A Podcast For Zoosexuals?!
Can you believe that zoophiles are allowed to have a podcast? I was sure surprised! When I first heard about Zooier Than Thou, a podcast openly made by people who are attracted to animals in real life, I thought, “No way! People wouldn’t be able to use their actual voices for that kind of thing! Sure, zoophiles are able to communicate with each other in text, like on forums and stuff, but that’s because text is so easy to hide behind. There’s no way there could be a podcast where they actually talk about being attracted to dogs!”
But, to my utter delight, when I clicked through to the podcast’s website, it was real! There were actual zoosexuals, talking to me about zoosexuality in my earbuds while I walked the dog who I kiss a lot! I cringed so much through the first several episodes, because it was so transgressive to me to hear two people saying out loud how sexy a dog’s knot is, even as someone who may have had “knot” on my lips in another way earlier in the same day.
I don’t think I realized, until actually hearing it, how powerful an out-loud voice could be. I was already a life long dog kisser, and I had looked around the online discussion scene that existed around that time, and I had seen essays and long comments arguing in defense of bestiality. I did know that other people attracted to animals existed. But I thought we had to keep that really, really, really hidden. Even knowing that animal porn existed, I thought that all of that had been taped years ago before it had been technically made illegal, and nobody had ever made any more videos since–if you were there to see what beast porn sites at the time looked like, you probably wouldn’t blame me for thinking that. I for sure thought that my affinity for canines was something I was taking to my grave.
Zooier Than Thou, something as simple as an openly zoosexual podcast, did so much for breaking that illusion. I came to truly appreciate that zoosexuality was something beautiful and profound and something to be proud of, not some dark secret that no one else could ever know about as long as I lived.
So what IS the show, exactly? Well, usually each episode will be about a certain topic. For example, there might be an episode about tips for keeping animals happy and healthy, or an episode about zoosexuality and the law, or an episode about one zoo’s journey navigating the difficult situations that the world presents to us. They have even had episodes with family members of zoos, or guest experts on topics such as therapy, therianthropy, religion, and gay activism. Most episodes have a mix of conversational segments and scripted sketches, but the nature of the show is that it can be different episode-to-episode, depending on how serious or silly the hosts want to be with it. Sometimes they even get to play some zooey music on the show, from zoo artists, about zoo things.
The show has just entered its 5th season, coming up on 70 episodes, and the cast and crew has grown to feature tons of regular contributors.
Even if you’re not much of a podcast person most of the time, I’d recommend giving the show a try. The show’s website is zoo.wtf. You can pretty much jump in at any episode that seems interesting to you. The latest episode, Zoo Pirate Radio, is a fun presentation of what an illegally broadcasting zooey radio station could be like. Get Help explores how to get therapy as a zoo, what therapists think of zoosexuality, and the experiences that some of the zoos on the show have had with getting help. If you’re a regular reader of Zooey Dot Pub, you might also be interested in A Zooey Crossover Episode, which features articles from the magazine read out loud and discussed.
Since its debut in 2019, Zooier Than Thou has been at the forefront of zoo positive activism. And it’s certainly no longer alone, with lots of other zooey projects and creators coming to the fore in the years since as well. In an increasingly online world, and in a world where the culture around sexual expression actually seems to be getting more conservative rather than less, Zooier Than Thou is a beacon for zoosexual positivity in the online space, and we are so here for it.
Thanks, ZooTT!
Article written by Beast of Eden (September 2023)
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