Wildhood by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz & Kathryn Bowers

Author:Barbara Natterson-Horowitz & Kathryn Bowers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 2019-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

SEXUAL COERCION IN WILD ANIMALS

Biological communication systems signaling interest and registering response are nearly ubiquitous in sexual animals. This challenges us to consider whether the messages are ever ignored. Do animals sometimes bypass courtship altogether? Bluntly, do they ever coerce unwilling partners into sex? The answer, simply stated, is yes.

One of the first known accounts of animal sexual coercion came from George Murray Levick, a scientist with the 1910–13 Scott Antarctic Expedition. His horrified description of “hooligan” male penguins forcefully copulating with female penguins and even chicks was considered too controversial for inclusion in a UK scientific publication at the time.

Since then, instances of sexual coercion have been documented in a wide range of animals, including insects, fish, reptiles, birds, marine mammals, and primates. As part of our original research for this book, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature and compiled a comprehensive list of species in which coercive sex has been described. Male sheep, turkeys, fur seals, mosquitofish, guppies, sea otters, and more sometimes use coercion to get sex. When we placed these forty-three species in a phylogeny (a model that shows the evolutionary connectedness among selected animals), what emerged was an uncomfortable but important truth: coercive copulation (male on female and male on male) is widespread across the animal kingdom.

There has been reluctance among some biologists to look to animals for insights into human sexuality. Initial efforts to understand human sexual behavior through an evolutionary and comparative lens have sometimes been scientifically flawed and marred by sexist assumptions and findings. Some have feared that identifying coercive sexuality in the wild could be misinterpreted, that its occurrence in nature—or calling it “natural”—could justify or excuse human sexual aggression. But recognizing sexual coercion in nature doesn’t justify or excuse it among humans. Animals of the same species kill each other in many ways and for many reasons, but this doesn’t make murder acceptable. In fact, the revelation in our research is how commonly sexual relations in the animal kingdom are governed by dialogue between the parties, the two-way communication of courtship.

Studies of animal sexual behavior show that much sexual activity in animals is also non-coercive. Signals of “yes” and “no” and “I’m not sure” are not only recognized: they are usually understood and, based on observations of animal behavior, “respected.” When a stallion approaches a mare who isn’t interested, her ears flatten, and she may shift restlessly and strike out, bite, or kick the approaching male. Most of the time, males encountering these clear signals of disinterest back off. Similar male response to female expressions of disinterest are seen in cats, dogs, and other mammals. Even reptile males take their cue from female receptivity. Male Amazonian red-necked turtles signal intent with a ritual that includes placing their nostrils on potential mates and biting. Females respond by swimming away if they’re not interested. If, on the other hand, they are, they allow the males to rest their bodies on theirs. One study showed that females rejected a full 86 percent of males who approached them for sex.

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