I woke up this morning to find that someone on the Internet is wrong, and so I made a list. I generally don’t engage in comment wars, but when I do, I use facts. I was reading this article last night about the vicious beating of a gay man by a group of 4 other men who screamed epithets while they attacked him. Three of the 4 are going to prison for 5 years, the 4th is still at large. I scrolled down to the comments section and saw someone had posted a link to what the commenter said was an attack against peaceful Christians by a homosexual mob.
Knowing I was feeding the trolls, I watched it and then posted my (bullet-pointed) list of reasons his interpretation of the video was wrong (there was no “attack,” the protesters were being walked through the Castro during Pride by regular police, not “riot” police, the protesters were yelling at people on the street not “praying peacefully”). Then I went to sleep.
I woke up this morning to 20 more comments on that section of the thread, most of which reiterated my “this is a red-herring and super cray-cray” conjecture, but a few of which started that old song about homosexuality being a choice. Again, knowing I was feeding trolls more than anything else, I posted again, mentioning that unless the Common Brown Bear and the Appalachian Woodland Salamander were making a “choice” homosexuality was as natural as heterosexuality and no more a choice than height.
I had known that a number of species contained homosexual members–in high school I had a pair of cherished toy penguins I named “Roy and Silo”–but I hadn’t realized there were so many species that displays what Wikipedia calls homosexual “sex, courtship, affection, pair bonding, or parenting.” Because it’s Wikipedia, this list may change but I wanted to have at least on version of it all in one place.
I like having this list because, as illogical as it is, when I hear a lie (being gay is a choice, abortion causes depression, sex is bad) often enough some part of my subbrain starts to believe it. I need facts to keep me on course. In case you don’t want to scroll their the whole list, my top 5 favorite species which display homosexual, bisexual, or transgender behavior are:
- Wood Turtles
- Giraffes
- Red Diamond Rattlesnake
- Asian Elephants
- Beluga Whales
- Guinea Pigs (Domestic)
- Cats (Domestic)
- Dogs (Domestic)
- Eastern Cottontail Rabbits
- Olympic Marmots
For citations, check out the original article.
Mammals
- African Buffalo
- African Elephant
- Agile Wallaby
- Amazon River Dolphin(Boto)
- American Bison
- Antelope
- Asian Elephant
- Asiatic Lion
- Asiatic Mouflon
- Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
- Australian Sea Lion
- Barasingha
- Barbary Sheep
- Beluga
- Bharal
- Bighorn Sheep
- Black Bear
- Blackbuck
- Black-footed Rock Wallaby
- Black-tailed Deer
- Bonnet Macaque
- Bonobo
- Bottlenose Dolphin
- Bowhead Whale
- Brazilian Guinea Pig
- Bridled Dolphin
- Brown Bear
- Brown Capuchin
- Brown Long-eared Bat
- Brown Rat
- Buffalo
- Caribou
- Cat (domestic)
- Cattle (domestic)
- Cheetah
- Collared Peccary
- Commerson’s Dolphin
- Common Brushtail Possum
- Common Chimpanzee
- Common Dolphin
- Common Marmoset
- Common Pipistrelle
- Common Raccoon
- Common Tree Shrew
- Cotton-top Tamarin
- Crab-eating Macaque
- Crested Black Macaque
- Dall’s Sheep
- Daubenton’s Bat
- Dog (domestic)
- Doria’s Tree Kangaroo
- Dugong
- Dwarf Cavy
- Dwarf Mongoose
- Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
- Eastern Grey Kangaroo
- Elk
- Euro (a subspecies of wallaroo)
- European Bison
- Fallow Deer
- False Killer Whale
- Fat-tailed Dunnart
- Fin Whale
- Fox
- Gazelle
- Gelada Baboon
- Giraffe
- Goat (Domestic)
- Golden Monkey
- Gorilla
- Grant’s Gazelle
- Grey-headed Flying Fox
- Grey Seal
- Grey squirrel
- Grey Whale
- Grey Wolf
- Grizzly Bear
- Guinea Pig (Domestic)
- Hamadryas Baboon
- Hamster (Domestic)
- Hanuman Langur
