is common in a certain species of penguins where males mate for a life time. In some cases they would use a rock and treat it as an egg, and scientists replaced the rock with a real egg. It hatched and they took good care of the baby as normal parents. Homosexuality is natural...it is a call of nature...religious and superstitious beliefs that have roots in an era called the dark ages make it un-natural.

Answer 3

There are many observed instances of "homosexual" behaviour between male mammals - dogs, chimps and other primates, cattle, horses etc etc.
Of course, there is no way of enquiring the reasoning behind this behaviour but these explanations are possible:-

* the animals concerned are young and inexperienced and have yet to learn how to distinguish male from female (homosexual behaviour in the juveniles of several species has been observed)
* the sexual drive is very high in all animals for reasons of reproduction and there is a tendency to hump anything that moves (dogs, for instances will not only mount other male dogs, but also human legs and inanimate objects). In these instances, such behaviour may be more accurately described as "assisted masturbation".

In all instances of this behaviour there seems to be an overriding desire for sexual gratification but little or no observable indication of "pair bonding" which occurs in (some) human homosexual relationships. Thus it could be said that homosexual encounters in the rest of the animal kingdom are almost entirely sex-based whilst humans may also include an emotional dimension. Some may argue that as sex is designed to ensure reproduction (see below), homosexual behaviour, including emotional bonding is a waste of energy and is therefore "not natural".

As far as homosexuality being "natural" is concerned, this has become a very emotive word, often used to infer that homosexuals are somehow "unnatural" or "perverted". Leaving aside the emotive and moral side of people's opinions and beliefs and accepting that everyone in a free society should have the right to find happiness and pleasure in any way they choose as long as it does not harm others, there is a more basic definition of "natural".

In this context "natural" can be taken to mean "as nature intended". As far as sexual activity is concerned, nature's intentions are clear - namely, reproduction of the species. If nature operated in an ideal situation then every sexual act would result in the production of offspring (or possibly the strengthening of a pair-bond between two animals capable of producing offspring). In this strict sense homosexual sex is not natural, but then neither perhaps would be any deliberate heterosexual act where contraception is used as neither will fulfil the "natural" function of sexual activity which is to reproduce.

Answer 4

Yes mammals can be homosexuals. But so can the rest of the animal world. Birds have also shown that they can be homosexual. It is a scientific fact and those who say otherwise have never seen their dog hump another dog of the same gender/sex. So clearly, homosexuality is normal.

On another note, male dolphins will mate with another male dolphin for life...Just a fun fact!!

Answer 5

Yes it is natural, and naturally occurring in hundreds of species all throughout the natural world.

Proof? Read the comprehensive study, below, by Dr. Bruce Bagemihl, PhD. This is a well known fact in the scientific community. "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity"

If you go to the link (below) to the book/study -- you'll see several summaries and descriptions of his study. Or, like a few of the people here, you can bury your face in the bible, read little else (or nothing else), and remain a superstitious moron all your life.

Answer 6

It is a natural abberation but one that seems relatively common in amny mammalian species, the more sophisticated to the species, the more likely some will exhibit homosexual tendencies.

However, there is another reason why some male mammals, particularly simians, exhibit homosexual behaviour: dominance.

Thats right. Apes will often try to "de-masculinate" their advesary with a quick mock (or sometimes not "mock") anal rape to divest them of their confidence.

Answer 7

Not sure of scientific proof, but growing up we had 2 male dogs and the were always humping each other even after being fixed.

Answer 8

So is the world living by laws of the animal kingdom?? how stupid is to believe that just because of the fact 2 male dogs have sex - I'm gonna accept the way of perversion in humans!!!! wake up people - animals do that because of their instincts, cuz animal can think scientifically proven - so it tells me that homosexuals and people who accept this behavior have the same brain as animals!!!!!!!

Answer 9

I don't know about scientific proof but I have Gay birds. I have 2 male cockatiels that are in love with each other. So it can happen in the animal kingdom as well.

Answer 10

Yes