Editing Social Scientific Analysis of Human-Animal Sexual Interactions (section)

===3. Contributions of Anthropology and Sociology in Studies about Zoophilia===
Anthropological research on sexual relations between animals and humans is scarce<ref>Davis D.L., Whitten R.G. The cross-cultural study of human sexuality. Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 1987;16:69–98. doi: 10.1146/annurev.an.16.100187.000441. [[https://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannurev.an.16.100187.000441 CrossRef]] [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Annu.+Rev.+Anthropol.&title=The+cross-cultural+study+of+human+sexuality&author=D.L.+Davis&author=R.G.+Whitten&volume=16&publication_year=1987&pages=69-98&doi=10.1146/annurev.an.16.100187.000441& Google Scholar]]

</ref>. Ethnographic studies merely contain anecdotal references<ref name=":10">Malinowski B.  La vidad sexual de los salvajes del noroeste de la Melanesia. Morata; Madrid, Spain: 1975.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=La+vidad+sexual+de+los+salvajes+del+noroeste+de+la+Melanesia&author=B.+Malinowski&publication_year=1975& Google Scholar]]</ref><ref>Beidelman T.O. Kaguru justice and the concept of legal fictions. J. Afr. Law. 1961;5:5–20. doi: 10.1017/S0021855300002928. [[https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0021855300002928 CrossRef]] [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=J.+Afr.+Law.&title=Kaguru+justice+and+the+concept+of+legal+fictions&author=T.O.+Beidelman&volume=5&publication_year=1961&pages=5-20&doi=10.1017/S0021855300002928& Google Scholar]]</ref><ref>Chaplin J.H. A report on sexual behavior: Six case histories from Northern Rhodesia. Adv. Sex Res. 1963;1:13–26. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Adv.+Sex+Res.&title=A+report+on+sexual+behavior:+Six+case+histories+from+Northern+Rhodesia&author=J.H.+Chaplin&volume=1&publication_year=1963&pages=13-26& Google Scholar]]</ref><ref>Delaney C.  The Seed and the Soil: Gender and Cosmology in Turkish Village Society. University of California Press; Berkeley, CA, USA: 1991.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=The+Seed+and+the+Soil:+Gender+and+Cosmology+in+Turkish+Village+Society&author=C.+Delaney&publication_year=1991& Google Scholar]]</ref><ref name=":11">Evans-Pritchard E.  Nuer Religion. Oxford University Press; Glasgow, UK: 1956.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Nuer+Religion&author=E.+Evans-Pritchard&publication_year=1956& Google Scholar]]</ref><ref>Williams T.R. Cultural structuring of tactile experience in a Borneo society. Am. Anthropol. 1966;68:27–39. doi: 10.1525/aa.1966.68.1.02a00030. [[https://doi.org/10.1525%2Faa.1966.68.1.02a00030 CrossRef]] [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Am.+Anthropol.&title=Cultural+structuring+of+tactile+experience+in+a+Borneo+society&author=T.R.+Williams&volume=68&publication_year=1966&pages=27-39&doi=10.1525/aa.1966.68.1.02a00030& Google Scholar]]</ref>. The starting premise in such approaches is that zoophilia is a deviation from normative sexuality, a fact that is questioned in other works that approach this phenomenon from a perspective that is not necessarily pathologising.

In his groundbreaking work on the anthropology of sexuality, The Sexual Life of Savages in the North West of Melanesia <ref name=":10" />, Malinowski devotes barely one page to such practices. He includes them within the category of contemptible sexualities (along with exhibitionism, homosexuality, masturbation, anal and oral sex), substitutes for the adequate exercising of sexual impulse. He includes just one case of sexual relations between a man and a dog, a behaviour that is seen as ridiculous and classed as disgusting and unsatisfactory <ref name=":10" />. He also notes that in the past, this behaviour was punished more severely. The person involved was accused of witchcraft and the animal was sacrificed. He is quick to compare bestiality with ‘inversion’, affirming that the Trobiand people consider it even more absurd.

