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Lief dier: over bestialiteit
Cultuurhistorische studie over bestialiteit, de erotische component van omgang met dieren.
223 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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September 1, 2012
Not sure what to expect, I borrowed this book to learn more about bestiality. The first six chapters cover the history of man loving beasts. The Egyptians, Greeks, Indian to name a few exhibit animals in their arts mating with humans. This is nothing new to me. Classic stories of satyr romping with young women and Leda with her swan lover are examined.
After the classical examination, the book turns towards the raising of exotic animals by humans. Based on what I've read, I find animals imprinting on humans is a bad thing. Animals are incapable of adjusting to their natural habitat or integrate within their own species. A very sad example was a chimpanzee named Lucy who was raised by humans. She liked to sleep on mattresses and had her food prepared for her. Before she went to bed at night, she'd look through the magazine rack. They even taught her how to sign language for food, help, etc. Then her keepers decided to "naturalize" her back to the wild. She hated camping. When they released her to the wild, she kept signing for food, hunger and help. Even several years after her forced release into the wilds, when she came across human researchers she signed for "Help me get out." This actually breaks my heart a little. This animal is raised in a lap of luxury, it's all she knows. She has NO skill sets to survive in the wild and doesn't have a pleasant way to survive. It makes me very angry at humans who do this. I find this cruel and unacceptable treatment to animals. This is just vile.
The chapters go on to explain about animal behaviour and how primates have no sense of smell so it's easier to trick them into mating with a species that is outside of theirs. Same with birds raising other bird's eggs. Birds can't smell the difference so they can raise other bird species. For example, many zoos use chickens to brood and hatch the eggs of exotic birds. The book goes on to explain artificial insemination from hoofed animals down to bees. It's all a bit bizarre.
The chapters which are most disturbing to date is the one covering animal and human experimentation of organ transplants. The first is about a Dutchman, Herman Moens (p. 88-90) who with the support of Queen Wilhelmina to create half human half gorilla offspring. In the early 1900s Moens planned a experiment where he would take the "lower race of negroes" and mate them with gorillas. I have no words. His theory was that the women can easily be inseminated with gorillas so that they could produce half breed offspring for him study. Obviously, these hybrid or strange offspring would need teachers who are capable of working with mentally retarded children. This was his supposition. There are so many things wrong with this experiment I can't even begin to start without becoming irate.
At the midway part to this book, I've also learned of the French Doctor Serge Voronff who transplanted through grafts - monkey glands to aging men. Apparently this helped old men become young again and be randy with women. I guess in 1920s, this was the Viagra of their time. It finally came to an end when he tried to graft horse testicles to the shriveled up old human testes and it didn't work. Yet again, I have no words.
The book continues to discuss how animals have no rights and that this is a crime for some. So some countries gave animal rights which means they are responsible for their actions. Pigs, dogs, etc where put on trial, sentenced to death and hung. W.T.F. Sometimes it boggles my mind.
Talking about religion, we find out that sodomy refers to bestiality, homosexuality and anything unnatural because Sodom was the place where all unnatural sex took place. In more recent years, it's used only for anal sex. Another religious point was made that some of the Muslim countries condemn anyone having sex with a Jewish person because that is considered bestiality. Yet again I have no words.
The book ends with basic explanation with the increase in people owning pets and the blurring of lines, more and more people will be committing bestiality in forms that we find "acceptable". It would not be hard to foresee people who love their pets to "love them" more.
This book was a bit dry at times. The pictures of animals copulating with humans were interesting. This book is recommended for those who want to learn the history of bestiality and one man's theory of what will happen regarding the taboos of animal/human relations.
After the classical examination, the book turns towards the raising of exotic animals by humans. Based on what I've read, I find animals imprinting on humans is a bad thing. Animals are incapable of adjusting to their natural habitat or integrate within their own species. A very sad example was a chimpanzee named Lucy who was raised by humans. She liked to sleep on mattresses and had her food prepared for her. Before she went to bed at night, she'd look through the magazine rack. They even taught her how to sign language for food, help, etc. Then her keepers decided to "naturalize" her back to the wild. She hated camping. When they released her to the wild, she kept signing for food, hunger and help. Even several years after her forced release into the wilds, when she came across human researchers she signed for "Help me get out." This actually breaks my heart a little. This animal is raised in a lap of luxury, it's all she knows. She has NO skill sets to survive in the wild and doesn't have a pleasant way to survive. It makes me very angry at humans who do this. I find this cruel and unacceptable treatment to animals. This is just vile.
