Queer Ducks (and Other Animals)
The Natural World of Animal Sexuality
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4.1 • 8 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
NPR's "All Things Considered," calls Queer Ducks "teenager-friendly. It's a Printz Honor young adult book filled with comics and humor and accessible science, and it's filled with research on the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world."
This groundbreaking illustrated YA nonfiction title from two-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer is a well-researched and teen-friendly exploration of the gamut of queer behaviors observed in animals.
A quiet revolution has been underway in recent years, with study after study revealing substantial same-sex sexual behavior in animals. Join celebrated author Eliot Schrefer on an exploration of queer behavior in the animal world—from albatrosses to bonobos to clownfish to doodlebugs.
In sharp and witty prose—aided by humorous comics from artist Jules Zuckerberg—Schrefer uses science, history, anthropology, and sociology to illustrate the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world. Interviews with researchers in the field offer additional insights for readers and aspiring scientists.
Queer behavior in animals is as diverse and complex—and as natural—as it is in our own species. It doesn’t set us apart from animals—it bonds us even closer to our animal selves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Employing conversational humor and personal anecdotes, interviews with a variety of scientists, and detailed information about the intersections of human bias and animal research, Schrefer deconstructs commonly held beliefs to reveal the world of queer animal behavior. Beginning with questions such as "Are there trans animals?" and "Does sexuality require sex?," chapters consider gender, sex, and sexuality through the lens of creatures that include albatrosses, bottlenose dolphins, and doodlebugs. Occasional grayscale comics by Zuckerberg position animals in a human safe space—a Gay Straight Alliance meeting—in which they engage in accepting and affirming species-specific discussions. Together, the creators deliver punch lines while revealing little-known animal facts about avian asexuality and polyamory, bisexual bonobos, and intersex deer, all supporting the argument that exclusionary takes on the natural world are a breakable human habit—and that, as science shows, queer behavior has never been "unnatural." Substantial back matter includes suggestions for further reading, a glossary, and an index. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 14–up.
