C. Todd White:
Biological Exuberance is a groundbreaking and important book that explodes the pervasive myth that homosexuality is not commonly found in nature. Research has documented homosexuality in more than 450 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insects and other animals worldwide, including instances of life-long homosexual bonding in species that show no evidence of heterosexual bonding for life. Bagemihl shows that the idea that animals engage in sexual activity simply for the sake of reproduction is an absurd distortion of nature and that in fact in some species the majority of individuals never have heterosexual intercourse in their lives.
In addition to discussing an extensive array of species (nearly 300 mammals and birds), Biological Exuberance draws on more than two centuries of scientific research. Some of the findings reported here in a few sentences represent literally lifetimes of work on the part of biologists, who may have devotee their entire careers to studying one very specific and complex aspect of one type of behavior, in one particular population of one particular species. With this in mind, the book should be seen not as a final, definitive pronouncement on the subject but rather as a beginning or overture, an invitation to further research and discussion.
Lavishly illustrated and meticulously researched, filled with fascinating facts and astonishing descriptions of animal behavior, Biological Exuberance will be a landmark book that will change forever how we look at nature.
commenting closed for this article