The chapters go on to explain about animal behaviour and how primates have no sense of smell so it's easier to trick them into mating with a species that is outside of theirs. Same with birds raising other bird's eggs. Birds can't smell the difference so they can raise other bird species. For example, many zoos use chickens to brood and hatch the eggs of exotic birds. The book goes on to explain artificial insemination from hoofed animals down to bees. It's all a bit bizarre.
The chapters which are most disturbing to date is the one covering animal and human experimentation of organ transplants. The first is about a Dutchman, Herman Moens (p. 88-90) who with the support of Queen Wilhelmina to create half human half gorilla offspring. In the early 1900s Moens planned a experiment where he would take the "lower race of negroes" and mate them with gorillas. I have no words. His theory was that the women can easily be inseminated with gorillas so that they could produce half breed offspring for him study. Obviously, these hybrid or strange offspring would need teachers who are capable of working with mentally retarded children. This was his supposition. There are so many things wrong with this experiment I can't even begin to start without becoming irate.
At the midway part to this book, I've also learned of the French Doctor Serge Voronff who transplanted through grafts - monkey glands to aging men. Apparently this helped old men become young again and be randy with women. I guess in 1920s, this was the Viagra of their time. It finally came to an end when he tried to graft horse testicles to the shriveled up old human testes and it didn't work. Yet again, I have no words.
The book continues to discuss how animals have no rights and that this is a crime for some. So some countries gave animal rights which means they are responsible for their actions. Pigs, dogs, etc where put on trial, sentenced to death and hung. W.T.F. Sometimes it boggles my mind.
Talking about religion, we find out that sodomy refers to bestiality, homosexuality and anything unnatural because Sodom was the place where all unnatural sex took place. In more recent years, it's used only for anal sex. Another religious point was made that some of the Muslim countries condemn anyone having sex with a Jewish person because that is considered bestiality. Yet again I have no words.
The book ends with basic explanation with the increase in people owning pets and the blurring of lines, more and more people will be committing bestiality in forms that we find "acceptable". It would not be hard to foresee people who love their pets to "love them" more.
This book was a bit dry at times. The pictures of animals copulating with humans were interesting. This book is recommended for those who want to learn the history of bestiality and one man's theory of what will happen regarding the taboos of animal/human relations.
February 19, 2019
good fucking god. what a racist book. those of you who think ive missed the awesome 'points' the author was trying to make and failing miserably to do so really need airholes drilled into your skulls. first of all, this is a book on bestiality, the taboos surrounding it, and how it actually surrounds our national and religious histories. so far, so good. the problem comes when the author compares having sex with animals to having sex with black people in the first chapter. i nearly gave up right then and there but i persisted!
then we get to chapter three and it is clear that if this author wanted to make an anti racist statement, he should not have implied nonwhite people, particularly black people, are animals, in any way, shape, or form. he then goes on to talk about biology for a bit and how animal species cannot produce viable offspring and of course returns to the issue of interracial sex. i believe he tried to make some triumphant anti racist statement by declaring that at the height of jim crow, 75% of whites didnt want to share a hairdresser with black people yet 50% of the US had had some sort of sexual encounter with animals. wow. thanks, i guess.
of course, this (literally) single statement isnt at al mitigated by his discussion of HUMAN ZOOS and how casual it all is to him. he easily goes from discussing nonhuman animals to detailing the outrageous history of white people claiming indigenous peoples in africa and asia and australia are ugly half-man, half-human hybrids who kidnap 'negro women' (and said negro women sure do enjoy it!). there is no criticism here. he just presents this as something that happened, isnt it quirky.
fuck this book, actually. ive never dropped a book so early before but i cant imagine it gets any better.
then we get to chapter three and it is clear that if this author wanted to make an anti racist statement, he should not have implied nonwhite people, particularly black people, are animals, in any way, shape, or form. he then goes on to talk about biology for a bit and how animal species cannot produce viable offspring and of course returns to the issue of interracial sex. i believe he tried to make some triumphant anti racist statement by declaring that at the height of jim crow, 75% of whites didnt want to share a hairdresser with black people yet 50% of the US had had some sort of sexual encounter with animals. wow. thanks, i guess.
of course, this (literally) single statement isnt at al mitigated by his discussion of HUMAN ZOOS and how casual it all is to him. he easily goes from discussing nonhuman animals to detailing the outrageous history of white people claiming indigenous peoples in africa and asia and australia are ugly half-man, half-human hybrids who kidnap 'negro women' (and said negro women sure do enjoy it!). there is no criticism here. he just presents this as something that happened, isnt it quirky.
fuck this book, actually. ive never dropped a book so early before but i cant imagine it gets any better.
