Sex Ed. Essay Example For Students

Sex Ed. Essay At some point during your youth, your parents probably took you aside and after several minutes of blushing and throat-clearing gave you the Readers Digest version of the birds and bees. (The folks apparently never realized that you had learned about sex in far more detail several years earlier from a friend in your preschool finger painting class.) But just what did we learn about the actual birds and bees, not to mention the thousands of other species of animals that share the Earth with us? They preen, they strut, they lure and, if all goes as planned, they have sex. You might be surprised by some of the following sexual facts and oddities concerning members of the wild kingdom. Unless that kid in your preschool class already covered this material. Warning: Some of these tidbits are not for the faint of heart. If you havent had the talk yet, you might want to be accompanied by an adult before you proceed. Perhaps the most astounding part of sex in the animal world is the sheer size of some of the sex parts themselves. Were you aware that one testicle of the average Blue whale can weigh up to 100 pounds? You can imagine the problems this causes. This startling fact might explain why you almost never see a Blue whale wearing shorts in public. Whales also hold the record for having the largest penises. A fact which they never fail to mention at parties, by the way. In large Rorqual whales the penis can be up to 10 feet long, with a diameter of up to one foot. Female Rorqual whales are notoriously cheery. Now you know why. But bigger isnt always better, necessarily. It is also interesting to note that insects hold their own record as well. If the largest animals have the largest sexual organs, it would follow that the smallest animals, insects, possess the most diminutive. While too small to be measured precisely, it is estimated that the smallest penis on the Earth is a fraction of a thousandth of an inch in size. Ladies, this will be welcome news to that insecure husband or boyfriend. And now the answer to that other question on your mind. Which animal is the proud owner of the longest sperm? Oddly, in this case, sperm size is not related to the size of the animal. In fact, the longest sperm amongst the mammals is produced by the Chinese hamster (around 30 microns in length.) You might need to know that at some point in your life, though I cant imagine at what point that might be. Perhaps this scenario will present itself:Mugger: All right. Give me your purse. You: Yikes. Mugger: Oh, by the way, Im going to shoot you. You: This light isnt very flattering. Mugger: No, I mean with this gun. You: Oh. Mugger: But you might be able to save yourself. You: And can I keep the purse? Its the only one I have to go with these shoes. Mugger: Just answer this question. Which mammal has the longest sperm?You: The Chinese hamster?Mugger: How should I know? Im a mugger. And while were on the subject, how long is a micron, anyway?The animal world is full of amazing quirks of nature. When it comes to the sexual anatomy and behavior of animals, new discoveries are being made all the time. (Except at 4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.)For instance, most species of creatures have two sexes (male and female, for those of you who havent had the talk yet.) But scientists found that a crustacean, Tanais, has three sexes. The single-celled Parameciam amelia has eight different sexes, and you can be sure that this dramatically increases its chances of finding a date on short notice. Life On The Set EssayIt is surprising just how much sexual activity in the wild is made up of rituals which humans would generally consider painful or cruel. There are many examples of animals which vigorously bite into each other during intercourse (the females take the brunt of this practice), or which link up in other not-so-pleasant ways. The mating of dragonflies is fraught with complexity and discomfort. The male first grasps the thorax of the female with his legs, he then flexes his abdomen forward and affixes two claspers to the female. In some species a sticky secretion bonds the pair together as well. Then they fly off together, mating in mid-air. Clasping before marriage is frowned upon in the wild, incidentally. Mother dragonflies are often heard to say: You should be ashamed of yourself, clasping with every Coenagriidae you meet. In my day, we never let a man grasp our thorax, at least not until he was introduced to our parents.One of the oddest practices in the mating world belongs to a breed of fly. Its technical name is Serromyia femorata. The flies take up a position during sex which resembles kissing, but at the end of mating, the female sucks out the body content of the male through the mouth. So, what weve heard is apparently true. When it comes to a mate, its whats on the inside that counts. Ants, too, have a strange mating ritual. It seems both the queen ant (female) and the prince (male) have wings, and when the mating urge hitsgenerally after consuming a number of imported beersthey fly 100 feet into the air, have a brief copulation, then the males wings fall off and he dies. The female goes on to lay eggs resulting from that brief encounter for a period which can last up to 15 years. (Doctor hurry, its almost time, the contractions are coming six years apart now.) Female ants must surely be hoarse from all the screaming. Just about everyone has heard that the female praying mantis eats the head of its mate after sex. But were you aware that often the female mantis will consume its mates head during sex? Shockingly, this doesnt deter the male from finishing what hes begun. Thats right. If the male mantis has mounted the female before she begins to devour his head, he will successfully complete copulation without it. Most women have always suspected this would be the case with their human counterparts as well. The sexual practices of animals are almost as varied as our own. Porpoises often participate in group sex. Roman snails have been observed performing foreplay. Many fish seem to enjoy kissing as part of the mating ritual. It is believed that deer masturbate during the rutting season by stimulating their antlers. There seems to be no end to the variation. And all without the aid of manuals or how-to videos. Just instinct. All of this serves to remind us that although we fret and complain about our sex lives, we should keep in mind that in many ways weve got it easy. It should also keep us a bit more humble. For while we take a lot of pride in our sexual sophistication, it is useful to keep in mind that there are creatures around who have been doing it faster, longer, more often and even, on occasion, without their heads.