The burden should be placed upon the prohibitionists to explain why a small minority of individuals with non-mainstream sexual interests pose a threat to our overall societal welfare…The test of a truly enlightened civilization is one that lets people alone, to pursue their own predilections, even when the majority of us prefer to live our lives very differently from theirs.1
Note that by making that statement, Appel has engaged in not letting prohibitionists alone, to pursue their own predilections, such as their desire to oppose bestiality.
The great philosophical question of the 21st Century is going to be whether we will knock humans off the pedestal of moral exceptionalism and instead define ourselves as just another animal in the forest…Nothing would more graphically demonstrate our unexceptionalism than countenancing human/animal sex.2
Wesley J. Smith, “Bestiality is Wrong and Degrading, a Response to Jacob Appel,” Opposing Views
TONY JONES: We will move on. We have a web question from Deirdre Baker in NSW. QUOTES: “Peter Singer, in your 2001 article ‘Heavy Petting’ you state that mutually satisfying sexual activity between humans and animals can develop. Please explain.”
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: I wondered if that would come up. Firstly, it was a book review, not an article, I was reviewing a book that discussed this issue. It is a fact that there is sexual contact between some humans and animals. I was raising the question why we have such a taboo on this. Sometimes it involves cruelty and the infliction of power and dominance on an animal, and clearly I oppose that. There can be occasions, I don’t know how much vivid description you want.
TONY JONES: Go ahead.
PETER GARRETT MP: Speak for yourself! This is really interesting.
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: I’m clearly not on American television tonight, because no American host would have said that. An example is a woman has oral sex performed by her dog.
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: Brings new meaning to doggy style!
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: Women have said this is something that pleases them, the dog is free to do it or walk away, there’s no dominance over the dog, that seems harmless.
SENATOR HELEN COONAN: This is a trained dog, obviously?
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: It’s her dog who enjoys doing it and the dog gives pleasure to the companion. I don’t see why we have a taboo.
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: Sorry, Peter, this is just weird. It’s just weird!
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: It’s not common, but is it wrong, is the question?
DAVID MARR: Jay, this is your territory.
(LAUGHTER)
TONY JONES: Let’s get a psychiatrist’s perspective on this?
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: I’m thinking, Freud did say that human beings are polymorphously perverse, which is another way of saying that there are lots of different views. Sometimes you have to draw the line and go, “That’s weird.”
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: But is it wrong?
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: Wrong as in what?
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: Would you want to cure a patient of it?
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: I am not going to cure anyone who doesn’t want to be cured.
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: Since I wrote this piece, I’ve had people, sex therapists come to me, and say they have had patients who were tortured with guilt because they got some sexual satisfaction from contact with their animals, and their lives were miserable. And they gave them the article because it helped them to see other people were doing the same thing, and here was somebody who was saying, “This is not a sign of terrible moral evil.”
TONY JONES: Helen Coonan, parliamentary sitting week up coming up, would you like to get on the record on this?
SENATOR HELEN COONAN: Thankfully, I don’t answer questions, I ask them. I won’t be asking this one, Tony. I agree, that’s seriously off. I can’t imagine… I have two beautiful golden retrievers, and… (LAUGHTER) [ellipses in original]
SENATOR HELEN COONAN: I can’t imagine.
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: I thought your party stood for individual freedom.
TONY JONES: Amidst the hilarity, I don’t think everyone heard Peter saying he thought your party stood for individual freedom.
SENATOR HELEN COONAN: I think it’s off the wall. Put it this way, I’ll continue to find the nice patch under my doggy’s ear that he likes, that’s all I’ll do.
TONY JONES: I’m sorry to say, we have run out of time.
DAVID MARR: I’m not sorry.