Arts & Entertainment

Calendar for April 16

Published

16 years ago

April 15, 2010

Friday, April 16

Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network sponsors its annual national Day of Silence at thousands of schools to raise awareness about anti-LGBT bullying. Visit dayofsilence.org for information.

Premiere of “Back Room” at Motley Bar (upstairs at EFN Lounge), 1318 9th St. N.W., from 11 p.m.-3 a.m.. It’s unexpected, underground and uninhibited. It’s a nod toward the old, with an eye toward the new.

Trailer Park Dance Party every Friday upstairs at the Green Lantern, 1335 Green Ct., N.W., starting at 9 p.m. The Trailer Park Dance Party features the one and only “Mama” and A-Ron.the.DJ

Insult comic Lisa “the Queen of Mean” Lampanelli performs at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore at 8 p.m. Call 410-783-8000 for tickets, which cost $36.75.

The Whitman-Walker Clinic HIV Mobile Testing Unit will be at Club Fuego, 1818 New York Ave., NE, 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m.

Gay District from 8:30 p.m. -10:30 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, a weekly, non-church affiliated discussion and social group for GBTQ men between 18 and 35. The group meets at 1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W. For more information, email [email protected].

Friday Night Erev Shabbat Services, 8:30-10 p.m., Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. Friday Night Services are followed by an Oneg Social. Please use the Q Street entrance.

Saturday, April 17

DJs Matt Bailer and Shea Van Horn present MIXTAPE at The Rock & Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. N.E., from 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m. (Note: Party starts at 10:30 this month.) $5 Cover. 21 and over. Specials: $5 Red Bull Vodka & $3 Miller Lite

One Trans Show: The MANgina Monologues Starring Riki Wilchins from 9-10 p.m. Cost: $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Visit http://www.washingtondcjcc.org/ for more info.

EQUALICON: FROM MARCH TO MOVEMENT, Mid-Atlantic LGBTQI Activist and Educational Conference, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., All Souls Church (2835 16th St. at Harvard Street, N.W.). Brought to you by Full Equality Now DC, free with suggested $10 donation. Presentations and workshops to include Grassroots Organizing for Full Equality, Civil Rights History, Transgender Politics, International LGBTQ Rights, Students Fight Back, Direct Action and Civil Disobedience, and National/Local Legislative Updates. Social mixer, held nearby, starts at 5:30 p.m. For more info or to register, go to FENDC.org or call 202-290-7078.

Philip Doyle & DJ Hector present: Fuego Reincarnated at Club Fuego,1818 New York Ave, N.E., from 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m.

Jell-O Wrestling returns to EFN Lounge, 1318 9th St. N.W. Anyone can enter the tournament. Win cash and prizes or just roll around with hot boys in your underwear. The wrestling starts at 9 p.m.

R&B soul singer Angie Stone plays the Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore, at 8 p.m. Tickets range $27-57; call 410-685-5086. On Sunday, Stone takes her show to the Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va. Call 703-549-7500 for tickets.

Join the DC Cowboys starting at 10 p.m. at the Green Lantern, 1335 Green Court, N.W., for their fun, sexy, late-night “After Dark Party” featuring shirtless Cowboys, live underwear auction, free giveaways, Jell-O shooters, and more.

Capital Pride Winds and Concert Band performs at 8 p.m. (and Sunday at 3 p.m.) at the Cafritz Auditorium at Bell Multicultural High School, 16th and Irving, N.W. (two blocks from the Columbia Heights Metro). The program, Shades of Blue will include Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with guest pianist AnnaMaria Mattolla, Grainger’s “Children’s March” as well as Frank Ticheli’s “Amazing Grace” and “Blue Shades”. Tickets $20 adults/$10 students and senior citizens; tickets available at the door or online at dcdd.org.

Sunday, April 18

The Victory Fund holds its 10th annual Champagne Brunch to celebrate the accomplishments of LGBT elected officials. This year’s event features lesbian Houston Mayor Annise Parker, gay Rep. Barney Frank and includes a tribute to gay D.C. Council member David Catania. Tickets $150, 11 a.m. at the Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Event is sold out; e-mail [email protected] to be added to the waiting list.

DC Ice Breakers Men’s Singles Party w/Co-Host Burgundy Crescent Volunteers at ACKC Cocoa Bar, 1529C 14th St., N.W. (next to Universal Gear). Mark your calendars for this special event as the DC Ice Breakers team up with Burgundy Crescent Volunteers for a social event just for the single guys. Meet single men from DC Ice Breakers and Burgundy Crescent Volunteers from 6-8 p.m. RSVP through the DC Ice Breakers (or Burgundy Crescent Volunteers) Facebook page, or just show up.

