Gay animal expo draws crowds to Oslo zoo

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein at 9:06 AM on October 19, 2006.

An Oslo zoo's special exhibit on homosexuality in the animal kingdom has won over the zoo-going public, despite initial opposition from conservative groups.

Families are flocking to the Oslo Museum of Natural History to learn about the 1500 species known to exhibit homosexual behavior in the wild, including whales, flamingos, and chimpanzees.

The museum says the exhibit is the first of its kind. The curators hope to demystify homosexuality:

Petter Bockman, a zoologist who helped put the show together, admitted that "there is a political motive".

In Norway there was a desire among publicly-funded museums to be "deliverers of truth" and to "put on display controversial subjects, things that are not said and are swept under the carpet".

The museum says one of its aims is to "help to de-mystify homosexuality among people... we hope to reject the all too well known argument that homosexual behaviour is a crime against nature". [BBC]

Kudos to the Oslo Museum of Natural History for debunking the myth that homosexuality is unnatural.

Tagged as: gay, zoo, animal, exhibit, oslo, norway

Lindsay Beyerstein a New York writer blogging at Majikthise.