Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity

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Any book on homosexuality and transgender in animals is necessarily unfinished, a work in progress. The subject is so vast, the types of behaviors so varied, and the number of species involved so large, as to defy any attempt at comprehensiveness. And the scientific research in this area is only in its infancy: new developments and discoveries are continually being made, and the extent of uncharted and as yet unknowable terrain is so great as to render any attempt at completeness hopelessly premature.

Notwithstanding such formidable challenges, this book endeavors to present a reasonably extensive and up-to-date account of the subject. To help narrow the field, certain parameters have been chosen: only examples of homosexual behavior or transgender that have been scientifically documented, for example, are covered in this book (such documentation includes published reports in scientific journals and monographs, and/or firsthand observations by zoologists, wildlife biologists, and other trained animal observers, corroborated by multiple sources whenever possible). Not only does this limit the number of species to be included (many more cases undoubtedly occur but have not been so documented), it establishes a uniform and verifiable platform of data on which to base further discussion. In addition, the book focuses primarily on mammals and birds—not because other types of animals are somehow less interesting or “important,” but simply because space and time limitations necessitate that not all species can be covered. These two groups are considered to be sufficiently representative and to have a broad enough appeal to warrant their inclusion, however arbitrary the exclusion of others may be.

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