Posted on 04/18/2006 7:52:52 PM PDT by DBeers
The reasons and causes for homosexuality should no longer be viewed only in terms of the long-debated nature-versus-nurture argument, a women’s studies and sexuality expert told a small group in Gerlinger Lounge on campus Monday.
Jennifer Terry, a program director and associate professor in Woman’s Studies at the University of California-Irvine, spoke to the 19-person audience on a new concept she refers to as “nature culture.”
“Nature and nurture are not separate, but intertwined together,” she said.
The presentation, entitled “Burying the Bone: Primal Scenes Among Queer Companion Species,” looked at the debate through discussing homosexuality in animals and how it relates to humans. Terry gave examples of homosexual octopi, “The two males used their ninth arm, or what we humans call a third leg,” she said. Also, Terry used examples of homosexuality in sheep, rats and monkeys.
Originally, research on homosexuality in animals focused on pumping female rats with testosterone and monitoring their brain responses. However, when scientists turned the focus onto monkeys, a shift in philosophy occurred.
“Greater attention turned to social activities, which were viewed more important than biological research,” Terry said.
Terry fears that religious groups and conservative politicians could use the focus on animals and homosexuality in scientific research against the gay community. Looking at it as an animal act dehumanizes gays, she said.
“The animals are pawns used for political argument,” Terry said after the presentation.
She feels that the reasons for homosexuality in animals — and humans for that matter — will never truly be solved through scientific and psychological research. A combination of “biology and culture are too complex a topic to be sufficiently answered,” she said.
Her speech became personal when she told of a sexual encounter involving her current companion that occurred in 2001. While living in Berkeley with a friend, the friend’s dog, a Chow Bella named Buster, sat on the bed while she was in the thralls of a sexual experience. Terry quickly removed the dog from the bed.
The next day, Terry found a bone underneath her pillow, a sign of affection from the dog. That brought to the forefront of her mind the idea that companion animals, such as dogs and horses, can be gay.
Terry became passionate about the study of homosexuality and the concept of nature versus nurture in the late 1990s with the publications of research showing that the brain caused homosexuality.
“I became concerned about what the significant and larger political gay rights issue involved,” Terry said.
The University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Support Services director, Chicora Martin, was happy to have Terry speak on the topic.
“It was very thought provoking,” Martin said. “It is a contemporary twist on a discussion we have had for decades.”
The Standing Committee for LGBT Concerns sponsored the speech. Terry’s presentation is part of the 2006 InterSEXions program, which aims to bring the campus together on social issues. It is the 11th time the committee has hosted the event.
It lays out the arguments very nicely.
Thanks for posting the link.
Damnit Tex, I am sorry about your disappointing rooster, but if a bone under the pillow isn't love, just what the hell is? "Woof, Woof," apparently means, "Bite the pillow, Darling," in Doggie Speak.
I once knew a guy by that name.
Kim, accept this for the miracle that it so clearly is. Your bitch is now eligible for ordination in any number of churches.
No, I'm not.
"Fag-haters" say that homosexuality is "unnatural" - meaning it doesen't happen in Nature. But it does. The reason for such behavior is debatable, but the fact that animals DO exhibit this behavior is factual.
Talk about missing the point... And not everybody who says homosexuality is unnatural is referring to what happens in nature - there's also a biological aspect to which people are referring. Homosexuality in nature is similar to the homosexual behavior in prison.
You are missing several points.
Your point is flawed in premise in that it conflates a subjectively felt and declared orientation with objectively observed animal activity.
Additionally, homosexual activity is always disordered and unnatural REGARDLESS there are some exceptions to the norm that choose to engage in it... Homosexual activity is a procreative dead end...
Finally -take your "Fag-haters" language elsewhere...
"Terry found a bone underneath her pillow, a sign of affection"
That trick works all of the time...not as messy as trying the old movie theater trick with the hole in the popcorn bucket.
Alleged homosexuality in animals is more about dominant behavior than sexual preference. Example: my female dog humps my male cat. Male dogs will often 'mount' other males as a sign of dominace too. But I've never known two male animals buying a home and a Subaru together.
Yes. Boy rats still want to get it with girl rats. Engaging in a male/male (or female/female) sex act does not make anyone, man or animal, "gay." The disorder of homosexuality is in rejecting the opposite sex resulting in a genetic dead-end.
That's actually a pretty common behavior for spayed females. When their plumbing is removed, it will generally result in an increase in testosterone levels. Depending on any number of environmental factors, they may experience surges and adopt a more 'aggressive' mode. By that, I mean behavior that is not necessarily violent, but uncharacteristic of 'their usual self.' Dogs are pack animals and once assimilated into a 'pack' (which may be a single human owner, family, family with multiple pets, etc.) and a natural result of increased testosterone is to challenge for a higher position in the pecking order. She may see the stuffed animal as an inert member of the pack, or even a challenger to her status.
The act of a male animal humping another male animal has nothing to do with sex. It has to do with dominance. This is why dominant female dogs will hump male dogs. The act of mounting is a form of securing a position of prominance within the animal's society.
Thus, when a dog humps your leg he is trying to exert dominance over you. Or do you think this means the dog is sexually attracted to your leg?
With mine, when he wouldn't be complaining, it would be constant sarcasm. He has inherent attitude problem.
I'm not talking about humping or signs of dominance or submission. I'm talking about birds and mammals that mate with members of their own sex during their entire lifetime. They even build nests together (obviously there will never be anything in them). Nest building is not a sign of "securing a position of prominance" - that is an entirely different subject.
So are condoms and birth control pills.
Finally -take your "Fag-haters" language elsewhere...
If the shoe fits..........
It would seem odd that a male bird, since it is in their habit to build a nest, would instead seek to live in one built by another male. Might be a genetic defect. Happily for that species, that defect will be removed from the genetic pool in each instance in which it appears.
This is good news for the militant homosexuals who now have other creatures they can cavort with.
The bald eagle isn't extinct yet - it happens very often in that particular species. Maybe that's why that nutcase that is protesting soldier's funerals with his "God hates Fags" signs is so anti-American!
DId these animals reject available mates of the opposite sex for same-sex mates?
BTW animals that mate for life give "singletons" fewer chances to "hook up" which would logically result in more homosexual pairings.
Can you interpret that non-sequitur? (Besides, the "God hates fags" people are fakes.)
Uhh...the bald eagle is the American symbol.
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