Are there truly gay sheep?
The terminology in this scientific field is fraught with semantic mine fields. As a practice, the scientists do not refer to rams as gay, homosexual and heterosexual because these terms have human connotations and we did not think that same-sex mounting by rams was parallel to homosexual behavior in human men. The researchers believe that male-oriented sexual partner preference in rams is not strictly equitable with human sexual orientation because sexual orientation in humans is more complex and involves many factors. In covering this research, the media has oversimplified this distinction by labeling these rams as “gay rams.” While the scientists refer to “sexual preference” in rams, the terminology is inadequate because it implies that there are conscious choices involved.
