New York fashion show features collection made from wool of ‘gay’ sheep

As per The Telegraph, Schmidt, who has designed outfits for celebrities like Madonna and Cher, partnered with an organization named Rainbow Wool. This German group adopts rams that show a preference for male partners and who, therefore, cannot be used for breeding. Such types of rams are usually culled from the herd.

Idea behind ‘gay’ wool line

“The idea it’s selling is that homosexuality is not only part of the human condition, but of the animal world. That puts the lie to this concept that being gay is a choice. It’s part of nature,” Schmidt told the New York Times.

The fashion line included 37 pieces of knitwear, including polos, shorts, robes, wool hats, dungarees, sailors’ outfits, and dressing gowns. These dress articles were a “metaphor for how gay people are treated across the world,” as per Tristan Pineiro, vice president, brand marketing, Grindr, an LGBT dating app that was one of the partners for this show. “You can’t say the sheep were corrupted by woke culture,” Pineiro added.

‘Homosexual’ sheep

As per an article published in The Guardian in 2019, around 1 in 12 sheep display behaviour that can be identified as ‘homosexual’, a documentary on Channel 4 claimed. The problem arises when this type of behaviour is witnessed in breeding rams, as they are expected to mate with female sheep and produce offspring. The article states that in such a case, such sheep are sent to be used for food.

Charles Roselli, professor of physiology and pharmacology at the Oregon Health & Science University, has studied this phenomenon in detail and has concluded that same-sex preference in sheep is a result of biological factors.

Cathy Dwyer, an expert in animal behaviour at Scotland’s Rural College, pointed out that “early-life experience and rearing practices” may be the cause behind the occurrence of same-sex partner preference in sheep.

25 percent of the rams that were reared in all-male groups seemed disinterested in females. Interestingly, rams reared by female goats also didn’t show any interest in ewes, but instead in female goats. This suggests conditioning plays a key role in determining the ‘orientation’ of the sheep.

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FAQs

Who is Michael Schmidt?

He is a Los Angeles-based fashion designer.

In which city did this unique fashion show take place?

New York.