A Little Queer Natural History

A Little Queer Natural History

Beautifully illustrated and scientifically informed, a celebration of the astonishing diversity of sexual behavior and biology found in nature.   From a pair of male swans raising young to splitgill mushrooms with over 23,000 mating types, sex in the natural world is wonderfully diverse. Josh L. Davis considers how, for many different organisms—animals, plants, and fungi included—sexual reproduction and sex determination rely on a surprisingly complex interaction among genes, hormones, environment, and chance. As Davis introduces us to fascinating biological concepts like parthenogenesis (virgin birth), monoecious plants (individuals with separate male and female flowers), and sex-reversed genitals, we see turtle hatchlings whose sex is determined by egg temperature; butterflies that embody male and female biological tissue in the same organism; and a tomato that can reproduce three different ways at the same time. Davis also reveals animal and plant behaviors in nature that researchers have historically covered up or explained away, like queer sex among Adélie penguins or bottlenose dolphins, and presents animal behaviors that challenge us to rethink our assumptions and prejudices. Featuring fabulous sex-fluid fishes and ant, wasp, and bee queens who can choose both how they want to have sex and the sex of their offspring, A Little Queer Natural History offers a larger lesson: that the diversity we see in our own species needs no justification and represents just a fraction of what exists in the natural world. "Fascinating. . . . That homosexuality occurs in other mammals is the least of it; we are living in a universe of insane complexity. . . . One finishes this book no nearer to an 'explanation' for homosexuality, but one feels comforted and somewhat awestruck to know that we are not alone." ― Gay & Lesbian Review "'There are only two sexes.' Really? Many species do have large and small sex cells (egg and sperm), but many other lives share this sphere. The Splitgill mushroom, of 150,000 fungal species known so far, has some 23,000 'mating types,' used since sexual fungi employ same-sized (isogamous) cells. It’s a headily diverse world. Mammalian sex is often determined by XX and XY (usually M & F) sex chromosomes; other species, arthropod roly-polys, by ZZ and ZW (M & F). But, roly-polys (pill woodlice) actually derive their sex from an infection by a Wolbachia bacterium. Admittedly outré, but habits of familiars; giraffes, swans, bluegills, hyenas, penguins and low-land gorillas may shock and surprise in this nifty compendium of what actually makes the world go ‘round." ― Lavender Magazine "My people, nature is extremely queer. It is very, very queer. I cannot overstate how queer it is. I recently immersed myself in a book that revels in just how deliciously queer nature is, and it was exactly what I needed. Maybe it’s what you need, too. This is a very short book; you can easily read it in an afternoon. It’s accessible and engaging—more of a Queer Nature 101 than an in-depth lecture. It includes a series of profiles on various plants, animals, and fungi, as well as the astonishing array of sexual, biological, reproductive, and behavioral diversity they display. From trees and flowers to frogs and fish, from giraffes and gorillas to common birds and elusive eels, the natural world is overflowing with queerness. The book includes a truly delightful variety of organisms and cites dozens of scientific studies. In each profile, accompanied by stunning photographs, Davis highlights the wonderfully surprising and complex ways that plants and animals mate, reproduce, and live. . . . I’d like to shove this book into the hands of all the bigots, including the judges on the . . . Supreme Court. But even more than that (because what good would it really do?), I want to give this book to any queer or trans person who has ever felt alone, who has ever felt like they don’t belong. If you’ve ever felt like your body, your desires, your ways of loving, your family, or your gender isn’t 'natural,' this book is for you. Nature is beautiful, creative, mysterious, strange (complimentary), and overwhelmingly queer, and you are a part of nature." ― Book Riot “This splendid debut from Davis, a science writer for London’s Natural History Museum, surveys the dazzling variety of sexual behavior and expression in the animal, fungi, and plant kingdoms. . . . The fascinating science makes a resounding case that the natural world features more diverse expressions of sexual activity and biological sex than commonly believed. The result is a much needed corrective to blinkered notions of what’s considered ‘natural.’” ― Publishers Weekly “Reveals that the natural world is more complex and inclusive than people often assume. . . . Gorgeous. . . . An absorbing and meticulous science text, A Little Queer Natural History shares an important perspective.” ― Foreword Reviews “Many people, including researchers and peop