Male West Indian Manatees employ a wide variety of positions and forms of genital stimulation during their homosexual encounters, including manual, oral, and mutual genital contact. These are not characteristic of heterosexual interactions in this species and are a good example of homosexual behavior not being modeled on stereotypical “male” and “female” roles.
In “pseudoheterosexual” explanations of homosexuality, it is usually assumed that a same-sex interaction is initiated by the animal who is adopting behavior patterns of the opposite sex. That is, a sexual or courtship episode between males is triggered by one male performing typically female “invitations” to the other male, while an analogous interaction between females is initiated by one female making typically “male” advances toward the other. While the initiation of homosexual activities sometimes does follow this pattern, exactly the opposite is seen in as many—if not more—cases. Sexual activity between females is often initiated by the mountee making typically female solicitations or overtures toward another female—this is true for species as diverse as Lions, Squirrel Monkeys, Rhesus Macaques, Hanuman Langurs, and Sage Grouse. Conversely, it is also common for sexual interactions between males to be initiated by the mounter making a typically “male” approach to another male. Even in courtship activities, the “roles” of the participating animals often do not fall into the patterns predicted by a “pseudoheterosexual” interpretation. In Ostriches, for example, homosexual courtships are not prompted by “female” behavior on the part of a male, but rather are initiated by one male approaching another using behaviors unique to same-sex interactions. Similarly, male Musk Ducks perform their courtship displays without being “triggered” by female behaviors on the part of either males or females; rather, Ducks of both sexes are attracted to males who are already displaying.
A Greylag gander pair performing a synchronized duet of “rolling” calls. In this and other species, both males in a homosexual pair perform mutual or typically “male” activities rather than one bird adopting a “male” role and the other a “female” role.
Often only one animal in a same-sex interaction is classified by scientists as truly “homosexual”—the one engaging in the putative “gender-atypical” behaviors. Thus, a male animal that solicits and is mounted by another male is considered to be the “true” homosexual, while the male who mounts him is a “normal” heterosexual male who is reacting to “opposite-sex” mimicry. This kind of logic frequently leads to absurd and contradictory classifications of animals. We’ve already discussed cases of reciprocal mounting, where the exchange of “roles” between animals necessitates a corresponding switch in which one is considered to be engaging in “homosexual” behavior for the moment. Sometimes an animal is actually both mounter and mountee simultaneously: in Wolves, Laughing Gulls, Little Blue Herons, Sage Grouse, and other species, an animal mounting another individual (of the same or opposite sex) is sometimes itself mounted by an animal of the same sex. Thus, an individual can exhibit gender “typical” and “atypical” mounting behavior at the same time and can perform concurrent “homosexual” and “heterosexual” acts with same-sex partners. In other cases, these behaviors occur in the same individual but separated in time, and in ways that do not conform to a “pseudoheterosexual” interpretation. Typically, the “true” homosexual animal is thought to be limited to opposite-sex behavior patterns and hence incapable of actual heterosexual relations (e.g., a male playing the “female role” with a male partner is considered incapable of playing the “male role” with a female partner). However, bisexual animals who successfully mate and breed with opposite-sex partners often perform the “gender-atypical” role during their homosexual interactions, while strictly heterosexual animals may perform the “gender-atypical” role during their heterosexual interactions—showing that there is no necessary connection between homosexual and heterosexual “roles.”15
In Red Deer, for example, one study revealed almost all possible combinations. Some Red Deer females who do not participate at all in homosexual activity play the “male” role in reverse heterosexual mounts, while others who are not involved in heterosexual activity play the “female” role in homosexual interactions (or assume both “roles” equally). One female who exhibited the most heterosexual behavior was only the “mounter” during homosexual interactions (i.e., she did not play the “female” role in that context), while the female who showed the most activity in the “male” role during homosexual interactions only played the “female” role in heterosexual interactions.16 Moreover, as neuroscientist William Byne has pointed out, a “pseudoheterosexual” interpretation taken to its logical conclusion would have to regard each of the animals performing a reverse heterosexual mount as “homosexual,” since each is exhibiting the mounting behavior of the opposite sex (male being mounted, female doing the mounting). We are left with the nonsensical result that same-sex mounting is a “heterosexual” act for some of its participants (those in the “gender-typical” role) while opposite-sex mounting can sometimes be a “homosexual” act for its participants (those in the “gender-atypical” role).17
Gendering and Transgendering
Just as most examples of homosexuality cannot be attributed to opposite-sex mimicry or “pseudoheterosexual” behavior, many examples of genuine transgender or sexual mimicry are not associated with homosexuality. In species such as northern jacanas, arctic terns, squid, and numerous reptiles and insects, animals imitate the behavior of members of the opposite sex in various contexts without inducing homosexual activity in animals of the same sex. In fact, more often than not such opposite-sex mimicry or behavioral transvestism is associated with heterosexual courtship, mating, or interaction. In jacanas, for example, males regularly adopt the female’s copulation posture to solicit sexual behavior from females, yet this does not trigger homosexual mounting from other males; likewise for male arctic terns that utilize females’ food-begging gestures.18
Not only is this true for species such as these where homosexuality has not been reported at all, homosexuality and “pseudoheterosexual” behavior (or transgender) often co-occur in the same species without having anything to do with each other. For example, when confronted aggressively by another male, Chaffinch males sometimes adopt the female’s sexual solicitation posture to prevent an attack, yet this does not trigger homosexual mounting by the other male. Nonbreeding males in this species also sometimes behave like females when trespassing on another male’s territory, but this does not cause the other male to begin courting him. Sexual chases between males, as well as female pairing, do occur in Chaffinches, but in contexts that are unrelated to such opposite-sex mimicry. Rufous-naped Tamarin males perform a “pseudo-female” behavior called upward tail-curling, typically used by females as a prelude to mating; however, males use this display during ambivalent or hostile encounters with females and not during episodes of homosexual mounting with other males. Likewise, Mountain Zebra bachelor stallions imitate the facial expressions and calls of mares in heat when they meet territorial breeding stallions, yet this opposite-sex mimicry does not incite homosexual mounting on the part of the territorial stallion. Rather, same-sex mounting in this species takes place almost exclusively between territorial stallions or between bachelors, rarely if ever between a territorial stallion and a bachelor.