https://archive.md/yZiXD
"Michael Schmidt, the Chrome Hearts collaborator and rock ’n’ roll couturier to
divas like Cher, Shakira and Sabrina Carpenter, was shocked when he heard about
the “gay sheep.”
Or, to be fair, he was not shocked that some rams are considered gay, or
“male-oriented,” meaning that they decline to mate with ewes, a behavioral
pattern seen in approximately one out of every 12 rams, and that scientists
have studied for decades. Rather, he was shocked to discover what happens to
many such sheep that are part of large flocks on working farms — the kind of
establishments where, said Scott Carmody, the head of domestic operations for
Woolmark, the usual ratio is one ram per 50 ewes, and the job of the ram is
procreation.
If the ram does not fulfill his duty, he is generally sent to the
slaughterhouse. Essentially, “the sheep are killed for being gay,” Mr. Schmidt
said.
Mr. Schmidt thought that perhaps fashion could change the situation. So though
he generally spends his days working with chain mail and Swarovski crystals, he
has joined forces with Rainbow Wool, a German nonprofit created by a farmer in
deep Westphalia who rescues the non-mating sheep and cultivates them for their
wool, and Grindr, the L.G.B.T.Q. dating app that bills itself as the
“gayborhood of the world,” to bring the story to life through a 37-piece
knitwear collection.
On Thursday, the knits will be showcased in the first Rainbow Wool fashion show
— though calling it a “show” is, Mr. Schmidt said, a misnomer.
“It’s an animal rights story,” he said. “And it’s a human rights story.”"
Original at
<
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/style/gay-sheep-rainbow-wool.html>
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-america-gun-violence-decline/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
