# regarding "gay animals"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-gay-animals/234206>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 14, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-gay-animals/234206 "2004-03-14T06:40:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![night\_monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@night\_monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/night_monkey)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-gay-animals/234206/1 "2004-03-14T06:40:31Z")

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Cecil- In your post about the existence of gay animals and animal sexual practices that do not result in reproductively sucessful copulation, I was suprised to see no mention of Bonobos (otherwise known as pygmy chimpanzees). While I don’t know of any instances were bonobos practiced exclusive homosexuality, they are actively bi. Sex is probably the main form of their social interaction, determining social structure, group acceptance or rejection, settling disputes, and so on. The gender of their partners seems to have little impact on the behavior.

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-gay-animals/234206/2 "2004-03-14T06:56:20Z")

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Welcome to the SDMB, **night monkey**.

Link to the article: [Is there such a thing as a gay animal?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_198.html)

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**Author:** ![Abe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@Abe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-gay-animals/234206/3 "2004-03-24T07:38:15Z")

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what is with the repeated use of the term “monkey” for animals that are not monkeys at all, i.e. chimpanzees and gorillas?

I am shocked! I can only assume it is a deliberate error – after all “kinky monkey habits” probably sounds better and more facile than “kinky primate habits”.

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**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-gay-animals/234206/4 "2004-03-24T10:50:07Z")

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> [@Abe](#):
>
> what is with the repeated use of the term “monkey” for animals that are not monkeys at all, i.e. chimpanzees and gorillas?

It might be because “apes” is just the English word for a group of monkeys characterized by their taillessness.

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**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-gay-animals/234206/5 "2004-03-24T18:07:20Z")

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Cecil needs to update that column with the touching story of the gay penguins in NY.