A Republican congressional candidate in Florida has gone viral for trying to use giraffes to argue that people cannot be born gay.
The problem is that giraffes are one of the most frequently cited animals in discussions of same-sex behavior in nature.
Rod Joseph made the comments during an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial board while speaking alongside other Republican candidates running for Florida’s 20th Congressional District.
According to LGBTQ Nation, Joseph said that everyone is “born straight” and claimed that people do not see male giraffes mating with other male giraffes.
He then used the example to argue that sexual orientation is a preference rather than a biological orientation.
The comments came after the candidates were asked about anti-LGBTQ remarks made by Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee.
Joseph declined to directly address Ogles’ statement before shifting into his own claims about sexuality, nature and animals.
His argument quickly drew attention because the animal he chose is an especially awkward example.
Researchers have documented same-sex sexual behavior in more than 1,500 animal species across many parts of the animal kingdom.
That does not mean scientists generally describe animals as gay, lesbian or bisexual in the same way humans use those words.
Scientists more often refer to same-sex sexual behavior, courtship behavior or affiliative behavior because human sexual identity carries cultural meanings that do not translate neatly to non-human animals.
Still, giraffes have long been discussed as one of the clearest and most memorable examples.
Male giraffes have been observed engaging in necking, nuzzling, courtship behavior and mounting with other males.
Some research and later summaries have found that male-male mounting made up the overwhelming majority of observed mounting behavior among giraffes in certain studies.
That statistic is sometimes simplified online into the claim that “most giraffes are gay,” which is not scientifically precise.
The more accurate point is that same-sex sexual behavior among male giraffes has been repeatedly observed and is a recognized part of giraffe behavior.
That makes Joseph’s example less a scientific argument than a reminder of how risky it can be to use nature as a political talking point without checking the biology first.
Animal behavior also should not be treated as the foundation for human rights.
LGBTQ+ people do not need giraffes, penguins or lions to prove that their lives deserve dignity, safety and equal treatment.
But when politicians claim same-sex attraction is absent from nature, the scientific record says otherwise.
In this case, the giraffes may have made the argument better than any political opponent could.
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