Even Evans-Pritchard does not tackle this issue, in spite of his interest in sexuality and his studies of societies such as the Zande and the Nuer, in which relations between animals and humans are very close. His work contains just one footnote about a case involving a cow. The old man involved, overcome by shame and regret, sacrificed the animal and also cut his own finger off with a spear as a way of atoning<ref name=":11" />.

Among the research that has dealt with zoophilia more precisely is the study conducted by Devereux <ref name=":12">Devereux G. Mohave zoophilia. Samiksha J. Indian Psychoanalytic. Soc. 1948;2:227–245. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Samiksha+J.+Indian+Psychoanalytic.+Soc.&title=Mohave+zoophilia&author=G.+Devereux&volume=2&publication_year=1948&pages=227-245& Google Scholar]]</ref> on the Mohaves of North America, and LeVine’s <ref name=":13">LeVine R.A. Gusii sex offenses: A study in social control. Am. Anthropol. 1959;61:965–990. doi: 10.1525/aa.1959.61.6.02a00050. [[https://doi.org/10.1525%2Faa.1959.61.6.02a00050 CrossRef]] [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Am.+Anthropol.&title=Gusii+sex+offenses:+A+study+in+social+control&author=R.A.+LeVine&volume=61&publication_year=1959&pages=965-990&doi=10.1525/aa.1959.61.6.02a00050& Google Scholar]]</ref> work on the Kisii people of Kenya. More recently, Marie-Christine Anest <ref name=":14">Anest M.C.  Zoophilie, Homosexualite, rites de passage et initiation masculine dans la Grèce contemporaine. Editions L’Harmattan; Paris, France: 1994.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Zoophilie,+Homosexualite,+rites+de+passage+et+initiation+masculine+dans+la+Gr%C3%A8ce+contemporaine&author=M.C.+Anest&publication_year=1994& Google Scholar]]</ref> has investigated zoophilia in Cyprus and Crete. As noted by Devereux <ref name=":12" />, relationships with animals are not the same in all cultures, and they are not identical with all species. This author explains that, for the Mohaves of North America, men and animals were not originally differentiated <ref name=":12" />. Ellis<ref name=":9" />  holds the same opinion, considering that these kinds of practices are favoured among ‘primitive’ peoples on account of their conception of nature, in which there are no great barriers between humans and animals. The same would hold true among peasants on account of their familiarity with their beasts.

Although some authors highlight familiarity and proximity with animals when explaining human-animal sexual practices, others show how ‘closeness’ acts inversely. Ruelland <ref>Anest M.C.  Zoophilie, Homosexualite, rites de passage et initiation masculine dans la Grèce contemporaine. Editions L’Harmattan; Paris, France: 1994.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Zoophilie,+Homosexualite,+rites+de+passage+et+initiation+masculine+dans+la+Gr%C3%A8ce+contemporaine&author=M.C.+Anest&publication_year=1994& Google Scholar]]</ref> , for example, when examining the Tupuri people, notes that zoophilia is akin to incest. Proximity to certain animals on occasions translates into rejection of sexual contact, depending on the significance of the animal, but also on other variables, which are equally fundamental when it comes to understanding how, with which species and in which contexts sexual relations are permitted or not.

