Abstract Zoological narratives of intersexualities (‘hermaphroditism’), transformations of sex and same-sex sexual behaviours have long played significant roles in shaping ideas about sex more generally, for good and for bad. Eclectic references to sex-variant animals in classical and medieval texts traverse nebulous boundaries between fact and fantasy. Only slowly through the early modern era did observation supersede superstition. The discovery by English naturalist John Ray in 1660, that all slugs and snails were dual-sexed, situated hermaphroditism as an integral concern of naturalists as never before. Through the 1770s and 1780s, Scottish anatomist John Hunter inaugurated a new era in the medico-scientific study of sex, establishing intersexualities and transformations of sex as primary means of theorizing sex differences more broadly but delineating an overly sharp division between ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’ hermaphrodites. He even suggested, albeit briefly, how the division of sexes from hermaphrodite origins might have happened biologically, a question that was subsequently pursued by evolutionists including Erasmus Darwin and Charles Darwin. In contrast, zoological descriptions of same-sex sexual behaviours were published only rarely prior to the 19th century, a prevailing misunderstanding that animals did not engage in such behaviours playing important roles in shaping ‘natural law’ and Christian theology.

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多样性的界限：从亚里士多德到约翰·亨特的欧洲酷儿动物学

摘要 关于双性恋（“雌雄同体”）、性转变和同性性行为的动物学叙事长期以来一直在塑造更普遍的性观念方面发挥着重要作用，无论好坏。古典和中世纪文本中对性别变异动物的折衷参考跨越了事实与幻想之间的模糊界限。直到现代早期，观察才慢慢取代了迷信。英国博物学家约翰雷在 1660 年发现所有的蛞蝓和蜗牛都是双性的，这使得雌雄同体成为博物学家前所未有的关注点。在 1770 年代和 1780 年代，苏格兰解剖学家约翰·亨特开创了性医学科学研究的新纪元，将双性恋和性转变作为更广泛地理论化性别差异的主要手段，但在“自然”和“非自然”雌雄同体之间划定了过于尖锐的界限。他甚至简短地提出了性别与雌雄同体起源的划分可能是如何在生物学上发生的，这一问题随后被包括伊拉斯谟斯达尔文和查尔斯达尔文在内的进化论者所追究。相比之下，对同性性行为的动物学描述在 19 世纪之前很少发表，这是一种普遍的误解，即动物没有参与此类行为，在塑造“自然法”和基督教神学方面发挥着重要作用。雌雄同体起源的性别划分是如何在生物学上发生的，这个问题随后被包括伊拉斯谟斯达尔文和查尔斯达尔文在内的进化论者追究。相比之下，对同性性行为的动物学描述在 19 世纪之前很少发表，这是一种普遍的误解，即动物没有参与此类行为，在塑造“自然法”和基督教神学方面发挥着重要作用。雌雄同体起源的性别划分是如何在生物学上发生的，这个问题随后被包括伊拉斯谟斯达尔文和查尔斯达尔文在内的进化论者追究。相比之下，对同性性行为的动物学描述在 19 世纪之前很少发表，这是一种普遍的误解，即动物没有参与此类行为，在塑造“自然法”和基督教神学方面发挥着重要作用。