Copulation in the Animal Kingdom (and beyond!)

This week the Oberlin SIC (Sexual Information Center) brings us their annual Safer Sex Week to promote sexual awareness, education, and positivity. As often as issues of sex and sexuality are discussed in the context of humanities here at Oberlin, there are countless relevant topics to explore within the natural sciences. So, I present to you, from the Oberlin College Science Library, this blog post to introduce you to just a few of the interesting texts we have on our shelves!

To get you started, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, by Mary Roach, is a both scientifically engaging and utterly entertaining read if you'd like to pick something up for fun and learn about historical and current research that's been conducted on the topic of human sex.

For all you neuro majors out there, if you're interested in the neuroscience and endocrinology behind sexuality, Biological Substrates of Human Sexuality would provide a great look into the most recent findings in this field.

Moving beyond human sex and sexuality, if you have an interest in insects, marine fishes, plants (regarding mate choice, or an introduction to their reproductive biology, perhaps), crustaceans, animal homosexuality, monogamy, or hermaphroditism, we have plenty to fuel your curiosity!

Finally, if you're in the mood to watch a movie this weekend (because, let's face it, reading period and finals are almost here and you're running out of down-time...) check out our DVD shelf for The Botany of Desire, based on the book by Michael Pollan. This may be somewhat of a stretch for this blog entry but definitely worth mentioning, as it explores the concepts of sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control in the context of four plants that are tied closely to our lives.