Not all species have the same worth or are considered appropriate for sexual relations. For Devereux, the Mohaves and Yuma people only conceive of sexual relations with mares, or female donkeys, cows, or calves. In the cases analysed in Turkey, sex is only permitted with animals that are not eaten, such as dogs and donkeys<ref>Dundes A., Leach J.W., Özkök B. The strategy of Turkish boys’ verbal dueling rhymes. J. Am. Folklore. 1970;83:325–349. doi: 10.2307/538809. [[https://doi.org/10.2307%2F538809 CrossRef]] [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=J.+Am.+Folklore&title=The+strategy+of+Turkish+boys%E2%80%99+verbal+dueling+rhymes&author=A.+Dundes&author=J.W.+Leach&author=B.+%C3%96zk%C3%B6k&volume=83&publication_year=1970&pages=325-349&doi=10.2307/538809& Google Scholar]]</ref> <ref name=":15">Laugrand F., Oosten J. Canicide and healing. The position of the dog in the Inuit cultures of the Canadian Arctic. Anthropos. 2002;97:89–105. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Anthropos&title=Canicide+and+healing.+The+position+of+the+dog+in+the+Inuit+cultures+of+the+Canadian+Arctic&author=F.+Laugrand&author=J.+Oosten&volume=97&publication_year=2002&pages=89-105& Google Scholar]]</ref>. Furthermore, it is not understood as an appropriate sexuality for all individuals, nor is it admissible under all circumstances. Zoophilia often reproduces heteronormative rules, and relations with animals of the same sex are not accepted, as is the case in the north of Costa Rica<ref name=":16">Cáceres-Feria R.  Diversidad sexual: Contexto locales, discursos globales. In: Valcuende del Río J.M., Marco Macarro M.J., Alarcón D., editors. Estudios sobre diversidad sexual en Iberoamérica. Aconcagua Libros; Sevilla, Spain: 2013. pp. 15–25. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Estudios+sobre+diversidad+sexual+en+Iberoam%C3%A9rica&author=R.+C%C3%A1ceres-Feria&publication_year=2013& Google Scholar]] </ref>.

The research conducted in the areas of zoophilia and bestiality notes that variables such as age, gender, and social position influence the acceptability of such sexual practices. References to cases of zoophilia and bestiality most commonly focus on men. This is hardly surprising, since this androcentric vision is widespread in studies about sexuality. However, we know that women in these ‘traditional’ contexts have also engaged in such practices. Female bestiality is usually associated with animals linked to the domestic sphere, such as dogs<ref name=":8" /><ref>Lucenay A.  Bestialismo. Editorial Fénix; Madrid, Spain: 1933.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Bestialismo&author=A.+Lucenay&publication_year=1933& Google Scholar]]</ref> <ref>Matté A.K.  Prazeres velados e silêncios suspirados: Sexualidade e contravenções na região colonial italiana, 1920–1950. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; Portoalegre, RS, Brasil: 2008.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Prazeres+velados+e+sil%C3%AAncios+suspirados:+Sexualidade+e+contraven%C3%A7%C3%B5es+na+regi%C3%A3o+colonial+italiana,+1920%E2%80%931950&author=A.K.+Matt%C3%A9&publication_year=2008& <nowiki>Google Scholar]</nowiki>]</ref>; it is no coincidence, therefore, that in many cultures, a man engaging in sexual conduct with female dogs is considered unthinkable or grotesque <ref name=":12" />. In the north of Costa Rica, whereas sexuality with female pigs or donkeys is seen with a degree of normality, sexual relations between teenage boys and female dogs are rejected and ridiculed<ref name=":16" />. In Greece, dogs are prohibited for such practices, considered impure, and there is fear of the diseases that might be contracted<ref name=":14" />. Among the Inuit peoples, sexual relations with dogs were found among men and women alike. Male sexuality with female dogs was regulated: it had to be outdoors, never inside the home, and the animal had to be in [[heat]] <ref name=":15" />.

As we see through these cases, each social context defines its own rules in relation to the species permitted for sexual relations. In contrast to the vision that presents sexuality in general, and sexuality with animals in particular, as an individual reality, research into this phenomenon shows that sexual practices with animals has a normative and, therefore, collective nature. The different societies in which such practices have been investigated call into question the dominant vision of sexuality with animals as an excessive practice, lacking in any regulation. We should not forget that legal codes are only one means of way of regulating and that custom also defines what should or should not be done within the sphere of sexuality.

