Hey all! =)
I am looking for englisch-speaking participants for an online-study about zoophilia. Participation would not just help my master's thesis, but also help forward scientific research in this area. The study has been quite popular among german users, which isn't that hard considering that most european zoo forums seem to be dominated by german users. For the success of this study, it is crucial to include both german-speaking and english-speaking user.
Just a bit background information about the study: I am currently working on my master’s thesis about zoophilia at the Sigmund Freud University in Vienna. As part of my thesis I am running an online-study (survey) about zoophilia in connection with social aspects, personality and life skills.
The goal of this study is to examine emotional and/or sexual interest in animals, to educate and inform others about it, as well as forward any other research being currently conducted within this field. Despite numerous attempts to try and destroy the stigma and taboo connected to zoophilia, it is still a term rarely used by the general public. The negative atmosphere attributed to zoophilia is mostly irrational, for the most part a misconception that is based on assumptions rather than shear fact. The reason for this is partly due to the lack of information surrounding this subject. In order to change that, as well as produce conclusive and representative results, it is vital to obtain a representative (and therefore big) sample of participants. Hence, I would kindly ask you to participate in my study and therefore support and contribute to scientific research. All collected data is being handled anonymously and with utmost confidentiality. The study is not financially supported and does not follow any financial interests.
Completing the survey takes approximately 20-30 min, the survey itself is accessible with this link: https://www.soscisurvey.de/anthrozoology2016/
I understand, that there are probably a lot of questions about the study, me,or why I chose that topic, so please don’t hesitate to contact me via reddit or via e-mail: lisa.klamert@psyprobe.org! =)
Thank you very much, Lisa Klamert
I've filled out the questionnaire. My only comment is on the last question:
It only allowed me to select one frequency and one action for each animal-breed-gender combination. I have done more than one of those actions for each, but with different frequencies, so my answer was based on the thing that I do most often (fantasising).
Hope the survey proves useful. :)
Hey furvert_tail! Thank you very much for participating! =) Yeah, unfortunately you are not the very first person to have this problem with this certain question, I already got this feedback from a german participant as well. But you solved it really good anyway as it seems! Unfortunately, I can't change it while the survey is online, but I will definitely mention this problem when it comes to limitations of the survey! =) Thanks again, Lisa Klamert
Done and done.
Thank you for doing this.
Thank you zetacola!
Got a link to the german site you posted this to?
the study is online on a couple of german sites in accordance with their admins, for example http://www.storyzoone.org/wordpress/ and https://www.forumzoone.org, which is actually bilingual.
Bilingual in theory...not in practice. English speakers are not welcome there.
I too took time for your survey. I admit I was a little disappointed in the limited number of questions about actual relationships, and the rigidity of responses to the few questions on sexuality. That said, I did try to provide additional information and the resource of my writings on one of my relationships.
I wish you luck in your survey and the thesis that comes from it.
silverwolf
Dear silverwolf-tippysmat, thank you for your feedback! I tried to provide adequate choices of responses, but I agree, there are probably about a million other responses that would be possible as well. It is quite hard to find the right balance between providing enough choices of answers and not "blowing up the study", but keeping it somehow within limits. That said, thank you for trying to provide additional information anyway. Sincerely, Lisa Klamert
Hello, when it came to writing which animals you were attracted to, I was unsure whether one would write different breeds separately or list all of the breeds of the animal you were attracted to in the same box?
Not sure if I'm making myself clear, but should it be, if one would be attracted different types of dogs only:
or should it be written like
?
I wrote it more like the second answer, with a list of breeds in one box, except not those specific examples.
Hey! =) You are making yourself perfectly clear! It would have been the second version 1.dog- great danes, poodles, dalmatians, but it wouldn't have been a problem either way, because both ways I would have gotten the same amount of information and would have probably understood it the right way! =)
I also did the survey, but was severely disappointed from the massive emphasis on questions regarding happiness, depression and suicidal tendencies. The last few questions actually dealing with zoophilia did not offer enough variety to form a non-distorted picture. There´s not even an option to choose whether you´re an exclusive zoophile or not, what in my opinion is very relevant for evaluating the given data correctly.
I also don´t know what these online surveys are gonna prove...there´s not a single indicator for you to decide whether the data received is reflecting actual experience or just a bunch of complete crap entered by someone fantasizing about it.
Additionally I´d like to express my doubts towards publishing your results exclusively on a site that demands registration to enter or is just a shitload of bogus, made up stories targeted mainly at those fetishists among the "zoo-community" misinterpreting zoophilia as just another new and kinky fetish to delve into when other , no so taboo fetishes lost their novelty factor.
