Are People Born Gay?

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Gays do not exist only in human form. In fact, some researchers put the number of species that demonstrate homosexuality or bisexuality somewhere in the 1,500 range. And these animals don't seem to be engaging in same-sex sexual behavior for any other reason than pleasure. Not bound by the constrictions of human society or the condemnations of certain subsets therein, the animal kingdom is far more wont to let their natural desires and gratifications run free.

Anti-gay personalities like to cite homosexuality as going "against nature." However nature shows us, quite undeniably and unapologetically, that homosexuality and bisexuality are quite natural indeed. Now, those same anti-gay personalities try to explain this all away with carefully worded polemics that say human beings should not cull their behavior from the animal kingdom. They like to jump to things like cannibalism and say that since some species display this behavior, it is some sort of proof that we humans are not to let the animal kingdom be our moral guide.  However, this is a major red herring. Yes, some animals engage in behavior that humans, in our socialized form, find unsavory -- but I would argue that this is more of a product of our societal cultivation and privileges (including but not limited to our adopted moral codes) than it is a product of our vast mammalian difference. And I would also argue that sexuality and desire are among the purest areas where we can see our connections to the larger animal kingdom.

Why shouldn't we draw comparisons in this area of sexuality? We are animals. We don't bat an eye when people compare our procreative sex with that of other animals -- why is it different for non-procreative sexual behavior?