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Peter Singer and The Rape of Animals

From Nathan Winograd
November 2023

The Princeton professor, world-renowned philosopher, and author of the book “Animal Liberation,” is promoting an article that argues it is “morally permissible” to have sex with animals. 

Nathan Winograd

Peter Singer, the Princeton professor, world-renown philosopher, and author of the book “Animal Liberation,” is promoting an article that claims it is “morally permissible” to have sex with animals — defending rape. Of course, Singer doesn’t call it rape, and he doesn’t believe it is rape. But in “Zoophilia is Morally Permissible,” an article he edited and published in his Journal of Controversial Ideas, the article’s author, who uses a pseudonym to hide his identity,1 laments that,
Zoophilia is one of the few sexual orientations (along with e.g. necrophilia or pedophilia) that remain off¬limits and have been left aside from the sexual liberation movement in the past fifty years. I would like to argue that this is a mistake. There is in fact nothing wrong with having sex with animals.

The article’s author offers the following examples of what he believes is acceptable conduct (warning: graphic):

“[Z]oophilia covers a variety of romantic and sexual activities. The latter are not limited to vaginal or anal penetration, but also include masturbation, oral-¬genital contact, frottage, zoophilic voyeurism, etc.”

“There is no reason to insist that animals must possess the same understanding about sex as human participants. In other words, it is important not to frame animal sexuality in human terms. What humans think is ‘sexual’ might not be for the animals involved. They might understand it as being physically groomed (fondling), fed (ingesting ejaculate), relieved (masturbating) or shown affection. Or, indeed, they might barely register the human contact at all.”

“Bob and his dog: Bob loves his dog. Every Friday, when he comes back home tired from working, he spreads honey on his penis and takes pleasure in letting his dog lick it.”

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Please read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.

 

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