Actaeon's Gender Preference Survey Results

Last Updated: Monday, September 13, 1999

Here are the latest results of the on-going Gender Preference Survey, whose purpose is to determine if there's a relationship between a person's gender preference for humans and his/her gender preference for animals. These results, along with a separate survey form you can fill out if you wish to contribute, are periodically updated and posted at my web site.

Please Note: The responses below do not necessarily mean these individuals actively engage in sexual behavior with these species or genders (with some, like bears, big cats and dolphins, it may be extremely difficult and very dangerous); merely that the respondents are attracted to them. Also note that due to rounding, percentages may not total 100%.

Heterosexual Males: (146 respondents)

           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |     23   |     44   |     60   |    127  |
| Horses   |     21   |     49   |     52   |    122  |
| Donkeys  |     15   |     31   |     38   |     84  |
| Cattle   |      5   |     30   |     20   |     55  |
| Sheep    |      2   |     40   |     21   |     63  |
| Goats    |      7   |     33   |     20   |     60  |
| Pigs     |      6   |     21   |     13   |     40  |
| Llamas   |      1   |     29   |     22   |     52  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |      6   |     11   |     25   |     42  |
| Big Cats |     11   |     36   |     29   |     76  |
| Deer     |      9   |     42   |     27   |     78  |
| Dolphins |      4   |     31   |     33   |     68  |
| Foxes    |      2   |     31   |     23   |     56  |
| Wolves   |     14   |     32   |     52   |     98  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:       126        460        435       1021
  Percent:       12         45         43


Heterosexual Females: (22 respondents)
           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |     20   |      1   |      1   |     22  |
| Horses   |     14   |          |      2   |     16  |
| Donkeys  |     10   |          |      2   |     12  |
| Cattle   |      1   |          |      1   |      2  |
| Sheep    |      1   |      1   |          |      2  |
| Goats    |      3   |          |      1   |      4  |
| Pigs     |      1   |      1   |          |      2  |
| Llamas   |      4   |          |          |      4  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |      2   |          |          |      2  |
| Big Cats |      6   |      1   |          |      7  |
| Deer     |      8   |      1   |          |      9  |
| Dolphins |      6   |          |      2   |      8  |
| Foxes    |      6   |          |          |      6  |
| Wolves   |     13   |      1   |          |     14  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:        95          6          9        110
  Percent:       90                    10


Gay Males: (56 respondents)
           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |     35   |      1   |     17   |     53  |
| Horses   |     31   |      3   |     13   |     47  |
| Donkeys  |     22   |          |     12   |     34  |
| Cattle   |      8   |      6   |      8   |     22  |
| Sheep    |      5   |     10   |      9   |     24  |
| Goats    |      6   |      6   |      9   |     21  |
| Pigs     |      8   |      5   |      2   |     15  |
| Llamas   |      1   |      4   |      3   |      8  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |     17   |          |      7   |     24  |
| Big Cats |     18   |      3   |      5   |     26  |
| Deer     |     14   |      1   |     11   |     26  |
| Dolphins |     10   |      1   |      8   |     19  |
| Foxes    |     11   |      1   |      6   |     18  |
| Wolves   |     32   |          |     11   |     43  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:       218         41        121        380
  Percent:       57         11         32


Lesbian Females: (2 respondents)
           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |      2   |          |          |      2  |
| Horses   |      2   |          |          |      2  |
| Donkeys  |      2   |          |          |      2  |
| Cattle   |          |          |          |         |
| Sheep    |          |          |          |         |
| Goats    |          |          |          |         |
| Pigs     |          |          |          |         |
| Llamas   |          |          |          |         |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |          |          |          |         |
| Big Cats |          |          |          |         |
| Deer     |          |          |          |         |
| Dolphins |          |          |          |         |
| Foxes    |          |          |          |         |
| Wolves   |      2   |          |          |      2  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:         8                                8
  Percent:      100


Bisexual Males: (119 respondents)
           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |     47   |      7   |     63   |    117  |
| Horses   |     35   |     10   |     52   |     97  |
| Donkeys  |     28   |      6   |     30   |     64  |
| Cattle   |      5   |     14   |     22   |     41  |
| Sheep    |      8   |     17   |     33   |     58  |
| Goats    |     14   |      9   |     27   |     50  |
| Pigs     |      7   |      9   |     17   |     33  |
| Llamas   |      9   |      4   |     18   |     31  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |     11   |      2   |     25   |     38  |
| Big Cats |     11   |     12   |     36   |     59  |
| Deer     |     15   |     14   |     26   |     55  |
| Dolphins |     13   |     11   |     33   |     57  |
| Foxes    |     15   |      2   |     28   |     45  |
| Wolves   |     31   |      5   |     43   |     79  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:       249        122        453        824
  Percent:       30         15         55


