Episode 1: Bonobos

Queerly Natural

Hannah walks Ilana and Elizabeth through the discovery, appearance, ecology and queerness of the bonobo (Pan paniscus), a dark-haired ape found in the Congo Basin. Hint: for a little foreshadowing, take a look at that genus name!

For more information, take a look at our sources in the episode transcript on our website.

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Timestamps

Species introduction: 0:52

History of discovery: 2:11

Description of the bonobos’ looks: 5:55

Bonobo ecology (day-to-day life): 11:26

Bonobo ecology (social group formation): 17:35

Queerness of bonobos: 20:45, 33:04, 39:49

General discussion: 26:53, 37:22

Content warnings: white supremacy (3:16-3:52; 21:30-21:52; 22:32-23:00), animal welfare in captivity (7:52-8:12), human parenting in regards to kids leaving home (19:42-20:04), description of sex and explanation of the term missionary position (21:02-23:00), genitalia (23:28-23:44), homophobic science (31:41-32:43), frequency of bonobo sexual acts (33:52-35:20), description of sexual positions (36:55-37:17)

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About Us

Queerly Natural was created by Ilana Z, Hannah Roden, and Elizabeth Fuhrman. We are biologists fighting queerphobia, promoting underrepresented perspectives, teaching ecology, and helping queer people relate to the diverse organisms we live among on this beautiful planet! Our music is "Lo-Fi Music Guitar (Short Version)" by Migfus20 (https://freesound.org/people/Migfus20/sounds/578131/), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.