March 13, 2021
Het is dat dit een boek van Midas Dekkers is. Anders had ik waarschijnlijk geen boek over dit onderwerp gelezen. Midas Dekkers beschrijft het onderwerp bestialiteit vanuit verschillende punten. Hoe men door de eeuwen heen tegen seks met dieren aankijkt, maar ook hoe verschillende culturen er over denken. Ook hoe het onderwerp in literatuur en kunst belicht wordt komt aan bod. Overigens gaat het boek niet alleen over daadwerkelijke seks met dieren, maar ook de liefde die mensen voor hun huisdieren hebben. Ook besteedt hij aandacht hoe het in de natuur geregeld is tussen dieren onderling. Ik las overigens in een review dat iemand dit boek en de schrijver racistisch vindt, omdat Midas Dekkers in een hoofdstuk aangeeft dat sommige blanken vroeger seks met een neger vergeleken met seks met dieren. Diegene begrijpt blijkbaar niet dat dat geen mening is van de schrijver zelf, maar hoe bepaalde mensen toen dachten. Dat vind ik ook goed van dit boek. Hoewel Midas Dekkers af en toe zijn mening wel geeft, is het toch met name een feitelijke uiteenzetting over het onderwerp. Dat maakt dat dit boek niet vulgair wordt en het interessant is.
July 31, 2011
Het is de feitenkennis van Midas Dekkers uitgesmeerd over een opmerkelijk en interessant onderwerp op een leuke manier beschreven. Ik vind het alleen jammer dat hij nooit echt de diepte in gaat, daardoor zou dit werk meer indruk op me maken en zou ik er meer van onthouden.
February 16, 2025
En artig og lettsindig bok om et tabubelagt tema.
Boken går over det (litt for)nære forholdet mellom mennesker og dyr gjennom historien, fra de gamle Greske myter som ofte involverte samleie med dyr, oltidens Egypt og deres guder i dyreform, til dagens kjæledyrelskere. Fra romerrikets underholdning med slavinner som ble voldtatt ihjel og spist av villdyr til gammeltestamentlige lover om å drepe både dyr og mann hvis det oppstår samleie mellom disse. Kunstnere fra antikkens India til Dali som har malt dyr og mennesker nakne om enandre. I bokens tidlige kapitler dekkes og den tidlige koloniseringens ekstremt rasistiske syn på ikke-europeere, spesielt afrikanere, og hvordan disse ble sett på som en mellomting mellom dyr og mennesker, med de følgende seksuelle tabuene.
Forfatteren skriver underholdende, og ved å humorisere et tabu tema blir det uskadliggjort, og det er en fortellerstil som fungerer godt her. Jeg vurderte å gi boken 4 stjerner, men jeg føler at den mangler noen klar konklusjon, helhetlig teori, eller slående innsikt. God samling anekdoter.
Boken går over det (litt for)nære forholdet mellom mennesker og dyr gjennom historien, fra de gamle Greske myter som ofte involverte samleie med dyr, oltidens Egypt og deres guder i dyreform, til dagens kjæledyrelskere. Fra romerrikets underholdning med slavinner som ble voldtatt ihjel og spist av villdyr til gammeltestamentlige lover om å drepe både dyr og mann hvis det oppstår samleie mellom disse. Kunstnere fra antikkens India til Dali som har malt dyr og mennesker nakne om enandre. I bokens tidlige kapitler dekkes og den tidlige koloniseringens ekstremt rasistiske syn på ikke-europeere, spesielt afrikanere, og hvordan disse ble sett på som en mellomting mellom dyr og mennesker, med de følgende seksuelle tabuene.
