Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity

and W. Zhong [1989] “Ecology and Social Behavior of Mongolian Gerbils, Meriones unguiculatus, at Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China,” Animal Behavior 37:11— 27).

3

Caprio, F. S. (1954) Female Homosexuality, pp. 19, 76 (New York: Grove); Northern Fur Seal (Bartholomew 1959:168).

4

This idea appears in the descriptions of homosexuality in more than 40 different species of mammals and birds.

5

Homosexuality and related phenomena in animals have even been labeled “heterotypical behavior” (cf. Haug, M., P. F. Brain, and C. Aron, eds., [1991] Heterotypical Behavior in Man and Animals [New York: Chapman and Hall]). The intended meaning of this term is that the behavior of at least one of the partners during same-sex interactions is supposedly “typical” of participants in heterosexual activity, but transposed onto a same-sex context—in other words homosexuality is simply recast as a modified version of heterosexuality.

6

Orange-fronted/Aztec Parakeets (Hardy 1966:77, 1963:171). In a related vein, the vocal and sexual responses of female Stumptail Macaques during orgasm were studied primarily in homosexual, rather than heterosexual, interactions; this information was then generalized or extrapolated to opposite-sex contexts (cf. Goldfoot et al. 1980; Leinonen et al. 1991:245). Likewise, the synchronization of pair-bonding activities in Galahs was typified in one study with quantitative information from same-sex rather than opposite-sex pairs (Rogers and McCulloch 1981:87).

7

Freud, S. (1905/1961) Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie (Frankfurt: Fischer); see also Ellis, H. (1936) Sexual Inversion: Studies in the Psychology of Sex (New York: Random House).

8

Morris 1954 (Zebra Finch); Morris 1952 (Ten-spined Stickleback). For a more recent article, see Schlupp et al. 1992 (Amazon Molly). See also Lorenz 1972:21 (Raven) for an early (errroneous) statement to the effect that during same-sex interactions animals only exhibit “purely” masculine or feminine behaviors (as defined by a heterosexual context) rather than any intermediate forms.

9

Takhi (Boyd 1986:661); Mallard Duck (Ramsay 1956:277); Snow Goose (Starkey 1972). Another notable example of the conflation of “inverted” gender traits (and other “deviant” characteristics) with playing the “opposite-sex” role in homosexual interactions involves the Common Chimpanzee. A female Chimp that was apparently exclusively lesbian for many years (and consorted with otherwise “heterosexual” females) was described by a scientist—in addition to being sexually “aberrant”—as having a “burly manner,” being “masculine-looking,” “two-faced and mean,” “malevolent,” and “deceitful.” Comments from untrained observers that compared her to a witch were also repeated without qualification (de Waal 1982:64—65). While some of these traits may have reflected genuine aspects of her physical appearance, behavior, and personality, it is striking how loaded and anthropomorphic these descriptions are, and how many of the characteristics singled out for mention correspond precisely to the negative and distorted stereotypes of “butch” lesbians among humans. Moreover, in many animals, (heterosexual) females may display greater levels of aggression when they are in “heat”—one scientist even described female Chimpanzees as being “masculinized” by the onset of their estrus (Nishida 1979:103). Aside from being inappropriate in specific cases, then, it is inaccurate to ascribe greater aggression solely to “malelike” females in homosexual contexts when this may in fact be an independent feature of female sexual arousal. In addition, a recent comprehensive survey of over 700 mammal species found no correlation between the occurrence of “masculinized” female genitalia and female aggression or dominance (Teltscher, C., H. Hofer, and M. L. East [1997] “Virilized Genitalia are Not Required for the Evolution of Female Dominance,” in M. Taborsky and B. Taborsky, eds., Contributions to the XXV International Ethological Conference, p. 281, Advances in Ethology no. 32. [Berlin: Blackwell Wissenschafts-Verlag]). Incidentally, the female Chimpanzee referred to above was also nicknamed “the Madam” because of her apparent regulation of the sexual activity of other females, echoing an earlier nicknaming of an intersexual Savanna Baboon as “the Prostitute” (Marais 1922/1969:205—6). These examples offer striking parallels to the association, among humans, of female homosexuality/gender variance with prostitution. Both are seen as “deviant” activities and are linked not only in the mythic and popular imagination, but also sometimes in actual historical and social realities (cf. Nestle, J. [1987] “Lesbians and Prostitutes: A Historical Sisterhood,” in A Restricted Country, pp. 157—77 [Ithaca: Firebrand Books]; Salessi, J. [1997] “Medics, Crooks, and Tango Queens: The National Appropriation of a Gay Tango,” pp. 151, 161-62, in C. F. Delgado and J. E. Munoz, eds., Everynight Life: Culture and Dance in Latin/o America, pp. 141—74 [Durham: Duke University Press]).

10

Although many zoologists have uncritically advocated such an “explanation” or interpretation of homosexuality, a few scientists have presented explicit arguments against such an analysis: Wolfe 1979:532, Lunardini 1989:183 (Japanese Macaque); Srivastava et al. 1991:506—7 (Hanuman Langur); Huber and Martys 1993:160 (Greylag Goose); Hunt et al. 1984 (Western Gull); Rogers and McCulloch 1981:90 (Galah).

11

This is especially true for “penis fencing” between male Bonobos, less so for mutual genital rubbing between females in this species. The latter usually involves one female “mounting” or embracing the other in a face-to-face position, hence it could be analogized with positions used in heterosexual interactions.

12

Even in some of these cases, however, a “pseudoheterosexual” framework has been imposed on the behavior. Mutual rump rubbing, in which two animals back up toward each other and rub their anal and genital regions together, has been interpreted as both animals adopting a “female” heterosexual invitation-to-mate posture in some species (e.g., Bonobos [Kitamura 1989:56—57]; Stumptail Macaques [Chevalier-Skolnikoff 1976:518]). This ignores the fact that both participants often actively rub their rumps together and make pelvic thrusts rather than simply passively presenting their hindquarters, and the two animals may also simultaneously fondle and stimulate each other’s genitals with their hands—clearly making this a distinct sexual activity rather than simply a version of a heterosexual practice or posture.

13

Bottlenose Dolphin (Ostman 1991). For more on reverse heterosexual mounting, see chapter 5 and the species profiles in part 2.

14

See, for example, Huber and Martys (1993:160) for explicit refutation of the idea that one member of a Greylag gander pair adopts a “pseudofemale” role.

15

This is true, for example, in Mallard Ducks, Black-crowned Night Herons, Black-headed Gulls, Emus, and Jackdaws.

16

Red Deer (based on table 2, Hall 1983:278).

17

Byne, W. (1994) “The Biological Evidence Challenged,” p. 53, Scientific American 270(5):50—55.

18

Northern jacana (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. [1996] Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 3, Hoatzin to Auks, p. 282 [Barcelona: Lynx Edicions]); arctic tern and other species (Weldon, P. J., and G. M. Burghardt [1984] “Deception Divergence and Sexual Selection,” Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie 65:89—102, especially table 1).

19