Hola /r/Zoophilia! I'm a cis white male (irrelevant, but why not :) ) in his twenties whom is attracted to equines. Now, I just came strolling by to get a second opinion (or two) on my experience with this attraction. First of all, let me throw it out there that my attraction started VERY early (around 10 years old) and has been with me ever since. Initially, being 10 and all, I found this passive attraction to the equine form quite arbitrary, and believe it or not, still do. It's peculiar, I was never really exposed to equines when growing up, I never had genuine animal bonds in general at that age. I also wasn't mistreated in a way that could alter my sexuality either; however, I do happen to have high functioning Autism and Bipolar 1, so you guys can do what you want with that hehe. Ultimately, the only reason I can form for my attraction is simply the shape of horses: Their faces, torso, rump etc. are just oddly appealing. I guess my main gist for posting here is to get a second opinion or two about the causation of my attraction, salutations!
/r/zoophilia archive
Currently, I think, the reasons why someone ends up as a zoophile are not well understood, and not well researched. I think any proposals about why you, or any other individual, became a zoophile would fall under speculation, and I would generally not take them seriously.
With that said, allow me to speculate!
As far as homosexuality goes, we know there are a multitude of factors which go into forming a homosexual orientation. Some of those are genetic, some are hormonal, some seem to be environmental, and, at least as far as the identity goes (not talking about the attraction here necessarily), there are cultural components as well.
Were I to hypothesize about the underlying causes of zoophilia, I would, with this in mind, perhaps expect to find many, in various categories, rather than a simple cause. There may be genetic components, there may be hormonal factors, and there almost certainly are environmental components (since if nothing else, other species are not coded into our DNA, so at least in the way that zoophilia resolves itself there must be some environmental factors)... But as to what any of these might be, and to what extent they impact a person's attractions... I have no the slightest clue. Again, there is simply not enough research to even begin to answer this question.
I honestly don't think the strange part is the zoophilia, or homosexuality, as even hetero non zoo people have strange attractions(certain sexual contexts, particular sexual behaviors, etc). The strange part is that society picks and chooses particular things to put in the group of sexually "strange".
hello :)
yeah no one really knows why we are the way we are. I would be fascinated when/if science comes up with the answer. Im guessing we have parallels to why gays are attracted to the same sex except ours is with different species but then I believe we are wired this way from birth. Other people say we are the way we are due to external influences but then people like you come along and disprove that in my opinion. Its probably some mixture of the two.
I genuinely dont see what other guys see in girls. took me a while to realise it was cause Im a zoo but when I did it explained so many things from my past.
I never got diagnosed with autism, no one even hinted that I should get tested, but sometimes...I dunno. probably just me being stupid. do you think its a reason youre a zoo?
that's what i've always believed.
yeah, that's basically it. it's simply a preference. what causes that is as swibblestein said .. needs more research.
\>I'm a cis white male
holy shit
that's too funny... where was my funny trigger warning? triggered
I'm a little confused...why would he add that to his introduction? It's not really important, is it? (and the terms are just cringeworthy)
Hello and welcome, from a fellow Sperglord. Regarding your question, it's not well known, but personally I favor something like the Exotic becomes Erotic theory. Essentially, a child growing up develops a certain personality with both genetic and environmental factors, then begins conforming to those around them and noticing those who are different. This notice becomes a form of physiological arousal (heightened awareness, slight anxiety, etc.), which then transforms into sexual and/or romantic attraction.
Ordinarily, this is only applied to gender preferences, but in some circumstances allowing for unusual temperaments towards people and animals (high functioning autism being a prime example), this could very easily also translate into zoophilia, either because (as in my case) most people seem entirely uninteresting compared to dogs or horses, or because all sentient creatures seem equally bizarre and social factors push one toward animals. Perhaps such an explanation could apply to other unusual orientations as well, but without evidence this is guesswork as tenuous as Freud's psychosexual theories.
i think that was first posted here in the middle of last year, and i admit to finding it interesting. not sure how likely it is to be correct, but i am definitely a fan of exotic (vaguely xenophilic as well as zoophilic).
Excellent responses friends! To wright-one: I guess any curvy creatures can come off as attracted, since curves are just inherently appealing. However, if it was the case that it was just a curve attraction, it doesn't dismiss that it's exclusively horses (don't forget humans!). I guess I always found horses fascinating, I used to like imitating their behaviors the more I think about it...
To actuallynotazoophile: I was always strange as a kid. I did exemplify the common behaviors in Autism, such as talking aloud to my self, lacking social inquiry, and just generally being a strange little goose. In spite of downsides, maybe my autistic tendencies has aloud my brain to shy away from conformity (Left-Handed, preference for long hair, atheist, vegan, bi and zoosexual etc.) I should just be appreciative that I've so easily been accepting of all of my traits, voluntary or not.
Everyone talks aloud to themselves dont they?! surely thats not just an autism thing? I feel you on the non-conformity side of things though. I'd much rather do my own thing (hence no GF, being a zoo etc.) but I still feel I integrate into social situations pretty well. I enjoy talking to new people and find social interactions themselves pretty interesting. I dunno, I'm not going read too much into it.
I don't just mean an occasional chatter to myself. I mean practically shouting out personal problems and inquires where as public can hear without a lick of effort, lol
ah fair enough, so I'm just a weirdo then, got it :P
nature and nurture is usually how this stuff happens, although I would pose the question of, does it really matter that much? regardless of why you like them they are still fucking sexy.
The idea I have is that some people notice the anthropomorphic characteristics of the animals more easily than other people do, and it allows them to find the animals attractive. That would explain why a lot of zoophiles and zoosexuals are attracted to animals like dogs or horses, but not as many are attracted to animals like pigs or llamas. The latter are less anthropomorphic than the former.
I think you will find a lot of people who self-identify as "zoosexual" fitting that mold: Developed an interest, maybe a platonic or friendly one to start out with, within a couple years of puberty. The interest intensified in early teen years. Often it involved animals they had no exposure to, often the person had a great childhood.
A possible link to Autism has been noted before, but it seems like it's absent for just as many people.