- Harbor Porpoise
- Harbor Seal
- Himalayan Tahr
- Hoary Marmot
- Horse (domestic)
- Humans
- Indian Fruit Bat
- Indian Muntjac
- Indian Rhinoceros
- Japanese Macaque
- Javelina
- Kangaroo Rat
- Killer Whale
- Koala
- Kob
- Larga Seal
- Least Chipmunk
- Lechwe
- Lesser Bushbaby
- Lion
- Lion-tailed Macaque
- Lion Tamarin
- Little Brown Bat
- Livingstone’s Fruit Bat
- Long-eared Hedgehog
- Long-footed Tree Shrew
- Macaque
- Markhor
- Marten
- Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo
- Moco
- Mohol Galago
- Moor Macaque
- Moose
- Mountain Goat
- Mountain Tree Shrew
- Mountain Zebra
- Mouse (domestic)
- Moustached Tamarin
- Mule Deer
- Musk-ox
- Natterer’s Bat
- New Zealand Sea Lion
- Nilgiri Langur
- Noctule
- North American Porcupine
- Northern Elephant Seal
- Northern Fur Seal
- Northern Quoll
- Olympic Marmot
- Orangutan
- Pacific Striped Dolphin
- Patas Monkey
- Pere David’s Deer
- Pig (Domestic)
- Pig-tailed Macaque
- Plains Zebra
- Polar Bear
- Pretty-faced Wallaby
- Proboscis Monkey
- Pronghorn
- Przewalski’s Horse
- Puku
- Quokka
- Rabbit
- Raccoon Dog
- Red Deer
- Red Fox
- Red Kangaroo
- Red-necked Wallaby
- Red Squirrel
- Reeves’s Muntjac
- Reindeer
- Rhesus Macaque
- Right Whale
- Rock Cavy
- Rodrigues Fruit Bat
- Roe Deer
- Rufous Bettong
- Rufous-naped Tamarin
- Rufous Rat Kangaroo
- Saddle-back Tamarin
- Savanna Baboon
- Sea Otter
- Serotine Bat
- Sheep (Domestic)
- Siamang
- Sika Deer
- Slender Tree Shrew
- Sooty Mangabey
- Sperm Whale
- Spinifex Hopping Mouse
- Spinner Dolphin
- Spotted Hyena
- Spotted Seal
- Squirrel Monkey
- Striped Dolphin
- Stuart’s Marsupial Mouse
- Stumptail Macaque
- Swamp Deer
- Swamp Wallaby
- Takhi
- Talapoin
- Tammar Wallaby
- Tasmanian Devil
- Tasmanian Rat Kangaroo
- Thinhorn Sheep
- Thomson’s Gazelle
- Tiger
- Tonkean Macaque
- Tucuxi
- Urial
- Vampire Bat
- Verreaux’s Sifaka
- Vervet
- Vicuna
- Walrus
- Wapiti
- Warthog
- Waterbuck
- Water Buffalo
- Weeper Capuchin
- Western Grey Kangaroo
- West Indian Manatee
- Whiptail Wallaby
- White-faced Capuchin
- White-fronted Capuchin
- White-handed Gibbon
- White-lipped Peccary
- White-tailed Deer
- Wild Cavy
- Wild Goat
- Wisent
- Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby
- Yellow-toothed Cavy
Birds - Acorn Woodpecker
- Adelie Penguin
- American Flamingo
- American Herring Gull
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Australian Shelduck
- Aztec Parakeet
- Bengalese Finch (Domestic)
- Bank Swallow
- Barn Owl
- Bicolored Antbird
- Black-billed Magpie
- Black-crowned Night Heron
- Black-headed Gull
- Black-rumped Flameback
- Black Stilt
- Black Swan
- Black-winged Stilt
- Blue-backed Manakin
- Blue-bellied Roller
- Blue Tit
- Blue-winged Teal
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Budgerigar (Domestic)
- Buff-breasted Sandpiper
- Calfbird
- California Gull
- Canada Goose
- Canary-winged Parakeet
- Caspian Tern
- Cattle Egret
- Chaffinch
- Chicken (Domestic)
- Chilean Flamingo
- Chiloe Wigeon
- Chinstrap penguin
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Gull
- Common Murre
- Common Shelduck
- Crane spp.
- Dusky Moorhen
- Eastern Bluebird
- Egyptian Goose
- Elegant Parrot
- Emu
- Eurasian Oystercatcher
- European Jay
- European Shag
- Galah
- Gentoo Penguin
- Golden Bishop Bird
- Golden Plover
- Gray-breasted Jay
- Gray-capped Social Weaver
- Gray Heron
- Great Cormorant
- Greater Bird of Paradise
- Greater Flamingo
- Greater Rhea
- Green Sandpiper
- Greenshank
- Greylag Goose
- Griffon Vulture
- Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock
- Guillemot
- Hammerhead (also known as Hammerkop)
- Herring Gull
- Hoary-headed Grebe
- Hooded Warbler
- House Sparrow
- Humboldt Penguin
- Ivory Gull
- Jackdaw
- Kestrel
- King Penguin
- Kittiwake
- Laughing Gull
- Laysan Albatross
- Lesser Flamingo
- Lesser Scaup Duck
- Little Blue Heron
- Little Egret
- Long-tailed Hermit Hummingbird
- Lory spp.