If your interest in zoophilia is real, then I´d have expected you to do your homework. Someone who is interested will almost immediately recognize that there are several different forms of sexual interest in animals, ranging from the voyeurs to the actual exclusive zoophile...we´re not all the same, you know.
If you really need precise data, contact /u/battlecrops, as he/she (?) did a survey some time ago that for sure is more representative of "us" zoophiles than your poorly assembled pack of mostly irrelevant questions.
Te only way to obtain real, relevant and validated data is to correspond with a bunch of zoophiles. I´m sure that many of us welcome attempts to hear their actual stories instead of giving limited sets of data that will in no way or form depict the big variety, differing attitudes or experiences of zoophiles.
Sorry to be so harsh, but for me, your survey is a fail...it emphasizes way too much on the usual, common image of "us pervos" as a group of depressed, low self esteem, suicidal individuals. The actual point you seem to be missing entirely and the last few questions can´t undo the stale taste I had from working through all of these other , non relevant questions beforehand.
I second that.
There is too many questions about depression or harmself/suicidal tendancies.
There is nothing about intelligence.
There is nothing about autism.
There is nothing about relationship with animals during childhood (the most important on my opinion).
There is only few questions about sexuality, and there are too vague to be useful.
I'm sorry to say that, but this survey will be unrepresentative.
Dear Omochanoshi, you are right, there is nothing about intelligence, autism or animal-relationships in childhood, as this study is not about those aspects, hence there are no questions about them. Unfortunately it is never possible to ask about all aspects of a subject in one study. It is only possible to focus on a limited number of aspects, instead if trying to cover every aspect of a subject. This would be quite unprofessional and there actually aren't any scientific studies in any field doing that. As written in the information about this study, this is a study about zoophilia in connection with social aspects, personality and life skills, not zoophilia as a whole. So the questions ask about those aspects. I do not aim to represent zoophilia as a whole, this unfortunately wouldn't be possible with one single study. But I do aim for representativity in a different sense, representativity of the results about the aspects I ask about, this representativity is connected to the number of participants. I hope I responded to all your remarks, sincerely, Lisa Klamert
For the mood aspect, your questions are too focused on negative side, and no question can reveal the positive side of mind.
For example, I'm someone very proud of myself, needing nobody to help me, very independent from humans, and I can even tell I'm happy with that, and happy with my global life.
But no question in your study can reveal you this side of my personality.
If you look at my answers, you only can tell I'm not depressed, but nothing better.
I think I get what you are trying to say. Thank you very much for that remark! Unfortunately the survey cannot be changed while it is online, but I will definitely take all feedback into consideration when it comes to the section about limitations of the study, which might also serve as orientation for (possible) studies in future.
Generally a study has to narrow itself down to a very specific area in order to get good data. It's not really reasonable to expect a single study to address every single one of those things.
This study had a specific focus, and I think it did a pretty reasonable job addressing that focus.
yeah. i am zoo exclusive and my childhood played a big role in that. i kept waiting for a question about that kind of stuff since my answers may seem weird without it
Dear 30-30, thank you for your feedback. I definitely do recognize that there are differences among zoophiles and I actually do ask about those differences in the survey. There are questions at a later point in the survey asking about the specific interest in one's preferred animals, which offer plenty of different choices of answers, from zoovoyeurism, to exclusive zoos, interest in pet-play and so on. I am also not sure at all about which sites you are talking about when it comes to publishing results. I am and have been plenty in correspondence with other zoophiles for quite a while now, but unfortunately this is a quantitative and descriptive study, not a qualitative one. Qualitative and quantitative studies obtain entirely different kinds of data and for this study (of this size) it was necessary to create this survey of seemingly "non relevant" questions, which are actually not non-relevant at all. I am quite aware that there might be information lost, which might have been obtained through a qualitative study, but there is also a lot of information that couldn't have been obtained with a qualitative study. This study aims for representativity, which unfortunately cannot be achieved with most qualitative studies. Let me also assure you that it is also definitely not my intention to give you the feeling that I follow an image of "pervos as a group of depressed, low self esteem, suicidal individual", and until now most participants also did not conceive the survey that way. I can completely understand that one might feel more comfortable if the study would be conducted by a member of this "community", or another zoo, but as objectivity is a vital factor when it comes to scientific studies, a scientific study is basically "worthless" without objectivity, hence it is crucial that the scientist him-/herself is not emotionally involved in the subject. Conducting a study about a subject that oneself is involved with always means that one is somehow emotionally involved as well and objectivity is not possible with emotional involvement. It would disqualify everyone as a scientist and would additionally be utmost unprofessional. Thanks again for your feedback and I hope I managed to respond to most of your remarks, sincerely Lisa Klamert
Each of these statements is true, but I hope you do not imply being outside a group provides more objectivity [than it does insight]. This is why "women's studies" topics researched by men are often criticised for their bias, not lauded for their impartiality.
