As such, the book seeks not only to convey “the facts” about animal behavior but, perhaps as importantly, to capture something of their “poetry” as well. The beauty and mystery of nature can be found in many forms. And one particular form of natural beauty is the diversity of sexuality and gender expression throughout the animal world. In addition to being interesting from a purely scientific standpoint, these phenomena are also capable of inspiring our deepest feelings of wonder, and our most profound sense of awe.
Part 1
A Polysexual, Polygendered World
Chapter 1
The Birds and the Bees
The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose.
—evolutionary biologist J. B. S. HALDANE1
In the dimly lit undergrowth of a Central American rain forest, jewel-like male hummingbirds flit through the vegetation, pausing briefly to mate now with a male, now with a female. A whale glides through the dark and icy waters of the Arctic, then surges toward the surface in a playful frenzy of churning water and splashing, her fins and tail caressing another female. Drifting off to sleep, two male monkeys lie gently in each other’s arms, cradled by one of the ancient jungles of Asia. A herd of deer picks its way cautiously through a semidesert scrub of Texas, each animal simultaneously male but not-quite-male, with half-developed, velvety antlers and diminutive, fine-boned proportions. In a protected New Zealand inlet, a pair of female gulls—mated for life—tend their chicks together. Tiny midges swarm above a bleak tundra of northern Europe, a whirlwind of mating activity as males couple with each other in midair. Circling and prancing around her partner, a female antelope courts another female in an ageless, elegant ritual staged on the African savanna.
Although biologist J. B. S. Haldane was not (necessarily) referring to homosexuality when he spoke of the “queerness” of the natural world, little did he know how accurate his statement would turn out to be. The world is, indeed, teeming with homosexual, bisexual, and transgendered creatures of every stripe and feather. From the Southeastern Blueberry Bee of the United States to more than 130 different bird species worldwide, the “birds and the bees,” literally, are queer.2
On every continent, animals of the same sex seek each other out and have probably been doing so for millions of years.3 They court each other, using intricate and beautiful mating dances that are the result of eons of evolution. Males caress and kiss each other, showing tenderness and affection toward one another rather than just hostility and aggression. Females form long-lasting pair-bonds—or maybe just meet briefly for sex, rolling in passionate embraces or mounting one another. Animals of the same sex build nests and homes together, and many homosexual pairs raise young without members of the opposite sex. Other animals regularly have partners of both sexes, and some even live in communal groups where sexual activity is common among all members, male and female. Many creatures are “transgendered,” crossing or combining characteristics of both males and females in their appearance or behavior. Amid this incredible variety of different patterns, one thing is certain: the animal kingdom is most definitely not just heterosexual.
Homosexual behavior occurs in more than 450 different kinds of animals worldwide, and is found in every major geographic region and every major animal group.4 It should come as no surprise, then, that animal homosexuality is not a single, uniform phenomenon. Whether one is discussing the forms it takes, its frequency, or its relationship to heterosexual activity, same-sex behavior in animals exhibits every conceivable variation. This chapter presents a broad overview of animal homosexuality and places it in the context of a number of other phenomena involving alternative genders and sexualities.
The Many Forms of Animal Homosexuality
For most people, “homosexuality” means one thing: sex. While it’s true that animals of the same gender often interact sexually with each other, this is only one aspect of same-sex expression. Animal homosexuality represents a vast and diverse range of activities: it is neither a monolithic nor an exclusively sexual phenomenon. This section offers a survey of the full range of homosexual activity found in the animal world, organized around five major behavioral categories: courtship, affection, sex, pair-bonding, and parenting. While these categories are not mutually exclusive and often blend imperceptibly into one another, they offer a useful introduction to the multiplicity of homosexual expression in the animal kingdom.
A word on terminology is in order. In this book, heterosexuality is defined as courtship, affectionate, sexual, pair-bonding, and/or parenting behaviors between animals of the opposite sex, while homosexuality is defined as these same activities when they occur between animals of the same sex. When applied to people, the terms homosexual, gay, or lesbian can refer either to a particular behavior when it occurs between two men or two women, or to an individual whose primary “identity” involves any or all of these activities. Since the notion of identity is inappropriate to ascribe to animals, these terms will be reserved for the behaviors that animals engage in and, where relevant, to describe individuals whose primary “orientation” is toward animals of the same sex where courtship, sexual, and/or pair-bonding activities are concerned. In addition, because the terms gay and lesbian have particularly human connotations, these will generally be avoided in favor of homosexual(ity) or same-sex (although it must be remembered that each of these words can have specific meanings independent of their human connotations when used in relation to animals, and they are employed as cover terms for widely divergent activities even among humans). When a particular individual engages in both homosexual and heterosexual activity, these words are limited to describing the animal’s specific behaviors (depending on the gender of the animal’s partner), while the animal itself is described as bisexual.5
Pirouette Dances, Ecstatic Displays, and Triumph Ceremonies: Courtship Patterns
To attract the attention and interest of a potential partner, animals often perform a series of stylized movements and behaviors prior to mating, sometimes in the form of a complex visual or vocal display. This is known as courtship behavior, and it usually indicates that one animal is advertising his or her presence to prospective mates or is sexually interested in another individual. If the interest is mutual, this may lead to mating or other sexual activity and possibly pair-bonding (for example, in birds). Some animals also use special courtship behaviors to conclude, as well as initiate, sexual activity, or to reinforce their pair-bonds. Courtship behavior is a common feature of homosexual interactions, occurring in nearly 40 percent of the mammals and birds in which same-sex activity has been observed.