Dammit, I thought I was posting this to my site. Then I realized I was here, and went to delete it, and w-lfs-n had already posted a comment.
I know why they say that androgen is a male hormone--consider the name--because of it's effects on development (as here), and usual incidence between the sexes, but isn't calling such in this case a contradiction in terms?
Got so much clit, she don't need balls.
They must have a reason for calling it that, although I read the article as saying the hyena's vagina is turned inside out. They may call it clitoris because it is sensitive all around, making it even more penis-like.
I hate to think what further studies on the organic chemistry of pregnancy will do to the abortion-debate artificial-womb hypothetical.
IDP-
"Androgen" is the term for any of a class of hormones (not just a single chemical) that affect the development and activity of male sex characteristics (in mammals, at least- not sure about other vertebrates). Technically, I think you can refer to "male sex hormones" and biologists would get the same meaning. It is a little silly, though, as they both work to some degree no matter who you are.
And more to the point, are generated here in hyenas, and probably also in other mammals, by female bodies too, although not usually in the same amounts. Nothing essential about it, in other words.
Exactly- it's all old biology/medical terminology, which is still terribly retrograde in some areas- a decent number of conditions that result in perfectly normal human beings are still technically considered "disorders." There's about twenty years worth of fights right there for you.
I'm still with Ben on this. I'm no biologist, but can a clitoris really be something that's entered? Is that pretty much a vagina? The terminology seems a little off.
On the other hand:
"Males need practice. After a couple of months of practicing, they get it lined up just right."
Am I right, ladies?
stephen jay gould wrote a nice article on hyenas & the evolutionary selection in that species for female dominance, and the "penises" sported by alpha females.
Gould, "Hyena Myths and Realities," Natural History 90 (1981): 16-24.
no, it really is the hyena's clitoris. hyenas just happen to have the birth canal within the clitoris. (even in human women, the part of the clitoris *within* the woman's body is nine inches long - sexual structures are not quite the way we're led to picture them). that's sexual variation between species, as gould explains.
(he also explains that the vaginal labia in embryos -- because all embryos are originally female in structure -- become the *testical sack* in male fetuses once the streams of testosterone that alter fetus sex start flowing in...!)
BEN WOLFSON : please contact me directly, I've secured lodgings for you but there are details to be finalized ASAP.
Although giving birth through a 'penis' isn't a trivial problem."
But consider how many arguments it would suddenly render winnable.
My understanding is that giving birth through the traditional organ isn't a trivial experience either.
Is this a form vs. function problem?
You and me ain't nothing but mammals, but let's not do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.
Aren't most of the sex organs analogs of one another? Clitoris = glans, vagina = penis, labia = scrotum, etc.?
Actually, it's more like clitoris = penis.
I think clitoris=penis, but vagina=the tube-like aspect (and secretory glands) of the penis.
In other words, male animals have a hyena-type clitoris, but don't give birth through it.
13: I'm dying to know the relationship between boarding w-lfs-n and the variety of sex organs. Perhaps?
I always thought the way humans give birth was an excellent example of unintelligent design (unless God is a misogynist), but the hyena way of giving birth sounds even more unpleasant.