Includes bibliographical references (p. 671-732) and indexes.
Contents
pt. I.A Polysexual, Polygendered World. 1. The Birds and the Bees. 2. Humanistic Animals, Animalistic Humans. 3. Two Hundred Years of Looking at Homosexual Wildlife. 4. Explaining (Away) Animal Homosexuality. 5. Not for Breeding Only: Reproduction on the Periphery of Life. 6. A New Paradigm: Biological Exuberance -- pt. II. A Wondrous Bestiary: Portraits of Homosexual, Bisexual, and Transgendered Wildlife. Primates. Marine Mammals. Hoofed Mammals. Other Mammals. Waterfowl and Other Aquatic Birds. Shore Birds. Perching Birds and Songbirds. Other Birds -- Appendix: Other Species.
Summary
Drawing upon a rich body of zoological research spanning more than two centuries, Bruce Bagemihl shows that animals engage in all types of nonreproductive sexual behavior. Sexual and gender expression in the animal world displays exuberant variety, including same-sex courtship, pair-bonding, sex, and co-parenting - even instances of lifelong homosexual bonding in species that do not have lifelong heterosexual bonding.