Ethnographic data about sexual practices with animals highlight a series of correlations. The first is the normalisation of sexual practices during childhood and adolescence. The second is the connection between sexual practices with animals and masculinity. These practices can be associated on occasion with male rites of passage. In Sweden, in the 17th and 18th centuries, sexual relations with animals were widespread. Liliequist <ref name=":4" /> argues that the high number of cases involving minors under the age of 15 was linked with the exploration of sexuality. Rydström <ref name=":5" /> also believes that bestiality in Sweden in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a common behaviour among teenage boys aged between 15 and 17, and that it was sometimes a collective practice. This author suggests that such behaviours can be understood as a form of sexual experimentation in a context in which [[animal sexuality]] was more visible, whereas human sexuality was discrete and shameful.

Among the Kisii people of Kenya <ref name=":13" />, sexuality with animals among minors under the age of sixteen is viewed with a certain indulgence. It is understood that boys are putting their sexual prowess to the test. However, after this age, the same practices are censured and punished. John Money <ref>Money J.  Lovemaps: Clinical Concepts of Sexual/erotic Health and Pathology. Irvington Publishers; New York, NY, USA: 1993.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Lovemaps:+Clinical+Concepts+of+Sexual/erotic+Health+and+Pathology&author=J.+Money&publication_year=1993& Google Scholar]]</ref> notes that among the pre-Columbus peoples of the Caribbean coast of Colombia, young men often acquired their sexual skill for marriage through sexual relations with donkeys. This is not simply an historical practice; in the present, on Colombia’s Caribbean coastline, this kind of sexual contact still occurs, to such an extent that the inhabitants of this area are known within Colombia as comeburras (literally, “donkey eaters”, meaning they have sex with donkeys) <ref>Delgado R. Cotidianidad y fiesta en el municipio de Talaigua: Relatos de la gente. Boletín Cultural y Bibliográfico. 1987;24:29–49. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Bolet%C3%ADn+Cultural+y+Bibliogr%C3%A1fico&title=Cotidianidad+y+fiesta+en+el+municipio+de+Talaigua:+Relatos+de+la+gente&author=R.+Delgado&volume=24&publication_year=1987&pages=29-49& Google Scholar]]</ref>. At a very early age, seven or eight years old, children begin to have their first sexual experiences with female donkeys. They might even pay for sex with these animals<ref>García Robayo M. Burdel de burras.  [(accessed on 5 April 2019)];2009  Available online:  <nowiki>http://aguilashumanas.blogspot.com.es/2009/10/burdel-de-burras-margarita-garcia.html</nowiki>.</ref>. Elsewhere in Central America, these same practices have also been a common occurrence. In 2004, we were able to interview several men in the north of Costa Rica, in a settlement close to the border with Nicaragua, who recounted how young boys frequently initiated their sexuality with animals. It was something spoken about among men; a secret they did not share with women. There, this form of sexuality became concealed from the 1980s onwards, when outsiders who judged these practices as depraved first arrived in their communities.

In Mexico, cases have been documented of pubescent teenagers who engaged in group sexual relations, practices such as masturbation and sex with various animal species—female donkeys, female calves, hens, turkeys, and nanny goats <ref>Núñez Noriega G.  Masculinidad e intimidad: Identidad, sexualidad y sida. Universidad Autónoma de México; México, México: 2007.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Masculinidad+e+intimidad:+Identidad,+sexualidad+y+sida&author=G.+N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez+Noriega&publication_year=2007& Google Scholar]]</ref>. The same is true in Honduras <ref>Barriga P., Rosales R., Fernández J. Comportamientos sexuales de adolescentes y jóvenes adultos en comunidades de Honduras. Rev. Med. Hondur. 2006;74:4–18. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Rev.+Med.+Hondur.&title=Comportamientos+sexuales+de+adolescentes+y+j%C3%B3venes+adultos+en+comunidades+de+Honduras&author=P.+Barriga&author=R.+Rosales&author=J.+Fern%C3%A1ndez&volume=74&publication_year=2006&pages=4-18& Google Scholar]]</ref>.

