Lek's talk about sex (not a spelling error)

For centuries our teachings of the intimate lives of non-human animals has been shaped by a predominantly Western, Christian, male-dominated body of research. We’ve pigeon-holed animal reproductive behaviours into neat “2.4 children and a picket fence” parcels that are easy to swallow and that fit our own ideologies, but what are the family and sex lives of other-than-humans really like? This session will shine a light on some of the myriad ways that animals select mates, safeguard paternity, ensure genetic diversity and raise offspring. From detachable penises to pregnancy pauses, communes to abandonment or single mothering to multiple fathers, the natural world shows us that ‘normal’ is often anything, everything and ever evolving.