Mankind probably associated dogs with homosexuality simply because they had so many opportunities to observe canine copulation. In the King James Version, Deuteronomy 23:18 admonishes against bringing “ the price of a dog into the house of the Lord.” In the New International Version, the Hebrew word for “dog” is translated as “ male prostitute” to clarify the ancient euphemism. The Old Testament describes male prostitutes as dogs. Canines have been the target of man’s homophobia for just as long.
Classicist Robert Graves wrote about the Enarieae, pagan priests in the pre-Christian Eastern Mediterranean who engaged in sodomy to celebrate the rising of Sirius, the dog star.
The Tennessee pit bull owner, although widely derided, was participating in a longstanding tradition: Humans have long associated dogs with gay sex.
