The amount of people who keep arguing in this day and age that being gay is "unnatural" is nothing short of staggering. That argument once held some force, when it was believed that homosexual behavior acted "against nature" for engaging in reproductive conducts for non-reproductive purposes. Since many thought that non-human animals never did such a thing, it must have been God's "design" that such behavior didn't occur. The only reason humans did it, they said, was because, unlike other animals, we have free will.
This reasoning has been proven wrong time after time, but that still doesn't stop people from believing it all the same. Many feel that, if we were to prove that homosexuality does not arise out of pure "free will" and is instead found in our biological underpinnings, including the animal kingdom, then we'd be forced to be more tolerant towards gay people in general. Though that shouldn't be a requirement for tolerance in this case, the feeling is widespread.
For example, a cross-national study with participants from the U.S., the Philippines, and Sweden found that people who believe that "homosexuals are born that way" have a considerably more positive attitude towards gay people than people who believe that "homosexuals choose to be that way" or "learn to be that way." Sad, but true.
This belief is so strong that the very idea of finding homosexual behaviors in other species was utterly unbearable for most conservatives. When in 1911 explorer George Murray Levick documented this behavior in penguins at Cape Adare, he described the conduct as "depraved," and wrote that his findings should not be communicated to the public, as it was too shocking and dangerous for "proper morality." This led to the report being suppressed for nearly 100 years, and the only copies of it were made available privately and translated into Greek to prevent the spread of its "highly sensitive" contents.
But the truth always comes out. Far before we knew about this "secret" report, biologists and other scientists from all around the globe started reporting more and more homosexual behavior throughout the animal kingdom. As it turned out, this was far more common than anyone could have imagined. Just to give you an idea, here are several species that show us, once and for all, that there's nothing unnatural whatsoever about being gay.
Relacionado
10 Of The Sweetest LGBT Couples In Hollywood That Are Too Cute To Handle
Elephants
You probably know elephants for their amazing memory and deep emotional attachments. It's the latter that makes them particularly close to humans: elephants are highly social, bond with their kin much like humans do, have a complex communication system, and even mourn their dead. So, they're a good reference here.
Biologists have observed that both African and Asian species of elephants regularly engage in homosexual behaviors, especially the males. Generally, older male elephants form a sexual bond with up to two younger males. What's interesting is that, while "straight" relationships among elephants are usually rather short-lived affairs, this homosexual pairing might last for many, many years.
Relacionado
The Geopolitical And Economic Implications Of LGBT Inclusion
Penguins
Penguins are also special in that they not only have homosexual one-night stands, but like elephants, they can form beautiful long-term homosexual relationships. Yet penguins take this even further than elephants. Penguins really commit, and even build nests with their same-sex partners. What's even more beautiful is that homosexual penguins often "adopt" and take care of abandoned offsprings in their colony, helping the species survive by securing a better fate for the young ones. In short, homosexual penguins are really able to form an actual family in nature, breaking the stigma that same-sex parents could never form any "natural" type of family at all.
Giraffes
Giraffes, graceful as they are, represent one of the best examples of homosexual behaviors in nature for the simple fact that most of their sexual activity occurs between two males. More specifically, over 90% of sexual encounters in giraffes are homosexual. That's right, giraffes they engage in same-sex activities far more than they engage in opposite-sex ones.
Tough giraffes will of course reproduce through "straight sex" (otherwise they'd go extinct), any given male giraffe will have sex more often with other males than with females.
Relacionado
Why Uruguay Is The Most LGBTQ-Friendly Destination in Latin America
Dolphins
There are many species of dolphins, and homosexual behaviors have been observed in many of them, though most often and notably in the Amazon river dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. Both these species actually have some of the most varied repertoire of homosexual activities in the animal kingdom (they are very creative), and scientists believe their non-reproductive sexual behavior with same-sex partners helps them bond for the survival of the species—much like homosexual relationships helped Spartansbecome better warriors.
