Rejecting "Double Bigotry" - Zoophobia Does Not Justify Homophobia | Cross Species Alliance

As institutionalized bigotry against the gay community becomes less and less acceptable within American culture, homophobes are finding it increasingly difficult to find support for their hate. Culturally, hating someone because of their sexual orientation no longer is considered an appropriate position to be taken in public - even if homophobia of the private sort continues to be distributed broadly throughout society.

Finding themselves on the losing end of history, the homphobes are engaged in a rear-guard action against the forces of diversity and mutual respect. Hatred - at least, the anti-gay kind of hatred - is quickly going out of style.

Out of this historical moment has come an uniquely prurient justification for anti-gay hatred and discrimination. Most recently, this "double bigotry" was expressed by homophobe Ben Carson, of Johns Hopkins, in an attempt to justify his stance against marriage equality. We quote:

Quote:
"My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It's a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn't matter what they are. They don't get to change the definition."

We're not sure what the precise meaning of the phrase "people who believe in bestiality" is intended to be. "Bestiality" - or, to use an accurate term, "zoophilia" - has been documented throughout human history in all recorded human cultures across the globe. Whether one "believes" in its existence or not does not actually impact the reality of its ubiquitous existence as a part of the expressed sexual diversity of the species Homo sapiens sapiens, any more than "believing" in gravity is a prerequisite for falling down a well.

That said, we'll infer that what Dr. Carson intended to convey in this phrase is something along the lines of "people who conclude based on extensive evidence that sexual relations between humans and members of other animal species is not only observationally commonplace, but also a healthy and essential component of human sexual diversity." If that's a fair rephrasing, then we at the Cross Species Alliance are indeed part of that group of people - a growing group of people which includes individuals from academic sexologists through animal welfare activists, noted psychologists, cultural theorists, and a wide range of popular culture figures.

We in this group reject bigotry, and we reject in particular bigotry aimed at unpopular sexual minorities who are targeted by society not due to any harm or other objectively-supported reason, but rather as a result of simple hatred of those who are different, unconventional, misunderstood, or - crucially - historically subjected to social persecution (the "we've always hatred them, who stop now?" argument). We of the Cross Species Alliance reject this bigotry.

The hatred of zoophiles - zoophobia - is no more appropriate within a healthy, diverse society than is the hatred of gay people - homophobia. Both are expressions of human bigotry, and both manifest as discrimination against and persecution of sexual minorities by majority populations. Justifying one - homophobia - by reference to the other - zoophobia - is tragically, ironically flawed both logically and morally. Two hatreds don't make a right, and bigotry doesn't justify more bigotry.

Sadly, the LGBT community has chosen to reject the "double bigotry" of equating same-sex attraction with zoophilia by denouncing zoophilia, and by pointing out that - in recent years, anyway - it's not ok culturally to hate gay people, but it is in fact still considered acceptable to hate (and persecute, and assault, and imprison, and otherwise victimize) zoophiles. This is a cowardly, hypocritical, shameful approach to take. It does no honor to the LGBT world to tacitly embrace zoophobia as part of their ongoing work towards a post-homophobic world.

The Cross Species Alliance rejects bigotry against all healthy, respectful, reciprocal sexual minorities - discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation is wrong, period. Full stop. Justifying one hatred - of gay people - by citing another hatred - of zoophiles - is disgraceful. Conversely, rejecting one hatred - homophobia - is best accompanied by a rejection of the other hatred: zoophobia.

That a form of bigotry - zoophobia - is widespread and largely culturally accepted does not make it right. Mere decades ago, homophobia was exactly that in the United States: widespread and culturally accepted. If our only metric for deciding what groups to hate was to reference what groups are currently hated, there would be no women's rights movement, no civil rights movement, and indeed no progress towards gay rights. Instead, we as a society must question deeply and honestly whether historical hatreds and historical bigotries have a legitimate role in our world today. Homophobia fails that test, and so does zoophobic bigotry.

Those who cling to their hatred of gay people must look elsewhere to rationalize it. Equating that hatred to another hatred actually demonstrates one thing quite clearly: that hatred can never serve as its own justification.

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The Cross Species Alliance (crossspeci.es | @CrossSpecies), formed in 2013, works towards a world free of anti-zoophile bigotry. In conjunction with other groups worldwide, and in partnership with academic and professional subject matter experts, it confronts zoophobia and gives voice to the hundreds of millions of zoophiles worldwide: 1% of the total human population, according to published data. Through media engagement, information dissemination, in-house publications, and zoophile community outreach, the Alliance disseminates practical and theoretical tools to anti-zoophobia activists around the world. Additionally, the Alliance coordinates with the DeepJustice Network (deepjustice.net | @DeepJustice) to fund aggressive legal counsel for persecuted zoophiles, confront zoophobic bigots, and seek civil damages against libelers of zoophiles in print, electronic, and broadcast media. The Cross Species Alliance does not speak for the zoophile community in all its diversity and complexity, but rather provides a platform through which zoophiles can express themselves as individuals and as a global community.

Media and community inquiries for the Cross Species Alliance may be directed to: info@crossspeci.es. Confidentiality of communications is assured, and zealously defended.