Forfatteren skriver underholdende, og ved å humorisere et tabu tema blir det uskadliggjort, og det er en fortellerstil som fungerer godt her. Jeg vurderte å gi boken 4 stjerner, men jeg føler at den mangler noen klar konklusjon, helhetlig teori, eller slående innsikt. God samling anekdoter.
September 18, 2024
In the past 30 years since this came out, there have been maybe three other major publications released on the topic of bestiality and zoophilia in total, and neither of them has taken it on in such an entertainingly speculative, casually philosophical fashion as this. This wonderfully daring and naughty book takes you down the rabbit hole (maybe even that one) for a weird and uncanny journey through a secret history of things which many so-called civilized people outright refuse to even think about - but what was it that has led us to this point in the first place? That's just one of many questions discussed here in depth. One aspect where it differs from the other zoophilia texts is by its relative lightheartedness, preferring to focus on the practice's "outward" cultural impact (and from Greek myths to bawdy jokes and company mascots, there has been no shortage of this) and theoretical implications, rather than the modern psychiatrical discourse around the practice (including the whole zoosexual/bestialist/zoosadist distinction) - less brutal reality, more food for the wild imagination, even if even it would benefit from some corrections and clarifications in places nowadays.
Also included are essays on related topics like interspecies hybridization (from mythical centaurs through mule breeding to xenograft technology), the shifting nature of human exceptionalism and its past flirtations with racism (and yes, the dunces among you will be offended, if you fail to notice that Dekkers is citing, not condoning, historical sources), insightful takes on the raw biochemistry behind attraction (applicable even to lovers of featherless bipeds and naked apes) and the ways that humans "love" their pets even platonically... and many page-sized historical illustrations depicting the nasty, dated all the way back to the paleolithic.
Also included are essays on related topics like interspecies hybridization (from mythical centaurs through mule breeding to xenograft technology), the shifting nature of human exceptionalism and its past flirtations with racism (and yes, the dunces among you will be offended, if you fail to notice that Dekkers is citing, not condoning, historical sources), insightful takes on the raw biochemistry behind attraction (applicable even to lovers of featherless bipeds and naked apes) and the ways that humans "love" their pets even platonically... and many page-sized historical illustrations depicting the nasty, dated all the way back to the paleolithic.
August 11, 2015
Bestialiteit, dat lijkt toch een beetje een freakshowonderwerp. Dekkers trekt het echter een stuk breder dan mensen die 's nachts stiekem de paardenstal bezoeken. Mythologie (Leda en de zwaan, Europa en de stier), religie en daarmee samenhangende taboes rond dieren, films (King Kong) en literatuur en onze toch wel rare relatie met onze huisdieren, met wie geknuffeld en gestreeld wordt tot het rand.
Dit alles in Dekkers' bekende amusante, maar goed geïnformeerde en gedocumenteerde stijl. Een prima boek op het grensvlak van biologie en cultuur dus, hoewel je Dekkers' idiosyncratische standpunten soms voor lief moet nemen (een feminist zal de man nooit worden.)
Oh, en rijk geïllustreerd.
Dit alles in Dekkers' bekende amusante, maar goed geïnformeerde en gedocumenteerde stijl. Een prima boek op het grensvlak van biologie en cultuur dus, hoewel je Dekkers' idiosyncratische standpunten soms voor lief moet nemen (een feminist zal de man nooit worden.)
Oh, en rijk geïllustreerd.
February 13, 2016
Echt Midas Dekkers, knap om over dit onderwerp een boek te schrijven zonder dat het al te ongemakkelijk wordt. Dat wordt het af en toe wel, daar niet van, maar hij weet het thema veel breder te trekken dan de titel suggereert, en juist dat maakt het boek zo sterk. Niet handig om mee te nemen in de trein, maar (thuis) met erg veel plezier gelezen.
July 28, 2012
Plezant geschreven boek over een ongewoon onderwerp - typische stijl van Dekkers: historische & biologische weetjes en anekdotes, eigenwijze & kritische blik, vlotte en grappig ironische pen, de mens een spiegel voorhoudend...
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May 23, 2012Wat kan je hier over zeggen. Een boek over de bestialiteit door de eeuwen heen. Verwacht geen verhalen over seks met dieren, maar meer hoe de omgang met dieren in de loop der eeuwen veranderde.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews