Against Nature? was an exhibition on

homosexuality in animals Various non-human animal species exhibit behavior that can be interpreted as homosexual or bisexual. This may include same-sex sexual activity, courtship, affection, pair bonding, and parenting among same-sex animal pairs.Braithwaite, L. W., " ...

made by the

Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo The Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo ( no, Naturhistorisk museum, NHM) is Norway's oldest and largest museum of natural history. It is situated in the neighborhood of Tøyen in Oslo, Norway. It traces its roots to the Universi ...

, Norway. The exhibition focused on the occurrence and function of homosexuality in animals. It ran from September 2006 to August 2007.

History

The exhibit contained pictures, animals and models of species known to engage in homosexuality, showing among other things

southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

s and

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

s engaged in same-sex pairing. The museum said one of its aims was to "help to de-mystify homosexuality among people... we hope to reject the all too well known argument that homosexual behaviour is a crime against nature." Most of the exhibition was based on the works of

Bruce Bagemihl Bruce Bagemihl is a Canadian biologist, linguist, and author of the book ''Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity''. Life and career He completed his BA at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1981, and served on th ...

and Joan Roughgarden. The exhibition was initiated by the

Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority The Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority (''ABM-utvikling'' or ''Statens senter for arkiv, bibliotek og museum'') is a Norwegian government agency under the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs responsible for archival, lib ...

(ABM) as part of their "Break" program, encouraging museums, libraries and archives to do research and exhibitions of controversial and taboo subjects. The exhibition was a direct answer to this challenge, and received financial support from ABM.

Reception

The exhibition was well received, including by the museum's regular visiting groups, mainly families.Europe , Oslo gay animal show draws crowds
BBC News (2006-10-19). Retrieved on 2011-02-15. The exhibit was on show in Oslo,

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

Genova Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Ge ...

and in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

(in the last as "Rainbow Animals").

References

External links

Against Nature? exhibition in OsloNatural History Museum at the University of Oslo
Ethology LGBT in Norway Sexual orientation and science University of Oslo Science exhibitions Works about animal sexuality {{ethology-stub

History

Reception

See also

References

External links