Loving Animals by Joanna Bourke
Renowned historian Joanna Bourke explores the modern history of bestiality.
"Bourke believes society should take a more nuanced approach to the matterIn her new book, Loving Animals, she points out that studies suggesting a link between bestiality and psychosis should be treated with caution due to sampling bias, because they were conducted on people already within the penal system, rather than a cross-section of the population. The sexually frustrated young farm-hand who interferes with one of his mares shouldn’t necessarily occupy the same taxonomic box as the bona fide sex pest; his indiscretion is, in the words of the psychiatrist Philip Q. Roche, an 'adaptive expedient of bucolic loneliness'—a matter of circumstance rather than proclivity; contingent rather than pathological." -- Houman Barekat * Times Literary Supplement *
"In this courageous book, Bourke combines scholarship and clear prose to tackle head-on one of our most stigmatized taboos—sexual relations between humans and nonhumans. In doing so, she provides an illuminating perspective on a subject too often swept under the rug. Even if so-called zoophilia were a rare aberration, it ought to be addressed. That it is far more widespread than commonly believed justifies the need for thorough, contemporary examination." -- Jonathan Balcombe, author of "What a Fish Knows" and "Super Fly"
“This bold and imaginative book is thoughtful and—inevitably—provocative. With characteristic compassion and insight, Bourke undertakes a tour de force of historical and cultural attitudes towards human-animal relations to guide us through serious ethical and political questions concerning sexuality, power, and consent.” -- Julie-Marie Strange, Durham University
"Bourke’s post-anthropocentric approach to human–animal love and lust is a remarkable and much-needed contribution to both queer studies and animal studies. She offers a critical and thorough analysis of the joys, hopes, and dangers of intimacy with the most vulnerable of all lovers—animals." -- Monika Bakke, Philosophy Department, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan (Poland)
"In this courageous book, Bourke combines scholarship and clear prose to tackle head-on one of our most stigmatized taboos—sexual relations between humans and nonhumans. In doing so, she provides an illuminating perspective on a subject too often swept under the rug. Even if so-called zoophilia were a rare aberration, it ought to be addressed. That it is far more widespread than commonly believed justifies the need for thorough, contemporary examination." -- Jonathan Balcombe, author of "What a Fish Knows" and "Super Fly"
“This bold and imaginative book is thoughtful and—inevitably—provocative. With characteristic compassion and insight, Bourke undertakes a tour de force of historical and cultural attitudes towards human-animal relations to guide us through serious ethical and political questions concerning sexuality, power, and consent.” -- Julie-Marie Strange, Durham University
"Bourke’s post-anthropocentric approach to human–animal love and lust is a remarkable and much-needed contribution to both queer studies and animal studies. She offers a critical and thorough analysis of the joys, hopes, and dangers of intimacy with the most vulnerable of all lovers—animals." -- Monika Bakke, Philosophy Department, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan (Poland)
Joanna Bourke (Author)
Joanna Bourke is Professor Emerita of History at Birkbeck, University of London, a Fellow of the British Academy, and OBE. She is also the Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College. Her many books include Disgrace: Global Reflections on Sexual Violence (Reaktion, 2022).
Tom Moore (Author)
Joanna Bourke is Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London, a Fellow of the British Academy, and the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric (until 2023). Her many books include The Story of Pain: From Prayer to Painkillers (2014) and War and Art: A Visual History of Modern Conflict (2017).
Joanna Bourke is Professor Emerita of History at Birkbeck, University of London, a Fellow of the British Academy, and OBE. She is also the Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College. Her many books include Disgrace: Global Reflections on Sexual Violence (Reaktion, 2022).
Tom Moore (Author)
Joanna Bourke is Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London, a Fellow of the British Academy, and the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric (until 2023). Her many books include The Story of Pain: From Prayer to Painkillers (2014) and War and Art: A Visual History of Modern Conflict (2017).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781789143102 |
| ISBN 10 | 1789143101 |
| Title | Loving Animals |
| Author | Joanna Bourke |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Reaktion Books |
| Year published | 2020-10-12 |
| Number of pages | 184 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |