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Title: Biological Exuberance : Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity by Bruce Bagemihl ISBN: 0-312-25377-X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 10 April, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.32 (19 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Prediction: This book will outlive us all.
Comment: Anthropology, geology, and even most all religions have all "updated" their views on the way the world works, based on our ever-unfolding knowledge and new discoveries. It's time that zoology has done the same! In Biological Exuberance, Bruce Bagemihl exposes the data that cries out for a new acceptance and understanding of animal behavior.
In the first part of the text, he systematically builds a case for "updating" our views. He explains why we can no longer continue believing that the very core of animal nature is based on scarcity and reproduction. By compiling the reports written by hundreds of scientists all over the world who have been "into the field to peek under the rocks," Bagemihl demonstrates without question that we must awaken to a new set of theories about wildlife, if we are to remain honest with the facts. A most interesting portion of this work is his uncovering of several reasons why these reports have been misused, overlooked, edited for content, or simply "tucked away" over the course of history. The last section of this part of his book is a dance into "the possible," in which he eloquently proposes some modifications we ought to consider to the traditional evolutionary theory. He has titled the book after these revolutionary ideas, and declares them merely a starting point for a dialogue he hopes he has initiated.
Seemingly unending descriptions of individual animals compose the second part of the book. Bagmihl has created the world's first sourcebook for future reference on the subject. (Try asking any librarian for a book on animal sexuality! This one's the only one you'll find!)
This book has been reviewed in dozens of mainstream city newspapers, in TIME Magazine, and has been featured in many radio programs across the U.S. All that I've seen are outstanding reviews. This book has become a gift from my heart to many of my friends and relatives. But sadly, I have a deep suspicion that Bagemihl's work might only become truly popular--first in the academic fields--long after we have all passed on.
Rating: 4
Summary: At 800 pages, it exceeds my interest, but good
Comment: As a straight person, I guess I only have so much interest in the animal homosexual behavior - and this book exceeds it. It is 800 pages and I really didn't finish all of it. But, I have some amount of interest as I at least used to hear Christians claim that homosexuality is "unnatural" which this books seems to show fairly convincingly otherwise.
I enjoyed the chapters discussing possible reasons for the existence of homosexuality. The author agrees that it doesn't serve any obvious purpose. However, he discusses a few possible theories. One theory about at least one species of bird is that male pairs do better at gathering food and protecting territory. So, a male pair, so long as at least one of the males engages in some heterosexual activity to produce an offspring, could have some evolutionary advantage. But the author admits the evidence for this or other theories is scant at best. The conclusion seems to be that much sexual behavior, in animals and people, serves no obvious purpose - it just is.
So, if you have some interest in the subject, I'm sure you'll like it. But if your interest is only moderate, it may be too much.
Rating: 4
Summary: Secondary Research Brings Traditional Values into Question
Comment: The largest payoff for "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" is its author's thorough research through published materials to gather observations of homosexuality in the animal kingdom. It has been traditional for biological field observers to place any such information in footnotes or appendices, maybe with a joking, slighting reference. A result of this, in combination with pressure from Family Values pressure groups, is a complete absence of the mention of animal homosexuality in standard biology textbooks. Bagemihl's compilation of others' research empowers exploration of alternative views.
The author presents various attempts at explaining the causes and uses of homosexuality. As science moves along, these themes will get more detailed attention and explanation.
For me, the transforming lesson runs like this. Everywhere scientists look there is evidence of homosexual behavior in primates, other mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, and insects. Occam's Razor (I.e., the simplest solution is the best one.) suggests that when they differentiated themselves from the rest of animals over 400 million years ago, vertibrates and insects were designed to allow a minority of individuals to display some homosexual behavior. Despite ongoing evolution and the mass extinctions at the end of the Permian, Triassic, Cretaceous, and other periods, the occasional homosexual proclivities of these species was not eradicated. This says to me that homosexuality is a part of Original Design and has been reaffirmed by its survival from crises that obliterated many species. The true religious view is that homosexuality is a part of creation that God wants and loves, for whatever reason.
Human civilization is quite recent. Abrahamic religion is two- to three-thousand years old and has been molded partially into the role of supporting the secular culture, which is centered on child-rearing, property ownership and inheritance, and on cultural precepts of majority rule and nobody is above the law. Homosexuals do not fit easily into the mainstream secular paradigm, as it is glorified and reinforced by organized religion.
If one takes this view, it becomes logical to say that criticisms of homosexuals as unnatural or against God's intent are blasphemies against God and His Creation. Pronouncements that homosexuality is to be punished because it is against God's will are takings of the Lord's name in vain. People who rely on the winks or preachings of religious leaders to excuse violence against or stealings from homosexuals may be in for a surprise when they arrive at the Pearly Gates.
In sum, "Biological Exuberance" provides a useful counterweight to traditional biological research, standard textbooks, and rote religious attacks on homosexuality. This book is not a special pleading but an objective gathering of information from sources who had no intention of helping the cause of homosexuals. The book may trigger some rethinking of the legitimacy of homosexuality in the world.
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Title: A Natural History of Homosexuality by Francis Mark Mondimore ISBN: 0801854407 Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr Pub. Date: November, 1996 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak ISBN: 188636009X Publisher: Alamo Square Press Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape by F. B. M. De Waal, Frans Lanting, Frans De Waal, Frans de Waal ISBN: 0520216512 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe by JOHN BOSWELL ISBN: 0679751645 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 30 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Sexual Selections : What We Can and Can't Learn about Sex from Animals by Marlene Zuk ISBN: 0520240758 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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