Likewise, being inside a group does not cause insurmountable problems. Humans study human behavior all the time, and we don't reject those studies because they were not performed by alien visitors.
Research is rarely performed by people with no interest in the topic or no hypothesis, which provides a type of bias independent of one's group affiliation. Yes, each group may bring different biases to the table, and also different strengths, but let's not assume that research originating from within a group automatically is invalid, or that research from outside a group is automatically (and sufficiently) valid for this reason.
Hey incognito-cognition, yes I totally agree with you on that! There are naturally possible advantages as well as disadvantages to almost everything!
Back from the dead, everybody. Thrilled to see that this place has been getting along just fine, especially after all of the turmoil that was going on when I disappeared.
I liked the survey, /u/Manatee8. Plenty of those general purpose, open-ended text boxes that I oh-so love.
And /u/30-30... God, I'm sorry man. I can't imagine what that would be like, after loving someone for so long. Best of luck to you moving forward, in your own time. I don't want to throw cliches at you, but just know that we care. Or if 'we' is too impersonal (or if I've been gone for too long to use 'we' here), then know that I care, from one amator equae to another.
Thank you for your kind words...I´d say I´m doing okay under the given circumstances, ´though the general numbness hasn´t gone away after three months. It´s like your whole body, your veins and brain is filled with lead pulling you down. I (temporarily) quit my job as a riding instructor as I lack the emotional balance to walk by her (now empty) box. Each day, I realize more what I had with her. In case you have missed it,I uploaded a few pictures of her and me, just browse my submissions and click "A little thank you and something I wanted to share..." I still love her more than anything else.
Since I was 16, there never was a single day without contact to horses. The past three months are the longest time without equine contact for me and I can feel how it drains my life, my soul, my whole existence. I really need ´em. Luckily, I can report something positive: I just bought a nice little farm in the most western part of Germany. It already has ten ready-to-use boxes and plenty of space to set up more if needed. Nearly 50 acres (around 20 ha) of land are included, two nice and big houses that need no renovations before moving in, the heavy machines needed for haymaking and dealing with the manure are also included and functioning. The only thing I´m missing is a riding hall, but I´ve already made contact to a firm that will build one in approximately one month. So, everything will be prepared for my new life in about 8 weeks from now on. When I´m done with all the hassle that comes with moving, I will start looking for my new wife and two female companions, so nobody will have to be alone when I´m riding one of them. Sure, this seems like "equine zoo" heaven, but I´d swap all of that for another two or three years with my soulmate...I really hope I can give my new wife at least half of the love I gave Wiena. But I still know that, regardless of how close my new mare and me will be, it will never be like with Wiena...
I did see the pictures, very touching. And it's good to hear you have something to look forward to in the near future: it really does sound like equine zoo heaven. Of course, as someone in love with one particular mare, I do understand why it wouldn't feel that way. Still, it sounds like being around horses again would do you some good.
In fact, it sounds like it would do the horses some good too. Alles Gute, or Prost, or whichever saying you feel is appropriate right now.
Best of luck to you with your new farm, that sounds like a great place. Wishing you nothing but the best as you move forward.
Thanks AliasTheReindeerPone! Yeah you're right, there are a couple of those one! Out of my experience, there are often a lot of things people might want to mention, because there is no room for them anywhere else. So I wanted to give people at least a chance to do that! =)
Welcome back Pone!
Good to be back! I've been retroactively reading a lot of the posts that I missed. So many interesting moral quandaries that people are going through. I'd love to write a book based on all of this someday, if only I had the skill (or the time).
Hey, welcome back! I'm glad to see you here again.
as a US citizen, i don't even understand most of the choices for "highest educational achievement" .. in other words, the terminology here is so different that i don't know which option to choose. perhaps that simply means i need to select "no qualifications" ... <.<
thanks for the feedback wright-one! hmm to be honest, I actually tried to specifically include terms that every country should be familiar with... shouldn't you be familiar with SAT's or sth like academic degree? =)
that one thing was familiar, sure. but if i don't understand any of the other items on the list, it still doesn't help.
That is definitely not good, there obviously shouldn't be any confusion around that part. Oke so "no qualifications" probably doesnt need to be explained, then we've got "School for special education" which basically includes every school with programs that support children having troubles learning, schools specifically for deaf children or children that are disabled in any way or need more support in a specific area. Academic degree refers to any kind of college or university degree (associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctorate degree etc.), SAT's i think was clear. Apprenticeship/College degree includes anything like apprentice programs at schools, such as carpentry, electrician etc. Secondary school leaving certificate would be sth like a high school diploma. Does this make it more clear? =)
I didn't understand the terms either. I just tried to guess about it. Academic degree is like a 4 year college degree, right?
