Zoo: Too Much Love for Animals?

This is Jamie. 

I must admit I was pretty disturbed by the film Zoo because it is something very foreign to my perception of sexuality.  I wondered if Daniel Bergner and the doctors he interviewed would respond similarly about Zoophilia as say, S&M or fetishism. 

Any documentary can add slow, sad music in an attempt to pull at an audience’s heartstrings.   The individuals in the film were asking for acceptance and understanding in a world that is not always so tolerable.  I felt torn because I wanted to see their point of view.  I tried to be as open-minded as I could but it was really too hard.  My brain will not allow me to see that this is an “okay” thing to do and these people should see that and try to get help.  Is that too harsh?  It might be one thing to feel this desire to sexually and emotionally be with animals, but to the point where it is acted upon is where there might need to be intervention. 

Do zoophiles think this is wrong?  It seemed in the film that they were trying to make a case for how it is normal and they had even compared their relationship with the horses to that of a human partnership.  Even in the animal kingdom, each species sticks to its own kind when it comes to sexual pleasure.  I wondered if these had been cases of men who had failed at human relationships and felt they had nowhere else to turn.  Maybe a simple dose of self-confidence is all that was really needed. 

On the other hand, I had to also wonder why veterinarians and pet-owners feel it is their job to decide when an animal should die or have it’s reproducing body parts chopped off, but not to decide who or what the animal has sex with.  It’s argued that an animal is innocent, much like a child and cannot make its own decisions in regards to sex, their own personal healthcare and where to live, what to eat, etc.  If we are to assume that the sexual activity that some humans engage in with certain animals is nonviolent and harmless, then why can an owner not choose to do with the animal what he believes is best?  A child was compared to the animal in the film because of again, his or her inability to consent.  However, a child’s mind is much more complex and will grow and develop into a much more complex mind than that of an animal, so in that sense the child will eventually know the difference between right and wrong and will most probably be traumatized from sexual abuse at a young age.  An animal may not know the difference and in the same way that an owner can choose to have an animal stuffed when it is deceased, killed when it is in pain, or even sold into a slaughterhouse, I suppose they should be able to choose who it has sex with.  It is not the most simple argument but there are different angles to take perspectives from.  (Don't tell PETA about this.)

We discussed in class how alarming it was that a law was so quickly passed to ban this kind of activity, yet our nation continues to encourage the mass production of deadly fattening foods without any question of diminishing its distribution.  While Zoophilia is a concept that my upbringing will not let me wrap my head around, I do agree that law-making officials have their priorities completely backwards.