1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Do same sex animals just mate because of dominance or could it also be love too ?

Discussion in 'Sexual Orientation' started by stocking, Nov 17, 2013.

  1. stocking

    stocking Guest

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2013
    Messages:
    7,542
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    I remember when i saw animals mating and they were the same sex and i asked people if they did it because they love each other or even like each other and i was told that's it only with a male and female dog and the same sex ones just mate out of dominance :dry:
    It's a weird question but i've been just wondering .
     
  2. Shiki

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2013
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    1
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Questioning
    I feel like I've seen a documentary where some animal mates for life, and even female-female mates stick together, no dominance or anything... Just love and mateship.

    I could be wrong. Maybe I imagined it :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: but I think it happens...
     
  3. jargon

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2011
    Messages:
    362
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    New England
    No non-human species experiences romantic love the way humans due. Hell, even humans have only have a modern idea of romantic love for a tiny fragment of our history.

    The only thing I think you could conceivably call "love" in dogs would be between mothers and pups. Dogs that are mating couples don't normally form pair-bonds in the long term. That said, species that do sometimes mate for life (like penguins) can form same-sex pair-bonds that involve a lot more than sex/dominance. Can penguins experience human-like romantic love? No. But they can have fairly elaborate same-sex mating behavior of equal intensity to opposite-sex mating pairs of the same species.
     
  4. stocking

    stocking Guest

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2013
    Messages:
    7,542
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    I saw that there was a female cat and dog like this but it's good to know animals experience some thing similar :icon_bigg
     
  5. Linthras

    Linthras Guest

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2012
    Messages:
    2,140
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Leeuwarden (FR), the Netherlands
    This is a little bit flawed.
    Animals might not experience romantic love as we humans have established, they do, to various degrees experience empathic love and life-long bonds.
     
  6. MossyCave

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2013
    Messages:
    161
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Ireland
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    All but family
    Well, it's probably not love like we experience it. But homosexual behavior happens in loads of animals, and I don't really understand what "dominance" would have to do with it. Some animals have been known to masturbate, so same sex action is probably for pleasure-like feelings which might make them feel something along the lines of strong fondness for the other animal. Animals experience empathy, maternal feelings, just because they have smaller brain capacity to us doesn't mean they don't form bonds with each other, just because it's not love as we know it doesn't mean it's nothing :slight_smile:
     
  7. Linthras

    Linthras Guest

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2012
    Messages:
    2,140
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Leeuwarden (FR), the Netherlands
    In some cases male animals will show dominance over another male, by mounting them.
     
  8. Sarcastic Luck

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2013
    Messages:
    1,626
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    In most cases, it's dominance and a reaction to hormones. I.e when goat does starts cycling, they'll start mounting each other. Male goats will do it more out dominance, but when does start cycling, the testosterone starts peaking and their sex drive shoots up. So, they'll start mounting each other as well.

    However, there's instances of same sex animals pairing off. For example, penguins. There was an instance of a pair of male penguins that kept stealing eggs from breeding pairs to the point the zoo gave them a fake egg to "hatch".

    There's several species of entirely female lizards that will "mate", as well.