Zoophilia is a little-known gay fetish
Like other subcultures that have
found ways to connect, thanks to the Web,
zoos have their own posting sites,
chat rooms and, perhaps, opportunities
to engage in their little-understood sexual taboo
Leda and the Swan, a 16th century copy
after a lost painting by Michelangelo.
For that reason the docudrama's
stylized visuals and trance-like music
- which attempt to persuade audiences
that this is a world unto itself,
far removed from “normal” sexual activity
- may seem familiar and much
more disturbing to gay men,
who are used to secret behavior after
decades of covert sexual trysting.
And let’s face it: Cock worship
is a central tenet of gay sexuality
The group portrayed in the film
certainly took that principle to its extreme
Modern society is generally hostile to the concept of animal/human sexuality.The hard-to-fathom behavior of “zoophilia”
While some, such as philosopher and animal liberation author Peter Singer, argue that zoophilia is not unethical if there is no harm or cruelty to the animal.
The extent to which zoophilia occurs is not known with any certainty, largely because feelings which may not have been acted upon can be difficult to quantify.
There is also the lack of a clear divide between non-sexual zoophilia and everyday pet care, and reluctance by most zoophiles to disclose their feelings due to fear of both social and legal persecution.
Instead most research into zoophilia has focused on its characteristics, rather than quantifying it.
Scientific surveys estimating the frequency of zoosexual activity, as well as anecdotal evidence and informal surveys, suggest that more than 1-2% — and perhaps as many as 8-10% — of sexually active adults have had significant sexual experience with an animal at some point in their lives.
Studies suggest that a larger number (perhaps 10-30% depending on area) have fantasized or had some form of brief encounter.
Larger figures such as 40-60% for rural teenagers (living on or near livestock farms) have been cited from some earlier surveys such as the Kinsey reports, but some later writers consider these uncertain.
Anecdotally, Nancy Friday's 1973 book on female sexuality My Secret Garden comprised around 190 women's contributions; of these, some 8% volunteered a serious interest or active participation in zoosexual activity.
Andrea M. Beetz, in her book "Love, Violence, and Sexuality in Relationships between Humans and Animals" (2002) reports:
"In most [popular] references to bestiality, violence towards the animal is automatically implied. That sexual approaches to animals may not need force or violence but rather, sensitivity, or knowledge of animal behavior, is rarely taken into consideration."
In a comment on Peter Singer's article "Heavy Petting", which controversially argued that zoosexual activity need not be abusive and if so relationships could form which were mutually enjoyed, Ingrid Newkirk, then president of the American animal rights group PETA, added this endorsement:
"If a girl gets sexual pleasure from riding a horse, does the horse suffer? If not, who cares? If you French kiss your dog and he or she thinks it's great, is it wrong?
"We believe all exploitation and abuse is wrong. If it isn't exploitation and abuse, [then] it may not be wrong."
Zoophilia is the clinical term for people who are sexually attracted to animals—is the subject matter of Robinson Devor’s docudrama, Zoo.
“Zoos,” the film tells us, pretty much existed in pockets until the Internet brought them together.
Like other subcultures that have found ways to connect, thanks to the Web, zoos have their own posting sites, chat rooms and, perhaps, opportunities to engage in their little-understood sexual taboo.
The movie focuses on a group of middle-aged men who did exactly that for a period of time at a horse ranch near Seattle.
The group would meet at night, maybe share a potluck dinner, play cards or watch movies—and eventually head out to the stable to indulge in their proclivities.
Then in July 2005, a member of the group—a 45-year-old male referred to in the film by his online name, “Mr. Hands”—died after having sex with an Arabian stallion.
A subsequent investigation led to the discovery that the men from the group had videotaped their acts.
At the time, bestiality wasn’t a crime in Washington so charges were not filed, but several of the tapes had been posted on the Internet and when the media frenzy surrounding the story broke, they spread like wildfire.
Devor, a documentarian who lives in Seattle, was attracted to the story not for the high titillation factor it suggested, but by the challenge of making a film on such a distasteful subject and the idea of redeeming the reputation of “Mr. Hands,” whose death had become a gross punch line.
Devor gained the trust of several members of the group—a paramedic, a truck driver and ranch hand—and, though they are not seen on camera, their explanations of their sexual predilection, their gatherings, and their insights into “Mr. Hands “provides an alternately disturbing, defensive and thoughtful audio commentary throughout the film.
Devor hired actors to portray Mr. Hands and others involved. Most of the recreations are shot at night and the film is suffused with a blue, midnight glow filled with haunting images.
The whole aura is augmented by a Harold Budd ambient-like score that adds to the unsettling effect.
Especially evocative is the repeated use of the eerie classical piece Neptune from Holst’s The Planets. The re-creation technique, which is very effective, bears a certain resemblance to the work of Errol Morris.
The sex acts are suggested—in the most oblique manner and only late in the film.
“I was elated and at the same time terrified,” one of the participants comments about being invited to join the group, while another describes the communion of man and animal as akin to entering “a simpler, plain world. For those few moments you can get disconnected. It’s a very intense, wonderful feeling.”
This and other comments are offered as a defense for the practice and an attempt to explain it. Zoophilia is a fetish that knows no gender preference, but the group profiled in the movie and defending the practice appears to comprise middle-aged gay males.
For that reason Devor’s stylized visuals and trance-like music—which attempt to persuade audiences that this is a world unto itself, far removed from “normal” sexual activity - may seem familiar and much more disturbing to gay men, who are used to secret behavior after decades of covert sexual trysting.
And let’s face it: Cock worship is a central tenet of gay sexuality, and “Mr. Hands” and the rest of the group certainly took that principle to its extreme.
That’s not to imply that even a community long familiar with fringe sexual activities spells acceptance or validation for this behavior or true understanding of it.
But Devor’s film, which leaves so much unsaid and so many questions unaddressed, may be more unsettling for gay audiences because it hits just a tad closer to home - or the reverse. Richard Knight @ WCMG