Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: Dec. 27

Parties, concerts, support groups and more through Jan. 2

Published

13 years ago

December 27, 2013

Edie Beale, Jeffrey Johnson, gay news, Washington Blade

“Edie Beale LIVE at Reno Sweeney,” Jeffrey Johnson’s one-man recreation of Edie’s Beale’s appearance at Reno Sweeney Nightclub, plays at 54 Below (254 W. 54th St.) Monday night at 9:30 p.m. (Photo courtesy Johnson)

Friday, Dec. 27

Women in Their 20s, a social discussion group for lesbian, bisexual, transgender and all women interested in women, meets today at The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) from 8-9:30 p.m. All welcome to join. For details, visit thedccenter.org.

Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts “Bear Under Blacklight,” a glow-in-the-dark dance party, tonight from 6-11 p.m. There is no cover charge and admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For more information, visit towndc.com.

Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) holds a happy hour from 5-7:30 p.m. tonight with all drinks half price. Music begins at 11 p.m. Enjoy pool, video games and cards. Admission is $5 after 9 p.m. Must be 21 and over. For more details, visit bachelorsmill.com.

Saturday, Dec. 28

DJ Kidd Madonny brings “The Kidd Show,” a décor installation dance party, to Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight. Doors open at 10 p.m. Cover is $8 from 10-11 p.m. and $12 after 11 p.m. Drinks are $3 before 11 p.m. The drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit towndc.com.

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers for Food and Friends (219 Riggs Rd., N.E.) tonight from 8-10 a.m. Volunteers will chop vegetables and pack groceries. To volunteer, email [email protected]. For more details, visit burgundycrescent.org.

The Incomparable Freddy Cole’s Christmas Show is tonight at 8 p.m. at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club (7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda). Tickets are $40. Visit bethesdabluesjazz.com or call 240-330-4500 for tickets.

Sunday, Dec. 29

Touchstone Gallery’s (901 New York Ave., N.W.) exhibit “Deck the Walls,” a holiday all-media exhibit of affordable art, ends today. For details, visit touchstonegallery.com.

Perry’s (1811 Columbia Rd., N.W.) hosts its weekly “Sunday Drag Brunch” today from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost is $24.95 for an all-you-can-eat buffet. For more details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.

Monday, Dec. 30

If you happen to be in New York City, “Edie Beale LIVE at Reno Sweeney,” Jeffrey Johnson’s one-man recreation of Edie’s Beale’s appearance at Reno Sweeney Nightclub, plays at 54 Below (254 W. 54th St.) tonight at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $35. For more information, visit 54below.com.

The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) presents “Burlesque-A-Pades Holiday Spectacular!” at 7:30 p.m. with a vintage burlesque photos exhibit. The holiday-themed burlesque show features the host of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” Angie Potani. The exhibit covers local burlesque history with a focus on a selection of past and present burlesque performs with ties to New York City. Tickets are $29.50. For more information, visit birchmere.com.

Tuesday, Dec. 31

Cady’s Alley (3330 Cady’s Alley, N.W.) hosts its holiday bazaar today starting at 11 a.m. Popular fashion and home décor brands will be on sale such as Chubbies, Read Wall, Tuckernuck and Victoria Road. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. For more information, visit cadysalley.com.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre (641 D St., N.W.) presents “The Pajama Men: Just the Two of Each of Us,” a comedic duo performance by Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez, at 8 p.m. tonight. The show blends improve and physical comedy.Tickets are $35 in advance and $75 at the door. For details, visit woollymammoth.net.

Wednesday, Jan. 1

The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for social bridge. No partner needed. For more information, call 301-345-1571.

‘Zoolights,” a holiday light attraction, has its last day at Smithsonian’s National Zoo (3001 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) today from 5:30-9 p.m. Admission is free. For details, visit nationalzoo.si.edu.

Thursday, Jan. 2

The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) hosts “Lesbian Studies, Lesbian Scholars: New Pathways, New Futures” today from noon-7 p.m. The goal is to build a strong network of scholars focusing on lesbians and current projects. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.

SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) provides free and confidential HIV testing drop-in hours today from 3-5 p.m. For more information, visit smyal.org.

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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

16 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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