There has been so much debate surrounding gay men who choose to dress as women, and gay women who like acting like men. Well, here's something to trump transgenders: actual human beings who have an odd desire to live and dress like dogs.
At least 10,000 people in the United Kingdom, mostly homosexual men, have joined the trend of "identifying" with canines, complete with dog-like hoods and leather outfits.
The weirdness of this trend, which started 15 years ago, does not end there: The dog-wannabes also like their stomachs being rubbed, their ears tickled, and even enjoy eating food from bowls meant for pets.
Moreover, these individuals tend to develop romantic relationships with their human "handlers."
Take the case of 32-year-old theatre technician, Tom. The British publication The Mirror detailed how he left the woman he is engaged to, Rachel, who demanded that he act like a human being and not like an animal.
Tom, however, still chose to live as his dog alter-ego, a Dalmatian named Spot.
Tom tried to explain his weird behavior in "Secret Life of Human Pups."
"You disappear. You start to chase puppy toys and people give you ear scratches and treat you like a puppy," Tom was quoted by The Mirror as saying.
"You disappear so much in the head space that you don't stop to think, but you crave it. And you want it. And you wish for it. It's magic. It just really is genuinely magic. I am strongly, happily proud of who I am and what I look like, and I don't care what anyone else thinks," he added.
The dog-wannabe further explained that the experience makes him let go of his worries as a human being.
"You're not worrying about money or food or work. It's just the chance to enjoy each other's company on a very simple level," he said.
Tom also said that he hopes he will be accepted the same way the homosexuals are now being accepted by society.
"It feels like you can be gay, straight, bisexual, trans and be accepted," he said. "All I want is for the pup community to be accepted in the same way. We're not trying to cause grief to the public, or cause grief to relationships. We're just the same as any other person on the high street."
David Kupelian, an award-winning journalist and author, however explained that this kind of behavior is not about acceptance, but a way to satisfy a sexual desire.
"This dog craze among men is largely an extension of the gay BDSM subculture. Not to be too graphic, but if you just stop and reflect for a few seconds on what that acronym stands for – even just uttering the words 'bondage and discipline,' 'domination and submission,' 'sadism and masochism' – it sounds like a medieval torture chamber to normal people," Kupelian told WND.
"Yet, this is the fodder of a huge and growing subculture and inspired one of the best-selling books and most-watched movies of our generation, 'Fifty Shades of Grey.' Yet, what the BDSM folks do – in the name of 'play' and 'fun' – is unspeakably degrading to the human mind, body and soul," he added.
