Vilangugalum Paalinamum

About the book

This book is an exploration of Gender in the animal world. Though it has been established long ago that "Gender" is purely a construct of human society, we need to tease out the individual aspects of this concept and find out which are constructs and which are already inbuilt into our genes and physiologies. Are mothers naturally more inclined towards childcare compared to fathers? Is homosexuality unnatural and against the Darwinian concept of evolution? What is the gender divide in Animal social groups? How do hermaphroditic animals mate? – The answers to such questions will provide a better understanding of human society and how we look at gender.

In order to do so, the book takes a detailed tour of the animal world and explores how gender operates among various animal groups. Concepts like parental care, polygamy, brood parasitism, mating and courtship rituals, motherhood, sexuality, animal pregnancies, lactation in the animal world, hermaphroditism, homosexuality and gender roles of social animals have been analyzed. The book also presents a critique of anthropomorphism and sexism in ethological studies. From the depths of the deep blue sea to the icy worlds of Antarctica, this book crisscrosses the world in search of the rainbow expressions of gender and presents a strong argument against sexism in human society.

About the author

Narayani Subramanian is a Marine Biologist with a PhD in fish and fisheries. She is the recipient of the Young Scientist Award from the Department of Science and Technology. When she is not daydreaming about the sea or eating red velvet cake, she writes about ecology and marine biology. She has written 4 books in Tamil focusing on Marine Biology, Wildlife Biology and Gender. She can be found on any of the beaches in Tamilnadu looking equally wide-eyed and sleep deprived.