Poking the Squid
What We Can Learn from Animal Sex
$41.53
- Hardcover
272 pages
- Release Date
18 July 2026
Summary
In delightful watercolor comics of pregnant seahorse dads, spider oral sex, and the four-headed echidna penis, Perrin Roosevelt Ireland takes us on a wild biodiversity ride through queerness, infidelity, consent, divorce, sex change, and even sexual cannibalism in the animal world. Poking the Squid illustrates the splendid diversity of nature’s eroticism. For too long, science has prudishly obscured the wildly creative kinkiness of animal sexual behavior. But Poking the Squid
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781324089049 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1324089040 |
| Author: | Perrin Roosevelt Ireland |
| Publisher: | WW Norton & Co |
| Imprint: | WW Norton & Co |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 272 |
| Release Date: | 18 July 2026 |
| Weight: | 945g |
| Dimensions: | 30mm x 188mm x 236mm |
You Can Find This Book In
Critics Review
Remarkably engaging, funny and scientifically rigorous, Poking the Squid zooms in beautifully on the astonishing diversity of sex and gender in the natural world unveiled in recent decades. Books like these will help catalyze a broader shift in public understanding, replacing older, narrower ideas with a more nuanced, scientifically-accurate, and intellectually adventurous view of life.–Lixing Sun, author of On the Origin of Sex
Far-ranging and eye-opening… Every page of Poking the Squid bears fascinating information and gorgeous, often hilarious, watercolor comics that impart wisdom, boost empathy and induce awe all at once.–Linda M. Castellitto, BookPage, starred review
Poking the Squid is a kaleidoscopic tour through the weird and wonderful diversity of animal sex. With juicy illustrations and thoughtful text, Perrin Roosevelt Ireland reminds us that humans occupy a narrow band of all possible experience. Multiplicities, not binaries, are the norm in nature. This book is a celebration of biological diversity and a call to challenge our prior assumptions: Relationships are at the center of all life, but they might not look how you’d expect.–Zoë Schlanger, author of New York Times bestseller The Light Eaters
Perrin Roosevelt Ireland
Perrin Roosevelt Ireland is an artist and environmentalist. For a decade, she worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), ultimately as deputy to the executive director. Her artwork has been published in Discover, Nature, Scientific American, and The Rumpus. She serves on the board of the Roosevelt Institute, was an inaugural Artist in Residence at the New York Aquarium, and is a Banff Graphic Novel Resident. Perrin lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her cats (and muses) Ursula and Pudge.
Returns
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.