- Mallard
- Masked Lovebird
- Mealy Amazon Parrot
- Mew Gull
- Mexican Jay
- Musk Duck
- Mute Swan
- Ocellated Antbird
- Ocher-bellied Flycatcher
- Orange Bishop Bird
- Orange-fronted Parakeet
- Ornate Lorikeet
- Ostrich
- Peach-faced Lovebird
- Pied Flycatcher
- Pied Kingfisher
- Pigeon (Domestic)
- Powerful Owl
- Purple Swamphen
- Raggiana’s Bird of Paradise
- Raven
- Razorbill
- Red-backed Shrike
- Red Bishop Bird
- Red-faced Lovebird
- Common Redshank
- Red-shouldered Widowbird
- Regent Bowerbird
- Ring-billed Gull
- Ring Dove
- Rock Dove
- Roseate Tern
- Rose-ringed Parakeet
- Ruff
- Ruffed Grouse
- Sage Grouse
- San Blas Jay
- Sand Martin
- Satin Bowerbird
- Scarlet Ibis
- Scottish Crossbill
- Senegal Parrot
- Sharp-tailed Sparrow
- Silver Gull
- Silvery Grebe
- Snow Goose
- Steller’s Sea Eagle
- Superb Lyrebird
- Swallow-tailed Manakin
- Tasmanian Native Hen
- Tree Swallow
- Trumpeter Swan
- Turkey (Domestic)
- Victoria’s Riflebird
- Wattled Starling
- Western Gull
- White-fronted Amazon Parrot
- White Stork
- Wood Duck
- Yellow-backed Lorikeet
- Yellow-rumped Cacique
- Zebra Finch (Domestic)
Fish - Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus)
- Amazon molly
- Blackstripe topminnow
- Bluegill Sunfish
- Char
- Grayling
- European Bitterling
- Green swordtail
- Guiana leaffish
- Houting Whitefish
- Jewel Fish
- Least Darter (Microperca punctulata)
- Mouthbreeding Fish sp.
- Salmon spp.
- Southern platyfish
- Ten-spined stickleback
- Three-spined stickleback
Reptiles - Anole sp.
- Bearded Dragon
- Broad-headed Skink
- Checkered Whiptail Lizard
- Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail Lizard
- Common Ameiva
- Common Garter Snake
- Cuban Green Anole
- Desert Grassland Whiptail Lizard
- Desert Tortoise
- Fence Lizard
- Five-lined Skink
- Gopher (Pine) Snake
- Green Anole
- Inagua Curlytail Lizard
- Jamaican Giant Anole
- Laredo Striped Whiptail Lizard
- Largehead Anole
- Mourning Gecko
- Plateau Striped Whiptail Lizard
- Red Diamond Rattlesnake
- Red-tailed Skink
- Side-blotched Lizard
- Speckled Rattlesnake
- Water Moccasin
- Western rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis)
- Western Banded Gecko
- Whiptail Lizard spp.
- Wood Turtle
Amphibians - Appalachian Woodland Salamander
- Black-spotted Frog
- Mountain Dusky Salamander
- Tengger Desert Toad
Insects - Alfalfa Weevil
- Australian Parasitic Wasp sp.
- Bean Weevil sp.
- Bedbug and other Bug spp.
- Blister Beetle spp.
- Blowfly
- Broadwinged Damselfly sp.
- Cabbage (Small) White (Butterfly)
- Checkerspot Butterfly
- Club-tailed Dragonfly spp.
- Cockroach spp.
- Common Skimmer Dragonfly spp.
- Creeping Water Bug sp.
- Cutworm
- Digger Bee
- Dragonfly spp.
- Eastern Giant Ichneumon Wasp
- Eucalyptus Longhorned Borer
- Field Cricket sp.
- Flour Beetle
- Fruit Fly spp.
- Glasswing Butterfly
- Grape Berry Moth
- Grape Borer
- Green Lacewing
- Hen Flea
- House Fly
- Ichneumon wasp sp.
- Japanese Scarab Beetle
- Larch Bud Moth
- Large Milkweed Bug
- Large White
- Long-legged Fly spp.
- Mazarine Blue
- Mediterranean Fruit Fly
- Mexican White (butterfly)
- Midge sp.
- Migratory Locust
- Monarch Butterfly
- Narrow-winged Damselfly spp.
- Parsnip Leaf Miner
- Pomace fly
- Queen Butterfly
- Red Ant sp.
- Red Flour Beetle
- Reindeer Warble Fly (Hypoderma tarandi)
- Rose Chafer
- Rove Beetle spp.
- Scarab Beetle (Melolonthine)
- Screwworm Fly
- Silkworm Moth
- Male flour beetles
- Southeastern Blueberry Bee
- Southern Green Stink Bug
- Southern Masked Chafer
- Southern One-Year Canegrub
- Spreadwinged Damselfly spp.
- Spruce Budworm Moth
- Stable Fly sp.
- Stag Beetle spp.
- Tsetse Fly
- Water Boatman Bug
- Water Strider spp.
Other invertebrates - Blood-Fluke
- Box Crab
- Harvest Spider sp.
- Hawaiian Orb-Weaver (spider)
- Incirrate Octopus spp.
- Jumping Spider sp.
- Mite sp.
- Spiny-Headed Worm[84]
Inspirational Quote:
“My mom blames California for me being a lesbian. ‘Everything was fine until you moved out there.’ ‘That’s right, Mom, we have mandatory lesbianism in West Hollywood. The Gay Patrol busted me, and I was given seven business days to add a significant amount of flannel to my wardrobe.'”–Coley Sohn