Monday, April 19

The DC Center, 1810 14th St. N.W., Washington, D.C., invites bears and their allies to join in for Bears do Yoga from 6:15-7:15 p.m.

Tuesday, April 20

Drag Bingo at Nellie’s Sports Bar, 900 U St., N.W., hosted by Shi-Queeta Lee, starting at 8 p.m. Free to play, lots of cool prizes.

Wednesday, April 21

Capital Pride Interfaith Service planning meeting, 7 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St., S.W.

The Tom Davaron Social Bridge Club will meet at 7:30 p.m., at the Dignity Center 721 8th St., S.E. (across from Marine Barracks). No partner needed. Visit lambdabridge.com; click “Social Bridge in Washington, DC”

POZ Wednesdays from 8 p.m.-12 a.m., upstairs at the Green Lantern, 1331 Green Ct., N.W. DJs C-Dubz, Keith Hoffman, Jason Horswill & T-N-T Music Factory rotate. $3 Grey Goose from 9-11p.m.

Thursday, April 22

The DC Center will screen Lydia Douglas’ 1998 documentary “Nappy” at 7 p.m. The film tells the story of 14 black women and girls who choose to stop straightening their hair and “go natural.” “Nappy” explores the often complex relationship between black women and Western ideals of beauty. The screening is free and open to everyone. The DC Center is located at 1810 14th St., N.W.

GLOV will hold its next regular meeting at 7 p.m. at the DC Center, 1810 14th St., N.W. The group’s regular meeting time going forward will be the fourth Thursday of each month. The primary mission of Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence is to work to reduce violence against LGBT people. For more information, e-mail infoglovdc.org.

Books

New book reveals what we can learn from animal sex

‘Poking the Squid’ on homosexuality, gender swapping, and more

Published

13 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy W.W. Norton)

‘Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn from Animal Sex’
By Perrin Roosevelt Ireland
c.2026, W.W. Norton
$29.99 241 pages

Birds do it.

According to Cole Porter, bees do, too, but it’s not exactly what he imagined. Wild and tame, avians, insects, and mammals all have sex – although not always as you’ve been told or for reasons you might think. Even educated fleas do it and, as in the new book, “Poking the Squid” by Perrin Roosevelt Ireland, humans can learn from them all.

If you read through scientific papers on animal reproduction, you might notice something unusual: for scientists, the word “sex” means a lot of different things.

Says Ireland, “It’s used to describe behaviors, biology, life histories, and more.”

That might be because animals are not simply binary.

Take, for instance, hyenas. It’s easy for the casual observer to mistake a male hyena for a female and vice versa because of stereotypes of anatomy. Mating, for hyenas, requires subordination for the male and a nifty trick on the part of the female’s body to get things done.

Our feathered friends are no birdbrains, either: black-browed albatrosses were once thought to be monogamous but global warming seems to have changed their nesting habits sometimes. Male flamingos have sex with one another, as a territorial thing; other birds and animals form same-sex pairs for other reasons.

The Chinese mantis eats her mate after fertilization. Female snakes, alpacas, guinea pigs, and monkeys are anatomically able to enjoy sex. Genitalia between species varies quite a bit; in fact, the vaginas of ducks “are highly complex.” Lionesses will mate up to 100 times when in heat. Female damselflies will change into a “third sex” to avoid overly aggressive mating males. Bearded dragons can change their sex, if needed, as can yellow clown goby fish. And seahorse pregnancy and birth sparked a book banning in Tennessee.

So, asks Ireland, if animals, including us, vary so much in biology and life, “… why are we using the word sex like it means something, anything, consistent?!”

Pick up “Poking the Squid,” page through it a few seconds, and you’ll see that the information here is largely told through cartoon-like drawings mixed with captions. It seems to be something on the lighter side, but don’t let that artwork fool you.

Author Perrin Roosevelt Ireland offers readers solid information that cozies up to the scholarly, with hard science, philosophy, feminism, and quotations from researchers to support it, thus furthering the narrative and hitting the points squarely. If you see the art and expect something lighthearted, comic, and small-talk-worthy, you could be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you want solid, wryly serious facts, you’re in for a treat.

There’s lots of learning to be gleaned here, and some slight nudge-wink whimsy to emphasize the absurdity of wrong-headed thinking. This can make readers feel like they’re in-the-know on the jokes, and the playfulness balances the seriousness of the information well.

So, serious, scholarly, or slightly silly, none of these are negative but you’re going to know what you want from a book like this. For the right reader, someone in the mood, “Poking the Squid” is wild.

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