LGBTQIA+ is Normal says Mother Nature

Multiple genders are common among plant and animals

Glenn C. Kharkongor

In a split 3-2 judgement delivered on October 17, 2023, the Supreme Court of India refused to grant equal rights to same sex marriages.  Same sex marriages are legal in 31 countries in six continents (Fig 1). It is noteworthy that all these countries have a Christian majority population. These enlightened and progressive countries have demonstrated human rights and social justice.

In the US the number of persons who declare themselves as LGBT has doubled to 11.2% in the last 10 years. Among Generation Z, 19.7% say they are LGBT. The worldwide LGBTQ population as of 2021 was estimated at 8%, about 630 million people, while 12% were silent on their preference.

So multiple genders are common among humans. Biological sciences show us that multiple genders have been a common and normal phenomenon in nature throughout the evolution of plant and animal species.

Fig 1: Countries which permit same-sex marriage (Pew, 2023)

Multiple genders are the norm in plants

Plants propagate through multiple combinations of heterosexual, homosexual and asexual reproductive methods. An ongoing scientific exhibition, Sep 30-Oct 29, 2023, at Kew Gardens, the well-known botanical research institute in London is called Queer Nature. The exhibition showcases some of the prominent examples of multisexuality in nature.

Plant sexual types

The above categories do not remain static. Some species may change gender as they mature and some individuals may even change gender from season to season, or with varying temperatures. The avocado tree flowers twice in a season, firstly female, and secondly male. This unusual feature encourages cross-pollination with other avocado plants, thus furthering genetic diversity.

Each bloom of the chestnut tree, common in the Khasi Hills, like most flowers, has a sperm (pollen on the stamen) and an egg (ovule and pistil). One sperm and an egg combine in fertilisation. But to complete the process, a second sperm joins in for a double fertilisation. This is needed to complete the reproductive process.

The Khasi pine tree has both male and female cones. The male cones are on the lower and female cones are on the upper branches. This is to prevent the pollen from falling on the female cones of the same tree. This promotes fertilisation with other pine trees, which enhances genetic variation.

Orchids, so popular in Meghalaya, are ancient plants, from 76-84 million years ago. The blue vanda are asexual, producing offshoots or plantlets from the nodes along the stem. The slipper orchid reproduces by self-fertilisation. The anther with pollen changes from solid to liquid and drips onto the stigma, the female organ.

Among fungi, mating can occur with almost every individual, irrespective of sexual type. The genome of some fungi has both male and female genes with different and multiple sexual codes. One species, Schizophyllum, has 339 male codes and 64 female codes, creating more than 23,000 sexes, each one genetically different, all of whom can mate interchangeably. This is far beyond the one hundred LGBTQIA+ types in humans.

LGBTQIA+ is normal in animals

According to World Wildlife, over 1,500 animal species engage in same-sex sexual behaviour, which can help maintain the health of a species’ population. These behaviours developed through their biological evolution (Fig 2). In the figure, it is apparent that same-sex behaviours are more common than heterosexual practices. Some animals can change sexes or be a combination of various sexes.

Fig 2. The evolution of animal families with same-sex behaviour (Nature, 2023)

Two penguins of the same sex sometimes adopt abandoned eggs, protecting them and raising the chicks together. In some bird species, albatrosses, greylag geese, gulls and terns, many of the nests are cared for by female-female pairs. In polyamory, three or more parents of both sexes look after and increase the survivability of the young.

Male bottlenose dolphins have close friendships with other males, swimming together through the ocean, hunting for food and engaging in sexual behaviour. These relationships are deep and lasting, and they often live together for decades. Dolphin males will partner for life, and the pair will occasionally bring in a female to mate and reproduce.

The stars of the movie Finding Nemo are a father and son clownfish. All clownfish are born with male and female sex organs, and each one can change sex depending on environmental conditions. The male sex organs mature first. Groups of clownfish are led by a female, assisted by a male. When the leader dies, this male changes into a female in order to become the leader (Fig 3). Around 500 fish species change their sex as adults (Fig 4).

Fig 3: Clownfish (World Wildlife, 2023)

Fig 4: Species of hermaphrodite fish (Univ of California, 2008)

In seahorses the mating process starts when males and females dance with each other. The dance ends with the female laying her eggs in a pouch in the male’s abdomen, where he fertilises them. The father carries the eggs and the babies are delivered from the father seahorse’s pouch, which also functions like a placenta (Fig 5).

Fig 5: Pregnant male seahorses (Science News, 2015)

In some marine snail species, all individuals are born male, and when two males choose each other, one of them changes sex. Some males kept choosing other males, even though they would have to wait a few days for their partner to change sex, while other males always went for females. In mammals, 261 species exhibit same-sex behaviours. Males and females are equally likely to carry out same-sex sexual behaviour, such as cheetahs and white-tailed deer.

Homosexuality in primates

Among bonobos, apes who share almost 99% of their DNA with humans, homosexual encounters are even more common than heterosexual ones. Bonobo societies are led by a group of sexually connected females. Most bonobos are bisexual, and the purpose of their sexual relationships is not only to reproduce but also to maintain social cohesion and harmony. The bonobo apes release the bonding hormone oxytocin during homosexual sex to strengthen the social alliances between females. Japanese macaque monkeys also engage in frequent female-female sex.

Research has shown that chimpanzees use sex for more than procreation; male chimps engage in sexual activity to reconcile after fights. Christine Webb, a primatologist at Harvard University found that chimpanzees use sex for a variety of purposes, such as managing stress and tension.

A study published in Scientific American (Aug 20, 2023) was titled “Male Monkeys Have More Sex with Other Males Than with Females”. This multi-generational study found that three-fourths of male monkeys have homosexual sex, and concluded that such preparedness resulted in reproductive advantage, ensuring survival of the species.

Plants and animals are not restricted to binaries and boundaries unlike the socially created demarcations and categories among humans. Only humans want binaries and labels. Sexual fluidity in nature enables the survival of life. In fact, to believe that Homo sapiens are a binary species is a viewpoint that is ‘unnatural’. Only Homo sapiens has developed the notion of sexual identity and then invested it with religious and cultural overlays.

But there are exceptions. Among the Native Americans, many tribes regard LGBT persons as having “two spirits”, and at least 40 tribes accept same-sex marriages. They are granted special status in the community as ceremonial leaders and healers.

But in much of the world, the LGBT community suffers from discrimination, violence and denial of social justice. The unacceptance by mainstream society causes a high rate of stress and mental illness. Gardening, the recognition and nurturing of multiple sexualities in nature, provides horticultural therapy, and is now an accepted pathway to healing.