Human-animal sexual relations have also been recorded in certain indigenous societies of the Amazon. According to Erikson<ref name=":17">Erikson P. « Déjouir »: Note sur l’exhibitionnisme pudique et les affinités électives en Amazonie indigène. Terrain. 2017;67:24–45. doi: 10.4000/terrain.16146. [[https://doi.org/10.4000%2Fterrain.16146 CrossRef]] [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Terrain&title=%C2%AB+D%C3%A9jouir+%C2%BB:+Note+sur+l%E2%80%99exhibitionnisme+pudique+et+les+affinit%C3%A9s+%C3%A9lectives+en+Amazonie+indig%C3%A8ne&author=P.+Erikson&volume=67&publication_year=2017&pages=24-45&doi=10.4000/terrain.16146& Google Scholar]]</ref>, among the Matis people of the Brazilian Amazon, adult males go out into the rainforest to satisfy their sexuality with sloths, a species they frequently domesticate. This is not an exceptional case since, as this author notes, “Zoophilic practices are no less frequent in the Amazon forests than in the countryside of Europe” <ref name=":17" />, indicating certain authors who provide data in this regard: Edeb, among the Aché people of Paraguay <ref>Edeb P.H. Chasse et symbolisme chez les Aché du Paraguay. Ann. Fond. Fyssen. 1991;5–6:56–62. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Ann.+Fond.+Fyssen&title=Chasse+et+symbolisme+chez+les+Ach%C3%A9+du+Paraguay&author=P.H.+Edeb&volume=5%E2%80%936&publication_year=1991&pages=56-62& Google Scholar]]</ref>; Morey and Metzger among the Guahibo people of the Orinoco Plains <ref>Morey R.V., Metgzer D.J.  The Guahibo. People of the Savanna. Acta Ethnologica et Linguistica; Wien, Austria: 1974.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=The+Guahibo.+People+of+the+Savanna&author=R.V.+Morey&author=D.J.+Metgzer&publication_year=1974& Google Scholar]] </ref>. Sexual practices with female dogs are also documented among the Karitiana people of Brazil<ref>Ferreira F. Nota sobre a zoofilia na história dos Karitiana. Primeira Versão. 2010;30:3–8. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Primeira+Vers%C3%A3o&title=Nota+sobre+a+zoofilia+na+hist%C3%B3ria+dos+Karitiana&author=F.+Ferreira&volume=30&publication_year=2010&pages=3-8& Google Scholar]]</ref>.

