For example I was watching this german documentary and I found it weird that they would call it "Paragraph 175", yet neglect the "other" part of the paragraph completely: Until 1968/1969 sex with animals was banned by the very same paragraph.
Of course, the reasons are obvious, but it still makes me sad to know that the fate of homosexual people is well explored and known, but we know basically nothing about zoophiles that have (and haven't) been persecuted. How many have been persecuted? How were they treated? What was their experience from their perspective, did anyone write anything about it?
I'm also interested in earlier times like the middle ages. We can read about how people accused of sex with animals were tortured and killed, but very little about individual people this happened to. Are their stories lost in history?
I have actually read a german translation of Midas Dekkers - Dearest Pet but to be honest, I was quite disappointed by it.
Are there any good books or even only scientific/historic papers that explore the history of zoophiles?
I've been pointed at the following, but can't comment on their quality as I've not had time to read them (I have about 20 must-make/do/read things on my list):
Isn't really what I'm looking for. She has a historical overview, but it's really just a list of references what she found. She doesn't even differentiate fact from fiction, e.g.
so that's solely up to the reader...
Hm... I may read it at some point but it doesn't really sound like what I'm looking for. Thanks anyway.
Thank goodness for science! When religion ruled the western world, any infant born with a deformity was proof in the eyes of the church that the mother had sex with an animal or the devil. It's amazing how ignorant we humans were (and often still are) just a few years ago.
Right now, I can think of no accredited sources, so try this: http://parazite.pp.fi/zoohist.txt. I'll see what I have stored, though.
This is fun! I found another one: http://unicorn.wereanimal.net/Ellgar/Historier/Beast_Storie_Archive/B/besthistory.txt. This is an excerpt.
Thanks.
But that's my problem with this stuff:
That's very, very little information and is only a footnote in history. But I picked this to quote, because I remember this german website with more context: http://www.claudine-de-culam.info/claudine/. That's more like it, but could still use more details on her life.
I don't care much for animal abusers and I don't need to see them in a history of zoophilia as if it's all just the same... This bothers me more than I find it helpful.
This one is at least amusing in its staggering ignorance. :)
But... but... I thought dogs can't say no? :)
Uhm... I remember reading about that. This website tells a story that is a lot more comprehensive and reads very differently. I don't fault the document here, after all it was last revised 1997 and the availability of information wasn't as good as today, but still... I'd like something that is fact checked and reliable...
I don't have anything to contribute, but I would very much like to know more about the cultures in history who tolerated and condoned zoophilia instead of those being hostile to it... I wonder if the religions of my European ancestors were more open to it before being destroyed and replaced with offshoots of some semitic cult.
A good starting point for colonial america:
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/01/when_bestiality_gets_blamed_on_the_animals.html
I´d recommend Josef Maassens "Zoophilie - Die Liebe zu Tieren". To get a copy, you´ll probably have to watch the second hand market, such as amazon and ebay; maybe you´ll be lucky enough to find a copy in one of those many bibliophile antiquariats. Maassens book includes a very in depth view into zoophilia/bestiality in historical context, going from stone age through medieval times to the time the book was written (around 1992 if I recognize it correctly). Another source of info on the topic can be found in psychological literature; Sigmund Freud for example dealt with one "animal sex" case in one of his publications, which gives a small glimpse into the 19th century approach on zoophilia. But in general, you´ll most likely find cases where calling it zoophilia is inappropriate. It´s mostly about fetishism, perversion per se, not genuine love for a certain animal individual.
As I said, Josef Maassens book may be the most complete regarding the "Zoophilia in history" section, but you´ll have to rely on your luck to get a copy; it´s out of print, will not be reprinted and I´ve not seen anyone uploading it. Good luck.
Addendum: I just checked the availability on amazon...3 copies available, but the cheapest is about 125 Euros. If you consider it valuable enough for yourself, just buy it there. Errandum: The book´s called Zoophilie - Die sexuelle Liebe zu Tieren and was published in the year 1994...damn, I´m f*ing old and in it for way too long...;)
I searched things out on Google, and I'm afraid that every peer-reviewed piece I've seen relates to specific times and places. General summaries, like Miletski's, are hard to find and even harder to verify. But I did find some peer-reviewed papers on Questia. They are as follows:
The rest of these aren't peer-reviewed, but may be more relevant.
Hope this gives at least some perspectives. For others, you're best off asking about specifics, like prosecution in Germany in the 1600s, or how the act was viewed by Islamic scholars and the Hadith.
Some of them look interesting. Would be nice to have them without a paywall...
I have a document in french that details bestiality from a punitive perspective in the 16th and 17th century France, I believe. It actually had a lot of detail in it about who did what and what people had to say about the matter. No matter what, though, each case almost always ended with the zoo and animal being burned alive. I'll try and find it again and link to it.
Edit: Here it is! Unfortunately there isn't an english version if you can't read french...
Like others, unfortunately I don't have much to contribute but would be very interested to hear about it!
My expectation is that "notable homosexuals" for example would have probably had liaisons that stood out to people that knew them, whereas someone may not think twice about someone who just had a very beloved pet. So it might be harder to track down any zoophiles of the era who weren't criminals, and conversely it might be hard to determine whether the animal-sex criminals of the era were zoophiles per se or were in fact just in the barn late at night because they were bored and curious. I don't know, maybe Greece/Rome had some examples if you want to go back a little further.
Let us know what you find out!
Because those of us from the area of Europe have been mostly Christians during the time any histories were written down, we've gone with Christian teaching on the subject, which was to kill the human and his animal lover.
The only time I remember an animal being spared, was a female donkey at a monastery being spared because the Abbot stated that she was a very virtuous donkey who always was pleasant and always did her work without complaint, and he was sure she had been raped, and was thus innocent.
And it's amazing how people are in denial that it really is. They'll still talk about "christian morals" when we already have seen what christian morals really are back when christianity had absolute power over people.
It's so ingrained in their minds, they don't realize where they got the idea in the first place. Until you press them and force them to actually think.
It's also interesting that so few consider what the lesser sin might be. Ofc sin is sin, but gluttony is sin, as is love of money, thinking about sex, and many other thoughts and behaviors that normal people take for granted. And ofc Christians love to pick and choose which biblical laws to obey or ignore, even tho most all will deny that they do that. So what is the lesser sin? You need sex so what choice will cause less harm? Sex with an animal you can't get pregnant, can't get an STD from, can't cause mental harm to as long as you treat it kindly. OR, sex with a human that COULD get pregnant, COULD get or give you an STD, you COULD cause mental harm to because of jealousy, hurt feelings, guilt etc.
Sad to say though, the average Christian is a fool. They simply cannot reason this stuff out. No more than they can reason out, that if they're going to take a stand against say, homosexuality, they should ALSO take as strong a stand against EVERY other sin mentioned in the bible.
There is nothing to be reasoned with religious morality. As I understand it it's called "positive morality" and it works like this: God is omnipotent and all-benevolent. Therefore whatever god commands is necessarily good. End of story.
See 1:06 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHRmdCZO2bE
It has nothing to do with harm.
It has nothing to do with reason.
It's based solely on blindly following commands and calling this "ethics" and "morality".
True enough. I used to be a fundy Christian. Pentecostal essentially. But I stopped believing around age 30 and now consider myself an Agnostic Atheist. I know the bible well, and it's full of BS, lol. If you ever want to watch some funny shit regarding the bible, check out YouTube for Hugo and Jake's "The Bible Reloaded". They started with Genesis and are working their way through the whole bible. They are on 2Kings now I think. Great series.