Bisexual Females: (25 respondents)
           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |     22   |      1   |     2    |     25  |
| Horses   |     13   |      3   |     1    |     17  |
| Donkeys  |     13   |          |          |     13  |
| Cattle   |      3   |          |     1    |      4  |
| Sheep    |      2   |          |     1    |      3  |
| Goats    |      3   |          |     1    |      4  |
| Pigs     |      1   |          |     1    |      2  |
| Llamas   |          |      1   |          |      1  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |      3   |          |     1    |      4  |
| Big Cats |      4   |          |     5    |      9  |
| Deer     |      4   |          |          |      4  |
| Dolphins |      4   |      2   |     3    |      9  |
| Foxes    |          |          |     2    |      2  |
| Wolves   |      8   |      2   |     3    |     13  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:        80          9        21         110
  Percent:       73          8        19


Zoo-Exclusive Males: (71 respondents)
           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |    11    |     8    |    37    |     56  |
| Horses   |    10    |    19    |    27    |     56  |
| Donkeys  |     6    |    11    |    21    |     38  |
| Cattle   |     5    |    10    |    12    |     27  |
| Sheep    |          |    14    |    10    |     24  |
| Goats    |          |     9    |    15    |     24  |
| Pigs     |     4    |     7    |     5    |     16  |
| Llamas   |     5    |     6    |    19    |     30  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |     3    |    10    |    17    |     30  |
| Big Cats |     3    |    14    |    13    |     30  |
| Deer     |     5    |    13    |    21    |     39  |
| Dolphins |     4    |     8    |    25    |     37  |
| Foxes    |     5    |     5    |    14    |     24  |
| Wolves   |     8    |     6    |    33    |     47  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:        69        140        269        478
  Percent:       14         29         56


Zoo-Exclusive Females: (4 respondents)
           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |      3   |      1   |          |      4  |
| Horses   |      3   |          |          |      3  |
| Donkeys  |      1   |          |          |      1  |
| Cattle   |      1   |          |          |      1  |
| Sheep    |      1   |          |          |      1  |
| Goats    |      1   |          |          |      1  |
| Pigs     |          |          |      1   |      1  |
| Llamas   |          |          |          |      0  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |      2   |          |          |      2  |
| Big Cats |      3   |          |          |      3  |
| Deer     |          |          |          |      0  |
| Dolphins |          |          |          |      0  |
| Foxes    |      2   |          |          |      2  |
| Wolves   |      2   |          |          |      2  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:        19          1          1         21
  Percent:       90          5          5


Males of Uncertain Human Gender Preference: (1 respondent)
           +----------+----------+----------+---------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  |         |
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  | Species |
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   |  Total  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
| Dogs     |          |          |      1   |      1  |
| Horses   |          |          |      1   |      1  |
| Donkeys  |          |          |      1   |      1  |
| Cattle   |          |          |          |         |
| Sheep    |          |          |          |         |
| Goats    |          |          |          |         |
| Pigs     |          |          |          |         |
| Llamas   |          |          |          |         |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+ 
| Bears    |          |          |          |         |
| Big Cats |          |          |          |         |
| Deer     |          |          |      1   |      1  |
| Dolphins |          |          |      1   |      1  |
| Foxes    |          |          |          |         |
| Wolves   |          |          |      1   |      1  |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+---------+
  Totals:                               6
  Percent:                            100


Gender Totals:
Total Respondents: 446
  Number Male: 393
    Percent Male: 88
  Number Female: 53
    Percent Female: 12


