Review: QUEER DUCKS (AND OTHER ANIMALS)

Title: Queer Ducks (And Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer

First Line quote:

Introduction -- The Immorality of Penguins

The Edinburgh Zoo has long been proud of its penguins. In fact, it has Europe's oldest exhibit of them, dating back to 1913. One of their current birds was even knighted! Not that he can hold a sword or anything. How do you determine if a penguin is male or female? Turns out it's not easy. Penguin males and females are the same size, and since their genitalia is tucked away, their sex is only a guess. Only a modern blood test can tell for sure. Those tests weren't around in 1913. Prized animals + hard-to-determine sexes= one big old penguin sex scandal.

Quote from page 56 (actually page 64):

Ch. 4 -- 

Bottlenose Dolphins: Are dolphins just gay sharks? (Or is there true homosexuality in animals?)

There's this old TV show called Glee. Any theater kids reading this have probably already seen it. I watched it for more seasons than I should have, mainly for one character, Brittany, whose big schtick was to spout these deadpan observations that sounded ridiculous but were actually profound. At one point she says, out of nowhere, "Did you know dolphins are actually just gay sharks?" Cut to me, cackling. That was before I'd done the research for this book, before I even knew about the diversity of sex in the animal world.

Summary: Finally a science based research book about animal sexuality! The book is divided into ten chapters each focusing on a different type of same-sex animal behavior in the animal kingdom -- bugs, fish, birds, fowl, wild mammals, domesticated animals. The opening chapter is about doodlebugs, which was the first animal noted by scientists, in the 1800s, to exhibit male homosexual behavior, though the scientists were unsure how to report their findings. Other chapters focus on intersex deer (Velvet Horns) and polyamorous geese, bisexual dolphins and bonobos, sex-changing wrasse fish, and asexual albatross. Schrefer, whose writing is approachable and often humorous, gives analog research-based examples to human sexual orientation and gender identity. Charming comics-style illustrations by Jules Zuckerberg open every chapter, serving aa a little amusing setup before Schrefer dives into the hard science. Interspersed throughout the book are personal anecdotes from Schrefer that reveal how science saved him when he was a young queer person. It is a perfect book for it's YA (Grades 10-12) audience, who would be unlikely to want to consume such information in a textbook-type presentation.

Review: Every June I attempt to read and review at least one LGBTQ+ book during Pride month. This year with all the terrible laws being passed which allow for the discrimination of Trans individuals and other queer folks, it seemed more important than ever to highlight a good book which should be widely read. And I found a great one: Queer Ducks (And Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer. The book came with me on our family vacation to Canada last week and I read one or two chapters each night. In the morning I would report back to my daughter and family what interesting and odd animal sexual behavior Schrefer had highlighted in those chapters. I found it fascinating, so did the family. When I started to read the quote to my daughter, a devoted Glee fan, about dolphins being, she finished the sentence, "gay sharks." Of course dolphins are not gay sharks but they sure are very busy sexually. "When dolphin males get going...they have sexual contact an average of 2.38 times per hour...and the majority of that is with other males" (65).

In the conclusion Schrefer cautions against using animals to argue about human morality. For years humans have called homosexuality "unnatural" citing examples from the animal kingdom that wasn't backed up with any research, or published research. "While the 'why' of animal queerness is still a topic of productive and exciting scientific debate, the 'that' of it -- the fact that animal queerness exists and is substantially represented in the natural world -- is unmistakable...It's not the natural order that declares humans as heterosexual until proven otherwise. That's all a product of human culture, something made up as our ancestors went along" (175).

I can't even begin to tell you how important this book is. Every high school library and public library that services teens should have several copies of it. I recognize that I am a person who is evolving in my understanding about the fluidity of sexuality. This book helped clear away so many cobwebs that were clouding my vision on the topic. All misconceptions are gone now. It feels like a light was switched on in my brain and I can finally see what others have known for years -- we are all on a sexual spectrum and our spot may not be static. And that is just fine.

Highly recommend. Now you read it and recommend it to others, too!  5+ stars.

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. First Line Friday is hosted by Reading is My Super Power. Share the opening quote from current book.The Friday56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56 to share. Visit these two websites to participate. Click on links to read quotes from books other people are reading. It is a great way to make blog friends and to get suggestions for new reading material.

-Anne