Homosexuality unnatural? Other animal species say otherwise

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has received widespread criticism for comparing homosexual people to animals. When rejecting same-sex marriage during a TV interview, the boxer and part-time politician said:

“It’s just common sense. Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations? Animals are better, they know how to distinguish male from female. If we approve male-on-male, female-on-female, then man is worse than animals.”

While the phrase “worse than animals” has drawn the most attention and condemnation (costing him a sponsorship deal with Nike), the stupidest thing about Pacquiao’s comments is his claim that animals avoid homosexuality because they can recognize gender differences.

Pacquiao’s statement is dumb because it implies that being gay is a social or lifestyle choice, ignoring decades of scientific research and observations showing that sexuality in animals – including us humans – is heavily influenced by biology.

There are many examples of genuine homosexual behavior across the animal kingdom, in captivity and out in the wild.

The most well-studied species are among mammals and birds, as described in the 1999 book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. Written by biologist and linguist Bruce Bagemihl, it includes references to hundreds of studies (Bagemihl called it a “labor of love”).

Read full, original post: Dear Manny Pacquiau: Look At All These Homosexual Animals

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