Species Totals (by popularity):
           +----------+----------+----------++---------+-----------+
           | Strongly | Strongly |  Either  ||         |  Percent  | Previous
           | Prefer   | Prefer   |  Gender  ||         |  of (446) | Order:
           | Males    | Females  |   Okay   ||  Total: | Responses | (*=new)
+----------+----------+----------+----------++---------+-----------+
| Dogs     |    163   |     63   |    181   ||   407   |     91.26 | Dogs    
| Horses   |    129   |     84   |    148   ||   361   |     80.94 | Horses  
| Wolves   |    110   |     46   |    143   ||   299   |     67.04 | Wolves  
| Donkeys  |     97   |     48   |    104   ||   249   |     55.83 | Donkeys 
| Deer     |     55   |     71   |     86   ||   212   |     47.53 | Deer    
| Big Cats |     56   |     66   |     88   ||   210   |     47.09 |*Dolphins
| Dolphins |     41   |     53   |    105   ||   199   |     44.62 |*Big Cats
| Sheep    |     19   |     82   |     74   ||   175   |     39.24 |*Goats   
| Goats    |     34   |     57   |     73   ||   164   |     36.77 |*Sheep   
| Foxes    |     41   |     39   |     73   ||   153   |[45] 34.30 |*Cattle  
| Cattle   |     28   |     60   |     64   ||   152   |     34.08 |*Bears   
| Bears    |     44   |     23   |     75   ||   142   |     31.84 |*Llamas  
| Llamas   |     20   |     44   |     62   ||   126   |     28.25 |*Pigs    
| Pigs     |     27   |     43   |     39   ||   109   |     24.44 |*Foxes***
+==========+==========+==========+==========++=========+===========+
| Totals:  |    864   |    779   |   1315   ||  2958   |
+----------+----------+----------+----------++---------+
| % Total: |     29   |     26   |     44   ||
+----------+----------+----------+----------++

The column on the right shows the order the species lined up the last time I updated this form. As you can see, dolphins and big cats swapped places, and (since it's been so long since the last update) the species below that have all shifted around a bit.

*** Note: I apologize for omitting Foxes from the initial versions of the survey; I have tentatively decided to include them, but since they are a late entry, the totals for Foxes will be unnaturally low for quite some time. It may be too late for the results to be useful, but I'll give it a shot. My guess is that they would ultimately rank at or near the level of Wolves in terms of gender preference, as well as in popularity. If I detect a trend, based on the percentages of new entries (since entry number 103, that is), I will move Foxes up in the list to where they appear to belong. At present, they represent 153 responses out of 343, or 45 percent (the figure in [brackets]). This would put them in seventh place, between dolphins and big cats.

Conclusions:

The replies so far have given me enough data to form the preliminary conclusion that there does seem to be a link between a person's sexual preference for humans, and his or her gender preference for animals. That is, a gay person is more likely than a hetero to be gay with animals as well, and vice versa. With as few responses as I have, however, the conclusions will always be preliminary.

While national statistics indicate roughly 10% of the American population is gay, the percentage of gay and bisexual respondents to this survey is significantly higher. I don't attach much significance to this, since this survey is already biased toward Internet users and people with, shall we say, a greater "versatility" when it comes to sexual experience.
While I have only 53 female respondents so far, they almost invariably prefer male animals, regardless of their orientation towards humans. Also, women tend to be interested in a smaller variety of animals, concentrating on dogs and horses, whereas men are, well, how shall I put it, open to tapping every keg, how's that? :)
Most male zoos, regardless of their preference for humans, are about equally interested in both genders of animals. However, further conclusions can be drawn:
1. Heterosexual male zoos are the most likely to be heterosexual with animals, and the least likely to be gay with them. (12% prefer males, 45% prefer females, 43% prefer both)
2. Gay male zoos are, likewise, by far the most likely to be gay with animals, and the least likely to be hetero with them. (57% prefer males, 11% prefer females, 32% prefer both)
3. Bisexual male zoos fall between gays and heteros in their animal preferences, though they tend slightly towards males. (30% prefer males, 15% prefer females, 55% prefer both)
4. Zoo-exclusive males are the least likely to have a gender preference; those who do, tend slightly towards females. (14% prefer males, 29% prefer females, 56% prefer both)

In other findings, when creating the "Species Totals" section, I find it interesting that the species the general non-zoo population thinks we boink the most (pigs, sheep, goats, and cows) are actually fairly low on the list. Coming in #1 is man's best friend, with a staggering 91% of respondents being attracted to dogs in one way or another. A close second was the horse (81%), followed by the wolf, which appears to be attractive to the same people who like dogs. Only after deer, dolphins and big cats do we see what are supposedly the "popular" choices, and the pig comes in at the bottom of the list. Whether these stats change when I post the results of my finally-out-of-beta experience survey, which catalogs people's actual zoo experiences, I don't know. But we'll see.

So keep those cards and letters coming! To quote Johnny 5: "Need more input!" :)

Index -- Updated Monday, September 13, 1999 -- E-mail Actaeon