Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: Oct. 5

Parties, exhibits, concerts and more through Oct. 11

Published

14 years ago

October 4, 2012

A still from ‘Call Me Kuchu,’ which will be screened at the Katzen Art Center in Washington next week. (Blade file photo)

TODAY (Friday)

Whitman-Walker holds HIV testing at Anacostia Metro Station (1101 Howard Road SE) this afternoon from 1-3:30 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. This event is for people 21 and older. There is no cover charge. For details, visit towndc.com.

The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) is having its happy hour tonight starting at 5 p.m. All drinks are half off until 7:30 p.m. After 9 p.m., admission is $10. The dance floor opens at 11 with DJ Tim-Nice and DJ Cameron. For details, visit thebachelorsmill.com.

Phase 1 (528 8th St. SE) has its weekly dance party with DJ Jay Von Teese tonight starting at 7:30. Cover is $10. For more information, visit phase1dc.com.

The D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival continues tonight at 7 at Freer and Sackler Gallery of Art (1050 Independence Ave. SW) and later at 8 at the Goethe-Institut (812 7th St. NW). The festival is featuring films through Sunday, and tickets range from $12-$20. A VIP pass for all the screenings is $88. For details, visit http://www.apafilm2012.com.

Saturday, Oct. 6

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, is helping in food preparation and packing groceries for Food and Friends (219 Riggs Road, NE) this morning at 8. Later in the same morning, the group volunteers with the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation at Falls Church PetSmart (6100 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church) at 11:45 a.m. The organization is looking for dog handlers for their adoption events. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.

Adah Rose Gallery (3766 Howard Ave., Kensington) hosts the opening reception for “The Day Turned Into the City and the City Turned Into the Mind,” a series of paintings by Tom Drymon and photographs by Julie Wolstynski, this evening at 6:30. The night will include live music by White Chihuahua. For details, visit adahrosegallery.com.

Sunday, Oct. 7

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) holds its weekly Martini Sundays and Homowood Karaoke tonight. Karaoke starts at 10 p.m. and there is no charge for admission. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.) hosts “WTF: Check Up” tonight starting at 10. Cover is $5. For more information, visit towndc.com.

Monday, Oct. 8

The Youth Working Group Meeting is this evening at 6 at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., NW). The group is dedicated to positively impaction D.C. youth. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts its Martini Monday tonight at 10 p.m. There is now cover charge and martinis are $5. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com.

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14^th St., NW) holds its HIV+ Newly Diagnosed Support Group tonight at 7. It is a confidential support group for anyone recently diagnosed with HIV and the group welcomes all genders and sexual orientations. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.

Tuesday, Oct. 9

DC Bi Women meets tonight at 7 at Dupont Italian Kitchen (1637 17^th St. NW) in the upstairs room. For details, visit thedccenter.org.

Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) hosts its Safer Sex Kit packing program tonight from 7-10:30. The packing program is looking for more volunteers to help produce the kits because they say they are barely keeping up with demand. Admission is free and volunteers can just show up. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W) hosts its Flashback dance night with DJ Jason Royce starting at 10 p.m. There is no cover charge. For more details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14^th St., NW) holds its Coming Out-Women support group tonight at 7 p.m. This is a 10-week confidential discussion group for women who are exploring their interest in other women. It is open to all women regardless of age or experience in the coming out process. Registration is required to attend. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.

Wednesday, Oct. 10

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14^th St., NW) holds its gay men over 50 support group this evening at 6:30 p.m. The group is for gay men entering a new phase of life. Registration is required to attend. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

The Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight at 7:30 at the Dignity Center (721 8^th St., SE) for duplicate bridge. Everyone is welcome and reservations are not needed. For more information, visit lambdabridge.com.

Rainbow Response Monthly Meeting meets tonight at 7 at the D.C. Center (1318 U St. NW). This is a group of individuals collaborating to address intimate partner violence among the LGBT people in the D.C. area. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Phase 1 (525 8^th St. SE) hosts Jell-o wrestling tonight at 9. Attendees can enjoy $3 Miller Lights and Bourbon Gingers along with $4 shots of Hornitos. The club asks attendees to bring a towel and a change of clothes if they want to wrestle. For details, visit phase1dc.com.

The Big Gay Book Group meets tonight at 7 p.m. to discuss the gay classic “Kiss of the Spider Woman” by Manuel Puig, which explores sharp dialogue between a young socialist revolutionary and a middle-aged movie-obsessed gay man in an Argentine jail cell. Members meet at 1155 F Street NW, Suite 200. Newcomers welcome. For details, e-mail to [email protected] or visit biggaybookgroup.com.

Thursday, Oct. 11

Whitman-Walker Health provides HIV testing at The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8^th St., S.E.) tonight at 10. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.

“Call Me Kuchu,” a documentary about LGBT individuals in Uganda, is being screened at the Katzen Arts Center (4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW) this evening at 5:30. A q&a session will take place after the showing. For details, visit thedccenter.org.

D.C. Center hosts a reception with Blessed B Rwomushana, who works with Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights for Youth in Uganda, tonight at 6. There is a $5 suggested donation. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, is helping in food preparation and packing groceries for Food and Friends (219 Riggs Road, NE) this evening at 6. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W) is hosting its weekly Best Package Contest tonight at 9 p.m. There is a $3 cover and there are $2 vodka drinks. Participants in the contest can win $200 in cash prizes. The event is hosted by Lena Lett and music by DJ Chord, DJ Madscience, and DJ Sean Morris. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

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Books

New book reveals what we can learn from animal sex

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

Published

17 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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