The Mediterranean is also no exception, as shown by French anthropologist Marie-Christine Anest <ref name=":14" /> in Crete and Cyprus. Even as recently as the 1980s, young boys and teenagers, between the ages of 6 and 17, initiated their sexuality by engaging in sexual conduct with female donkeys, sows, nanny goats and birds. In Greece, as in other parts of the world, these practices were considered a secret between men. They were experiences that were accepted during youth, but which had to be abandoned when the boy reached adulthood. In Anatolia, Turkey, sexual contact between teenage boys and female donkeys was somewhat tolerated in rural communities<ref>Çaya S. Violence in rural regions: The case of modern Turkey. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 2014;114:721–726. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.774. [[https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.sbspro.2013.12.774 CrossRef]] [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Procedia+Soc.+Behav.+Sci.&title=Violence+in+rural+regions:+The+case+of+modern+Turkey&author=S.+%C3%87aya&volume=114&publication_year=2014&pages=721-726&doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.774& Google Scholar]]</ref> <ref>Gurkas H.  Nasreddin Hodja and the Aksehir Festival: Invention of a Festive Tradition and Transfigurations of a Trickster, from Bukhara to Brussels. Purdue University Press; West Lafayette, IN, USA: 2008.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Nasreddin+Hodja+and+the+Aksehir+Festival:+Invention+of+a+Festive+Tradition+and+Transfigurations+of+a+Trickster,+from+Bukhara+to+Brussels&author=H.+Gurkas&publication_year=2008& Google Scholar]]</ref>. The Finnish sociologist Edward Westermarck<ref>Westermarck E.  Ritual and Belief in Morocco. Volume 2 Routledge; Abingdon, UK: 2014.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Ritual+and+Belief+in+Morocco&author=E.+Westermarck&publication_year=2014& Google Scholar]]</ref> states that in parts of Morocco, some boys before they reach puberty can engage in sexual conduct with donkeys in accordance with the belief that this strengthens sexual potency and will enlarge their penis. However, these same practices among adults were considered ridiculous and rejected. There is practically no research on zoophilia in Spain, with the exception of the text by Coca et al. <ref>Coca-Pérez A., Cáceres-Feria R., Valcuende del Río J.M. Human–animal sexual relations and the construction of masculinity in livestock farming contexts: The case of Andalusia (Spain) Sexualities. 2019;22:1017–1034. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Sexualities&title=Human%E2%80%93animal+sexual+relations+and+the+construction+of+masculinity+in+livestock+farming+contexts:+The+case+of+Andalusia+(Spain)&author=A.+Coca-P%C3%A9rez&author=R.+C%C3%A1ceres-Feria&author=J.M.+Valcuende+del+R%C3%ADo&volume=22&publication_year=2019&pages=1017-1034& Google Scholar]]</ref>, which documents certain cases in rural populations of western Andalusia. The authors argue that human-animal sexual relations are linked with the learning of sexuality among boys and teenagers. This article highlights certain parallels between the forms of zoophilia noted in studies conducted in the Mediterranean and Latin America. Sexuality with animals can occur, on occasions, during adolescence, almost as a rite of passage, prior to sexual relations between men and women. The research also highlights the ‘secrecy’ of these practices, which are known about within the friendship group, but which are hidden outside of the group, especially from women. Boys interact with animals, they play at ‘being animals’, and they also play at ‘being men’. Sexual practices with other species are interwoven into the construction of masculinity. A negative model that is constructed in contrast to ‘others’: women, lesser men, and boys <ref>Gilmore D.D.  Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity. Yale University Press; New Haven, CT, USA: 1990.  [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Manhood+in+the+Making:+Cultural+Concepts+of+Masculinity&author=D.D.+Gilmore&publication_year=1990& Google Scholar]]</ref><ref>Kimmel M.S.  Homofobia, temor, vergüenza y silencio en la identidad masculina. In: Valdés T., Olavarría J., editors. Masculinidad/es poder y crisis. Isis Internacional; Santiago de Chile, Chile: 1997. pp. 49–62. [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Masculinidad/es+poder+y+crisis&author=M.S.+Kimmel&publication_year=1997& Google Scholar]]</ref>; and also in contrast to animals.

By analysing key anthropological and sociological texts about zoophilia in diverse cultural contexts, we have noted that zoophilia is not always regarded as deviance. There are rules that regulate when, how and where sexual practices with animals are acceptable. However, although these investigations shed some light on certain aspects of interspecies sexuality among humans, they also present certain shadows that need to be addressed. Firstly, when sexuality with animals is discussed, it is done so fundamentally in reference to the sexuality of men. What about the sexual practices of women with animals? This aspect has been rendered practically invisible, just as female sexuality has. However, the lack of research in this regard stands in stark contrast with: (1) the abundance of artistic representations of women engaging in sexual conduct with animals <ref name=":6" /> and (2) the growing prominence of women in zoophilic pornography, aimed fundamentally at a male audience. The second question that has barely received any attention is what happens with sexual practices in urban contexts that, now, thanks to the Internet, are being brought into sharp relief as an evident reality. Science is still clearly performative in nature, always finding what it is looking for, in accordance with a social context of knowledge creation that directs our gaze. The voices and silences of science are eminently political. However, in recent years, there has been a reinterpretation of these practices as a new corporality or a new identity is configured: zoosexuality.