By Carolyn Whittaker, producer of Animal Pride
For generations, scientists have been documenting same-sex pairings, non-reproductive copulation and complex gender dynamics in everything from bonobos to butterflies. But due to the longstanding tendency to interpret animal behaviour through a heteronormative lens, researchers have often failed to acknowledge the full spectrum of sexual and social diversity in the natural world. They’ve even buried reports that reveal it.
Animal Pride, a documentary from The Nature of Things, brings these findings into the spotlight. “We’ve all heard the rhetoric that being queer isn’t natural,” says naturalist and presenter Connel Bradwell in the film. “This is nature’s coming-out story.”
‘Not for Publication’: Observations of homosexual behaviour in Adélie penguins
One example of this erasure occurred in the early 20th century following Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic Expedition (1910–1913).
George Murray Levick, a British photographer, surgeon and zoologist, had documented the homosexual behaviour of Adélie penguins, as well as various other sexual interactions that would have shocked Victorian sensibilities. His field notes described “hooligan” male penguins engaging in same-sex couplings and other behaviour that he considered “depraved” at the time.
Adélie penguins were first observed engaging in same-sex behaviours in 1910-1913, but the research was never published because it would have shocked Victorian sensibilities at the time. Watch Animal Pride on CBC Gem.
Levick’s potentially scandalous research on the penguins’ sex lives was never published in full and most of his observations were eventually buried in the archives of London’s Natural History Museum for decades.
His complete account only came to light in 2012, when it was rediscovered by curator Douglas Russell and finally shared with the public.
Levick’s story isn’t unique, according to Canadian biologist and author of Wild Sex Carin Bondar. “Biologists have known about homosexuality in the animal kingdom since we started looking at animals. A lot of this information has been hidden,” she says in the documentary.
“Humans are definitely not the only species to exhibit homosexuality, but we are the only species to exhibit homophobia.”
Carin Bondar, author of “Wild Sex,” says biologists have known about homosexuality in the animal kingdom ever since we started looking at animals. But a lot of information has been hidden. Watch Animal Pride on CBC Gem.
Animal Pride reveals the queer lives of animals that have long been overshadowed by cultural biases. In the documentary, Bradwell digs into the wide variety of behaviours across species, from same-sex albatross pairs that raise chicks together, to dolphins that use same-sex copulation for social bonding.
By shedding light on the diversity of the natural world, the film challenges the long-held assumption that reproductive sex is the only biologically relevant form of sexual behaviour — and underscores the importance of acknowledging this diversity.
“If we keep looking at things from just one viewpoint, we are always going to keep seeing the same thing,” says Ignacio Martínez, a biologist known for his work with penguins. “Right now is the turning point for the conservation or loss of so many species. And we need the broadest picture of their lives as clearly as possible.”
Watch Animal Pride on CBC Gem and on The Nature of Things YouTube channel.