Lions
Speaking of Spartans, what better analogue to a great warrior class than a lion. Like Spartans, male and female lions often pair together to fight against other prides, and engaging in homosexual relationships helps strengthen their bond. Males in particular tend to form these "pair-bonds" in which the couple behaves rather affectionately, with plenty of nuzzling and caressing. This affection quickly leads to mounting—and the lions are all the better for it. It's truly endearing.
Bison
Homosexual behaviors have been observed for so long among bison, especially American bison, that there's even a tradition built around it. The Mandan people have a celebration, called the Okipa festival, that concludes with a ceremonial representation of the bison's homosexual activity as a way to ensure the animal's return in the coming season.
Relacionado
The Forgotten Animals That Made Space Travel Possible For Humans
Macaques
Same-sex relationships are frequent in the world of the Japanese macaques, also known as "snow monkeys." You know those cute little monkeys from the thermal pools whose photos have been going viralfor the past few years? Those are the ones. They usually divide their numbers into different matriarchal troops, and within each of these, both males and females form deep homosexual bonds. Same-sex couples usually engage in affectionate, playful, as well as sexual behavior.
Albatross
The Laysan albatross have a significant same-sex relationship system, especially among females. Over 30% of female albatross on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, enter a long-term sexual relationship with another female after mating with a male. These relationships help the otherwise lonely birds hatch and raise their offspring, as the males usually fly away to another affair soon after mating anyway. And not only do same-sex families work well, they work even better than "straight" couples when it comes to hatching and raising chicks. Male-female couples have only a hatching success rate of 41% and a reproductive success of 31%, vs. 87% and 67% respectively for same-sex couples.
Bonobos
Homosexual relationships have been observed in all great apes (and many other primate species), including humans. But no other ape even comes close to the incredible frequency of homosexual behavior that Bonobos display. As you might know, these primates are one of the closest relatives to humans in the animal kingdom, and they really show it: they behave and interact in very "human" ways. They have a complex social structure, communication strategies, and deeply affective relationships. So it's not surprising that they would also form strong sexual bonds with one another.
Relacionado
Is It Time For All Of Us To Go Vegan? Here's What You Should Know
Bonobos tend to be fully bisexual, each individual constantly engaging in sexual activities with both males and females. About 60% of these interactions are among females only, though, as the Bonobos have a matriarchal society centered around strong female figures. It is speculated that where other animals release tension through fighting, bonobos (though they also fight) prefer to release it through sex.
Swans
Around 20 to 25% of black swans are in exclusively male-male relationships. Swans are predominantly monogamous and pair for life, so homosexual couples are really committed to one another and their way of life. And they love building a family and raising their own chicks. Since same-sex couples obviously can't reproduce with one another, they have two usual alternatives: they either form a threesome with a female and drive the latter away after she lays eggs, or they adopt/steal an abandoned egg. Either way, same-sex parents are very common among the black swan population, and they tend to have a greater success raising their chicks into adulthood than "straight" couples do.
Walruses
Male walruses are almost exclusively gay until they reach sexual maturity at age 4. They then become bisexual, pairing with female during the mating season and engaging in chiefly homosexual behaviors for the rest of the year. So while they do reproduce without issue, they seem to have a preference for their same-sex partners all around. See? We don't even have to be predominantly"straight" for our species to survive!
Relacionado
The Nazi Persecution Of The Disabled, Homosexuals And Others During WWII
Sheep
Many domestic sheep (about 10% of them) have an exclusively homosexual orientation, which means that they are only interested in same-sex partners even when the other sex is around. For example, if a homosexual ram is enclosed with a female, the former will have absolutely no sexual interest in the latter—no matter if an alternative is absent or how long he's been without sex. Additionally, over 20% of sheep are bisexual. Talk about diversity.
There are many more species that constantly engage in non-straight sexual behaviors, including a host of reptiles, insects, arachnids, and many more birds and mammals. Homosexuality is ubiquitous in nature, including in properly human nature. So it makes absolutely no sense to claim that there's anything unnatural about being gay at all. Love is love, after all.
Check out these other articles:
Are You In The Know?: The Best LGBT+ Pride Events To Party All Month
Taiwan Becomes The First Asian Country To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
Arthur’s Gay Wedding Episode Just Got Banned In Alabama (Surprising No One)
