G: When people talk about “gay penguins,” they’re usually referring to same-sex pairs—almost always male—that form long-term bonds and sometimes raise eggs or chicks together. The “gay” label is a bit anthropomorphic, but here’s the breakdown:

• Bonding: These male pairs engage in typical pair-bonding behaviors: building nests, vocalizing together, preening each other, etc. In penguin terms, that’s what a mating pair does.
• Eggs: Zoos or occasionally the wild may provide them with an egg (sometimes abandoned, sometimes swapped in) and they successfully incubate and raise the chick, like any heterosexual pair.
• Sexual behavior: There have been observed instances of sexual behavior between male penguins, though that’s not always the focus. It varies by pair—some show more mating behavior, others less.
• Famous examples: Roy and Silo, the Central Park Zoo chinstrap penguins, raised a chick together (Tango). That’s where a lot of the public awareness comes from.

So yeah, it's sometimes about sex, but usually the focus is on pair bonding and chick-rearing—more “penguin domestic partnership” than “penguin hookup.”