For a number of reasons, humans have always had a complicated relationship with sex and sexuality. In his book, Nature’s Wild, Andil Gosine explores the complex history behind these feelings towards homosexuality, clothing, gender, and sex as a whole. Throughout his book and across a number of studies, Gosine argues that these attitudes stem from the human desire to distance ourselves from being animals. He explores one of the sources of this mindset primarily through a history of colonialism and colonial law, and goes on to discuss how these ideas persist today. He also includes how race, white supremacy, and religion play a role. Andil Gosine is currently a professor of Environmental Arts and Justice at York University. He is a well published and respected author, focused on environmental arts, environmental justice, and Caribbean sexualities. Nature’s Wild is a culmination of Gosine’s own personal experiences and his archival research, including historic accounts and literature and primary and secondary sources.

Gosine breaks up Nature’s Wild into six different sections. The first section introduces us to the author, who describes a number of anecdotes from his time in a Catholic school, Presentation. Gosine starts this first chapter by explaining the fixation on homosexuality that he experienced in adoloencence. Gosine’s all male Catholic school was a place where open homosexuality was not accepted, but there was still a lot of homoerotic socialization that took place among the boys. However, it was often done in an almost ironic manner that “mimicked priests’ condemnation of homosexuality” (14). This social practice also brought to light the normalization of sexual assuault and sexually violent rituals that take place in exclusively male spaces. Gosine discusses a few examples of this, calling attention to some hazing rituals that commonly take place in fraternities and at his Catholic school. He argues that these rituals “grant permission for the boys to enact anal penetration” and that homosexuality is accepted in this context because it is given out as a form of punishment and shame (15). One such ritual that took place at Presentation was pungah, a homoerotic wrestling game in which two boys fought in pairs, often shirtless. In a historical context, pungah was a term for sodomy. 

To European colonizers, sodomy was both an explanation and a justification. Sodomy explained why Indigenous groups dressed differently, acted differently, and had genders and gender norms that did not match the European ideal. To the white settlers, sodomy could be the only reason. Beyond this, to participate in sodomy meant that one was marked as an animal. It dehumanized Indigenous people in the eyes of the European colonizers, allowing them to advance colonization and justify genocide and enslavement. Sodomy was the defining line between human and animal. In both a historical setting and in the context of present day fraternity hazing, violent homosexual acts were used to dominate and shame another individual.

In later sections of the book, Gosine outlines other social standards that separate humans from animals, one of which is clothing. Gosine pushes us to consider what clothing really is in a big picture setting. He states that “clothing can variously and simultaneously be, among other things, protection, art, commodity, identity, sign of community membership, or legal requirement”, and that at the end of the day it is a “defining feature of being human” (39). To European settlers who encountered Indigenous people, less clothing meant they were animals. Nakedness came to be seen as a characteristic of non-white individuals, and led to the idea of the “naked Native”; uncivilized, animal, savage. Gosine points to Christianity as one of the sources of this mindset. According to the doctrine, nudity is condemned and to be naked is to be in spiritual decay. This means that the Indigenous people they encountered who lacked the standard European clothing were condemned. Subsequently, the colonization of Indigenous groups included the movement to clothe people. 

Gosine transitions this narrative into the present day when he begins to discuss dress codes in the Caribbean. These dress codes were very strict and heavily focused on women’s bodies. They were gender defining and conforming, and marked some people as more human than others. Gosine argues that the dress codes are proof of the “enduring violence of colonization”, as Caribbean people are actively working to be seen as civil and human through the way they dress (52). The dress codes end up having the opposite effect, however, as they further set boundaries for what is categorized as acceptable and unacceptable, human and not. In this section of the book, Gosine also speaks on the concept of power as another important part of the conversation. He uses the police as one example, stating that, “the actions of the police demonstrate the legal system’s canny, institutionalized negotiation of a colonial line long-since drawn between human and animal” (47). Individuals who experience oppression and discrimination from police and the justice system are dehumanized, and the line between animal and human is blurred. Because of their position in power, police are able to act on their own personal perceptions of this line and use sex and nakedness to shame people. This directly relates to historic laws and acts of criminalization. For example, there were anti-sodomy laws, set to establish what it meant to be an animal in order to define what it meant to be human. 

Gosine ends his book with a question for the reader. “What new strategies for social justice might emerge from taking our animal natures more seriously…And what is at risk if we let go of the standards we have formed in response to a fear of that animal nature?” (150) He answers his own question in the final line, stating, “all that is at stake is the continued masochistic attachment to an epistemology that from its inception had no regard for our well-being, our pleasures, or our worth” (151). The first step to letting go of our standards and norms regarding sex, sexuality, and our animal natures is becoming educated on these historical and emotional backgrounds. Nature’s Wild accomplishes this in an interesting and informational manner.

Throughout Nature’s Wild, Gosine does an excellent job displaying the ways in which the ideas of colonialism have seeped into the everyday lives of people and are still relevant today. Other texts discussing historical topics can sometimes lack the connection to the present day. Gosine’s jumps between historical and more modern times are a strength of this book. Additionally, I think that the personal anecdotes and experiences Gosine shares throughout the book are a very valuable addition to the writing. It is clear that he has been influenced by the topics discussed throughout the book, and has a deep insight into the source of common ways of thought – that we must separate ourselves from animals and our animal nature. His personal touches to the book also makes it easier for the reader to perhaps recognize Gosine’s argument in our own ways of thinking and acting. One weakness that stood out to me from time to time was the slight repetitiveness of the book. I believe that it is important to emphasize your theme and argument throughout writing, but there were some points in the book that felt too similar to each other. But ultimately, I think that Nature’s Wild is an excellent book and provides valuable insight into society’s attitudes towards sex. I think anyone could benefit from reading this, but especially people who spend a lot of time in exclusively male spaces, or who are or were part of religious organizations. Overall, it was very interesting to learn the historical, psychological, and social explanations for social phenomenons I have witnessed throughout my life.