Can someone here please tell me how animals choose their sexuality?

Question

I have a met a few people who claim homosexuality is a choice, and this combined with the evidence of over 1500 gay animals leads me to a connection that doesn't seem to make sense. I would like to know how these animals "choose" their sexual orientations, thank you.

Answer 1

First of all, yes, homosexuality does occur in the animal kingdom frequently enough.

http://www.livescience.com/animals/061116_homosexual_animals.html

Of course, certain religious folks will deny it. This usually involves fingers stuck in ears, eyes screwed shut, and loud praying.

Saying that this homosexual behavior is just dominance displays doesn't do much to explain one of my favorite examples. Homosexuality among black swans is quite high. It's not uncommon for two males to pair up, find a female, mate with her, then chase her off her nest so they (the two dads) can raise the chicks themselves. Sounds like they know what they are doing.

As for why are there gay animals? I'd say that, like humans, they were probably born that way.

Answer 2

Animals generally have less capacity for choice than humans do; some people say they have no choice, but experience makes this hard for me to believe. Animals that are exclusively homosexual, I have to think, did not choose this.
Many animals engage in sexual-type behavior for reasons other than reproduction; as and expression of dominance/submission in the context of a friendly relationship, as simple masturbation, as a way of bonding with others in the group. These activities usually don't amount to actual mating or intercourse, and are often practiced by two members of the same sex, even though these animals do instinctively mate with the opposite sex. Humans sometimes do some of these things too, each species has its own expressions of sexuality. And there are some, though, that tend to mate with the same sex instead.
Humans are a lot more complex than any animals I am familiar with. Humans, like animals, do have sex-related instincts; one of these is to mate with the opposite sex. But again, some are instinctively drawn to the same sex instead. In this case, I would say the person's sexual instinct is not chosen; it is either innate, or otherwise caused by something beyond the person's immediate control.
However, the human mind has a tremendous effect on sexual response. It is said that the brain is the biggest sex organ in the body. And it is often possible for a person to cultivate certain sexual interests, or inhibit them. And it is possible for a powerful experience in the person's life to affect sexual response to. So, I think it is possible for some people to develop sexual interests that are not innate, but to some degree chosen.
And it is a fact that everybody chooses his/her sexual actions. Many people decide to have sex only with a marriage partner, or not with anybody; this is a choice. It is also a choice whenever a person decides to have sex. That is under a person's control except in the case of rape.
This is a long way of saying that homosexual desires may not be a matter of choice, but in some cases they may be, in humans; but homosexual or heterosexual activity is always chosen

Answer 3

Ah yes the great debate, are we born with our chosen sexuality, or do we choose it. Homosexuality occurs in roughly 10 per cent of the population. I believe animals are born that way. I, as a human have something the animals don't have which is free will. FREE WILL is the key, so, as a male i am attracted to Females, but say i wasn't, say I was attracted to another male, I have FREE WILL to follow that feeling or not. It is possible to Love another man without having sexual relations, this is where FREE WILL enters into it. GOD gave us FREE WILL just for times like that!

Answer 4

Wrong wrong wrong. Animals do not pick sexuality. As with humans, they are born male or female, and remain that way. There is NO such thing a homosexuality in animals. That is ONLY a human characteristic. Please don't be fooled by these lame half arsed psychologist and weak mind ethologist of these times. They know nothing about animal behavior and very little about human behavior.

What people are seeing is a form of dominance or competition with animals. A mallard duck will be courting a hen. In steps another male to pursue this hen and confront the drake. The dominate drake may mount the lesser male in what some folks will say is homosexuality. I can assure you it is NOT. The dominate male is establishing his position of dominance. The mounting act is nothing more than the dominate males show of dominance during the mating season. Other times of the year that dominate drake might take a few tail feathers or splash water at the lesser drake.

All this crap biology comes from people forcing political correctness on the animal world. And attempting top force human characteristics and traits on to animals, anthropomorphism. There is a high demand for Nature shows. Unfortunately, about half of them are NOT worth the media they are on. These pseudo-biologist, journalist, and animal rights do gooders are all out to make money. They don't care how they do it. They have ruined wildlife and nature films. And instilled in a whole generation all kinds of misconcetptions.

Answer 5

Animals arent really gay because they choose to be or are genetically inclined. They are gay because they get confused. Either another male has the smell of a female in heat on him, or a male has been kept near a female in heat, but without access to the female, he might take his sexual frustrations out on another male.
They don't really have an understanding of Gay or straight like we do.
I have never heard of lesbian animals.

Its humans that make a deliberate choice. I am sure there is a very, very small percent of people who are genitically sexually confused. The majority of homosexual people have made a choice, conscious or not.

Answer 6

No animals "choose" their sexuality...not lions, tigers or bears [oh my!] and certainly not humans. There is a whole cottage industry [operated by fundamental Christian sectarians] in "changing" gay people into straight people. The operators of these scams have probably ruined the lives of every one of their clients by infusions of guilt, shame, Christian off-brand voodoo and the inference that if a client "really believes" and "wants to change" they can get 'er done.

Those who claim sexuality is a choice and run "clinics" to correct society's mistakes [not God's or nature's, right?] are not only ignorant bastids, they're also sadistic profiteers.

We are as the Great Power and Mom Nature created us, and no amount of retouching facts is gonna make it otherwise.

Answer 7

typically homosexual behavior in animals is a dominance display. for example, the alpha female hyena (with her "pseudopenis" which is actually an enlarged clitoris) will mount her subordinate females.

does this mean female hyenas are lesbians? you can't answer this as it is not appropriate to project human psychologies onto animals. and vice/versa; let's stop anthropomorphising.

Answer 8

Depends on the species. Penguins, for example, draw straws. Dolphins prefer rock, paper, scissors, while flamingos usually opt for "high/low" with a deck of cards ;)

Answer 9

They don't. It is an error to claim that homosexuality is a choice.