Sunday, June 23, 2024, 4:30 PM, Vogue Theatre (special sneak preview screening)
available in the Digital Screening Room streaming encore
 |
| Second Nature |
As a child, I was taught that nature and natural selection prescribe certain gender roles and behaviors. Females are smaller, less aggressive, more selective in mating, and more nurturing with their offspring. Males are larger, more aggressive, more likely to be promiscuous, and less likely to be involved in caring for their young. That turns out to be a view shaped by projecting 19th-century human norms onto animals, who often show much greater complexity. First, there are numerous species in which an individual can change its sex, and in some cases change and change back. Every mammal species and many other animals have been found to engage in homosexual behavior, both males and females. And bonobos, one of our closest genetic relatives, live in largely peaceful groups in a matriarchal structure in which the females are dominant in almost every respect. Disputes are generally settled by having sex, and the physical violence that does occur is often female-on-male.
The bottom line, as this wonderful documentary illustrates with copious examples, is that humans are the only primate species with taboos against homosexual behavior and gender nonconformity. It is not homosexuality that is abnormal, it is homophobia that is abnormal. Along the way, filmmaker Drew Denny interviews multiple BIPOC wildlife experts, because the “traditional” way of looking at animal gender and sexuality is deeply rooted in white cis-male patriarchy. The reality is that diversity is an evolutionary benefit, and rigid conformity is an evolutionary risk. Second Nature is a joy to watch, and definitely a MUST SEE, especially if you want to answer back people who insist that there are only two sexes and that biological sex determines gender.
• IMDb [director] • Official website • Filmmaker • Twitter • Instagram: @SecondNatureDoc • Facebook • preview • other •
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