Hmmm oke, that's definitely not good if there's confusion... Academic degree would be a degree obtained through attending a college or any other university-like institution or a university itself. So academic degree includes everything from associates's degree, to bachelor's degree, master's degree, any kind of doctoral degree and so on.
The wild is a VERY different thing from a zoo. I don't approve that they belong to a zoo at all, but I do approve that they belong into the wild, to most extent.
Hey WeAreDifferent, yeah you are completely right, the wild is entirely different to the zoo! I also do not approve of animals in zoos, as they are practically imprisoned. This question tries to capture peoples opinions if animals/pets belong in a home or not, so it basically asks if people think that animals should be in someone's home or shouldn't be, it does not actually focus on the wild/zoo part, this part is just mentioned so people wouldn't be like "Well where else would they be?", but is actually kind of irrelevant for that certain question. =)
If that's the case, then it's worded badly, even in german.
It's not obvious that this is irrelevant to you. I wouldn't have known any better, if I hadn't asked you.
I always appreciate questions, as they are great feedback. Therefore I'd like to thank you very much! =) Unfortunately I cannot always influence the wording as much as I'd like to, but it is still very important for me to know which questions could be misunderstood when it comes to wording! Thanks again!
The biggest problem with this survey was the final questions regarding sexuality. I think that would have been better as a set of options to check. As it stands, there were so many problems with those last questions that I do not think you'll get good data with them.
However, the rest seemed pretty good to me. I hope you get good information, and I thank you for doing research on this very under-researched subject.
Dear Swibblestein, first of all thank you for your feedback, do you mean by a set of options to check that it would be necessary to have the possibility to chose more than just one answer? Did I get that right? And yeah I totally agree, it is definitely a under-researched subject! Thanks again, Lisa Klamert
I think yes.
Because, for me, many of the options were viable. I would prefer any of the animals I listed over humans as partners in every respect, they are members of my erotic fantasies, I would ideally like to have sex with them, and so on... And each of those may have different frequencies (or frequency might be inapplicable).
Someone else may, for instance, get erotic pleasure from hurting animals in some cases, but at other times also from more standard sexual intercourse (I am thinking of one of the respondents to Hani Miletski's survey).
So I think each of those final options should have been an option independent from the rest.
Hey Swibblestein, thanks, that is quite important feedback for me! Just out of my own curiosity, have you ever had contact to Hani Miletski ? (just because you mentioned her)
Nothing significant. I sent her an email thanking her for her book / research, and she responded back with appreciation of the gesture, so incredibly minor contact.
ah ok, as I said I was just bit curious! =) After all, she is one of the few names worldwide who worked with this subject/did research. Hence I obviously also read much of her work!
I just wanted to say that I wanted for there to be a place to make comments at the end of the whole survey. I would have liked to explain more of my answers at that point. Without the addition of my concluding statements, I may be able to say that my entire submission is of no good value for your data.
Dear ursusem, thank you so much for your feedback, there was one towards the end, but it seems like it would have been better to place it right at the end AFTER the section about sexual interests. This is definitely very important information for me. Thank you again, Lisa Klamert
I debated filling this out based on the feedback. I wasn't sure of your goals, but I decided to do it anyway. I'm glad I did, but maybe I feel the survey fits me more as I'm a bit of a depressive case... yes we do exist, despite what some zoos will insist. ;)
I do hope you learn something from this study and will share your results and outcomes with us. Thank you for doing this. This is a very understudied subject and I'm glad to see any attempts to understand it further.
PS: If you ever need an interview partner of any kind, I am available for at least email/online chat interviews. I imagine that's not your goal yet, but just throwing it out there.
Dear Rannoch2002, thank you very much for your words and your support, I sure will share the results as I am writing my thesis in English anyway! Thank you for your offer as well, I might come back to it at some point! I definitely agree that this is quite an understudied subject, so I hope that I can somehow shed some light on at least a couple of aspects when it comes to zoophilia. Thanks again, Lisa Klamert :)
I would rather the thanks went to you for touching on this taboo subject with legitimate scientific research.
If you ever need me as an interview partner, I'm just a PM away on reddit.
i just finished. i feel a bit more variety and maybe the ability to choose multiple things (especially around the end) would make this a bit better. i also think there are too many questions relating to emotional status and not enough relating to zoophilia
Thank you for completing the study and especially for your feedback bonniebubblegum! I have gotten the feedback about an option to choose multiple answers before and I will definitely mention this when it comes to limitations of the study.