September 27, 2005 The Times
Gay icon causes a flap by picking up a female By James Bone A FAMOUS gay penguin at New York's Central Park Zoo has reignited the "culture wars" over homosexuality by going straight. Silo, a chinstrap penguin, had been in a six-year relationship with another 18-year-old male called Roy. The pair even raised a chick together when their keepers gave them a donated egg, after they tried unsuccessfully to hatch a rock. The widely publicised story of the two males bringing up a baby, named Tango, made them gay icons. Their same-sex household was cited by liberals as a corrective to the traditional "family values" displayed by Emperor penguins in the hugely popular new documentary, The March of the Penguins, which has been hailed by Christian conservatives. "If Emperor penguins are sending us a message about heterosexual marriage, then what are Roy and Silo doing?" The New York Times asked in an editorial. Their relationship even became the subject of a children's book, sold at the zoo's gift shop, entitled And Tango Makes Three. But Silo walked out on Roy for a girlfriend from California called Scrappy, which moved to Central Park from San Diego's SeaWorld. The new heterosexual couple built a nest and hang out by the pool, while Roy broods alone. Liberals can take solace that there are still four other same-sex couples among the zoo's 65 birds. Among them is Tango, which has paired for the last two seasons with Tazuni. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give at-risk students the materials they need to succeed at DonorsChoose.org! http://us.click.yahoo.com/Ryu7JD/LpQLAA/E2hLAA/WfTolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Group Site: http://www.gaybombay.info ========================== This message was posted to the gay_bombay Yahoo! Group. Responses to messages (by clicking "Reply") will also be posted on the eGroup and sent to all members. If you'd like to respond privately to the author of any message then please compose and send a new email message to the author's email address. Post:- gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com Subscribe:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Digest Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] No Mail Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Individual Mail Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact Us:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives are at http://www.mail-archive.com/gay_bombay%40yahoogroups.com/maillist.html Classifieds for personal advertisements are back on www.gaybombay.info site. Please exercise restraint in the language of your personal advertisement. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gay_bombay/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
