Gay sheep?
Today's New York Times has a revealing article about publicity gone awry. Dr. Roselli, a researcher at Oregon Health and Science University, studies why approximately 8% of male sheep have sex exclusively with other male sheep. Unfortunately, the recent announcement of Dr. Roselli's research in the mainstream media struck the emotionally synergistic nexus of animal rights and gay rights, triggering a storm of worldwide protest that is innundating him. It seems Dr. Roselli has been...well...rammed by bad publicity. Although the protesters may have some valid concerns, I think they are fighting the wrong battle, scientifically, historically, and socially.
From the scientific standpoint, despite the Law of Unintended Consequences, studying gay sheep does not automatically lead to the altering of a human’s sexuality. The protestors and scientists have an assumption that sheep sexuality will be similar enough to human sexuality that one will help to explain the other. Although a convenient idea for getting grants funded, the causes for those two species' sexual orientations are not necessarily similar.
Also, just because we decide to pursue some of the scientific questions associated with gay rams does not mean that all possible questions need to be pursued. For instance, perhaps it is morally acceptable to learn the “whys” of sheep sexuality and human sexuality, but it is not acceptable to alter the sexual development of either.
From the historical standpoint, this is a struggle that has been replayed for millennia: the value of Knowledge versus the value of Security, ie. the status quo. Galileo struggled with it, Copernicus struggled with it, and scientists continue to struggle with it today. Comparing Dr. Roselli to Galileo and Copernicus may be an arguable one, but the fact that people have always wanted to stop the scientific investigation, and explanation, of certain questions is consistent. No matter how this issue is pursued, history is on the side of discovery.
Finally, gays may actually socially benefit from this research. The human mind seeks to answer all questions and, whether we like it or not, we are already coming up with answers for why people are gay. However, because science hasn’t investigated this question the answers are based on superstition: that homosexuality is a “sickness,” a malfunction on the part of the gay person, or a form of evil. I’d rather deal with scientifically proven causes, whatever they may be, than with these notions. It's possible that a better comprehension of the causes of sexual orientation could actually reduce the misunderstandings that trigger strife between some gay and straight people.
Pandora couldn’t help opening the box. She was told not to, but fundamentally humans are explorers: of geography, of ideas, and of knowledge. The solution to this dilemma is thus not found in the restriction of humanity’s curiosity for the sake of security, but instead within a different value – the tolerance of others.
-SWL
