Most scientists are understandably wary of anthropomorphizing animals with terms that have wide applicability in a human context—as well they should be—and obviously not all zoologists who avoid the word homosexual are motivated by homophobia. Nevertheless, the lengths that are taken to circumvent terminology that can easily be clarified with a simple explanatory statement often border on the absurd.48
“Not Included in the Tabulated Statistics”
Even when homosexual behavior is recognized as such, detailed study of it is often omitted or passed over, or the phenomenon is marginalized and trivialized. For instance, numerous published reports on the courtship and copulation behavior of animals provide excruciatingly detailed descriptions and statistics on frequency of mounts, number of ejaculations, duration of penile erections, number of thrusts, timing of estrous cycles, total number of sexual partners, and so on and so forth—but all for heterosexual interactions. In contrast, homosexual activity is often mentioned only in passing, not deemed worthy of the exhaustive coverage that is afforded “real” sexual behavior.49 In a detailed study of Spinner Dolphin sexual activity, for example, only heterosexual behavior is quantified and given a thorough statistical treatment, even though the author recognizes the prominence of homosexual activity in this species and actually states directly that its frequency exceeds that of heterosexual behavior. Another study of the same species mentions homosexual copulations without providing the total number observed, unlike heterosexual matings. In a tabulation of homosexual and heterosexual activity in Kob antelopes, the number of male partners of each female is cataloged while the number of female partners is not. Likewise, articles on Crested Black Macaque and Brown Capuchin sexual behavior acknowledge the occurrence of female homosexual activity yet offer no statistics on this behavior, even though it is said to be more common (in Crested Blacks) than male homosexual activity (which, along with heterosexual behavior, is quantified). Finally, graphs of the frequency of various Giraffe activities in one study fail to provide adequate information on homosexual mounts: all same-sex interactions are lumped into the category of “sparring” (a form of fighting) without distinguishing actual sparring from necking (a ritualized, nonviolent form of play-fighting and affection) or mounting activity.50
Sometimes certain aspects of homosexual activity are excluded or arbitrarily eliminated from an overall analysis or tabulation—often resulting in a distorted picture of same-sex interactions (regardless of whether the omission is deliberate or well-motivated). For instance, a female Western Gull who exhibited the most overt sexual activity with her female partner was “not included in the tabulated statistics” of a study comparing heterosexual and homosexual behaviors. By failing to incorporate data from this individual (intentionally or not), researchers undoubtedly helped foster the (now widely cited) impression that sexual activity is a uniformly negligible aspect of female pairing in this species. Along the same lines, scientists surveying pair formation in Black-crowned Night Herons only tabulated homosexual couples that they considered to be “caused” by the “crowded” conditions of captivity. They ignored a male pair whose formation could not be attributed to such conditions and also overlooked the fact that such “crowded” conditions regularly occur in wild colonies of the same species. And all data concerning same-sex pairs or coparents in Laughing Gulls, Canary-winged Parakeets, Greater Rheas, and Zebra Finches were excluded from general studies of pair-bonding, nesting, or other behaviors in these species.51
The significance of homosexual activity is sometimes also downplayed in discussions of its prevalence or frequency. Certainly many variables must be considered when trying to quantify same-sex activity, and the task is rarely straightforward (as we saw in chapter 1). Nevertheless, in some instances homosexual frequency is interpreted or calculated so as to give the impression that same-sex activity is less common than it really is or else is de-emphasized in terms of its importance relative to other species. In Gorillas, for example, homosexual activity in females is classified as “rare” because investigators observed it “only” 10 times on eight separate days. However, these figures are incomplete unless compared with the frequency of heterosexual interactions during the same period. In fact, 98 episodes of heterosexual mating were recorded during the same period, which means that 9 percent of all sexual activity was homosexual—a significant percentage when compared to other species.52 Similarly, investigators studying lesbian pairs in Western Gulls state, “We have estimated female-female pairs make up only 10—15 percent of the population” (emphasis added), when in fact this is one of the higher rates recorded for homosexual pairs in any bird species (and certainly the highest rate reported at that time). Homosexual mounting in female Spotted Hyenas is claimed to be much less frequent than in other female mammals, yet no specific figures are offered; the one species that is mentioned in comparison is the Guinea Pig, a domesticated rodent that is not necessarily the best model for a wild carnivore.53
It is also important to consider the behavioral type and context when evaluating frequency. Homosexual copulations in Tree Swallows, for example, have been characterized as “exceedingly rare” because they have been observed only infrequently and are much less common than heterosexual matings between pair-bonded birds. However, homosexual copulations are nonmonogamous matings (i.e., they typically involve birds that are not paired to one another and may even have heterosexual mates); it is insufficient in this case to compare the frequency rates of two different kinds of copulation (within-pair and extra-pair). In fact, the more comparable heterosexual behavior—nonmonogamous copulations involving males and females—are also “rarely” seen. Early observers considered them to be exceedingly uncommon (or nonexistent), while a later study documented only two such matings during four years of observation, and subsequent research has yielded consistently low levels of observed promiscuous (heterosexual) copulations. Yet scientists now know that such matings must be common because of the high rates of offspring resulting from them—in some populations, more than three-quarters of all nestlings (as verified by DNA testing). Thus, it is likely that the frequency of homosexual nonmonogamous matings has been similarly underestimated.54
Many scientists, on first observing an episode of homosexual activity, are also quick to classify the behavior as an exceptional or isolated occurrence for that species. In contrast, a single observed instance of heterosexuality is routinely interpreted as representative of a recurrent behavior pattern, even though it may occur (or be observed) extremely rarely or exhibit wide variation in form or context. This sets up a double standard in assessing and interpreting the prevalence of each behavior type, especially since opposite-sex mating can be a less than ubiquitous or uniform feature of an animal’s social life (see chapter 5). It also conflicts with the patterns established for other species. In repeated instances, homosexual activity was initially recorded in only one episode, dyad, or population (and usually interpreted—or dismissed—as an isolated example), but was then confirmed by subsequent research as a regular feature of the behavioral repertoire of the species—often spanning many decades, geographic areas, and behavioral contexts. 55 It is no longer possible to claim that homosexuality is an anomalous occurrence in a certain species simply because it has only been observed a handful of times.