Make love, not war.

December 15, 2012 6:03 AM

Humon's illustrated (and explained) animal mating habits. [somewhat NSFW]
posted by cthuljew (15 comments total)

After Scandinavia and the World I've been quite a fan of her work. Nice!
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:06 AM on December 15, 2012

She actually has books of these for sale. Which are suppose to include ones she hasn't published online.

Her deviantArt page is worth looking at if you like her stuff. Recently she's been on a kick exploring femdom in fantasy races.
posted by royalsong at 7:13 AM on December 15, 2012

These images take all the urgency out of animal mating. It's kinda creepy.
posted by Brocktoon at 8:40 AM on December 15, 2012

I find this project sweet, lighthearted, and useful as an illustrative tool for all those people out there who persist in being unaware that male pregnancy, poly families, multiple sex morphs, female phalli, and same-sex activity galore are part of "nature's plan."

I do have some issues with the way that Western ideology about binary gender roles gets imported into the illustrations, and with the way scientific terminology continues to insist that variations are somehow "fake," as when the phalli of female hyenas are termed "pseudophalli," but all in all, I salute Humon's accessible presentations.
posted by DrMew at 9:04 AM on December 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

Anyone who believes in Bonobo's as peaceful happy go lucky swingers should read "Swingers".
posted by stbalbach at 9:07 AM on December 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well this is charming and delightful!
posted by DarlingBri at 9:35 AM on December 15, 2012

Er, I think the female hyenas have "pseudophalli" because they are not functional phalli - that is, they are not used to deposit sperm. If it evolved to mimic the male phallus in any way, "pseudo" is a totally reasonable term. (And in evolutionary/genetic terms, I have to imagine that it uses many of the same genes as the male phallus that are probably either reactivated or not repressed in this particular species of hyena.)
posted by maryr at 10:09 AM on December 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

What incredibly charming artwork. Very adorable.
posted by bouvin at 10:27 AM on December 15, 2012

stbalbach: Thanks for that great article!
posted by cthuljew at 10:45 AM on December 15, 2012

I didn't see duck mating in there, which is good, because seeing it in real life was one of the most violent things I have ever witnessed.
posted by riruro at 12:22 PM on December 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

I am so obsessed with these and can't wait to share them with a sex ed class someday.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 4:43 PM on December 15, 2012

ducks have very strange sex lives
posted by pyramid termite at 6:46 PM on December 15, 2012

ducks have very strange sex lives

No kidding!

Brennan found that the vaginal tubes were not straight but had “all these weird structures, these pockets and spirals.” This served to impede the sperm’s fertilization mission; unwanted sperm could be stored in side chambers to be ejected later.

Oh holy fuck you guys. I seriously, genuinely think Todd Akin confused female voters with female ducks.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:13 PM on December 15, 2012 [4 favorites]

If it looks like a duck and swims like a duck, we have to consider the possibility that it is a legitimate duck.
posted by maryr at 7:43 PM on December 15, 2012

...where F can be substituted for D.
posted by maryr at 7:44 PM on December 15, 2012 [2 favorites]