# Did sailors have sex with dugongs/manatees? (Siren/mermaid myth) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051 "2009-05-11T16:46:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EdFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@EdFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdFu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/21 "2014-05-22T11:50:53Z")
It’s called “Sirenism.” Arthur Phillips (The Knowledge) did an episode about it: [theknowledgepodcast.com](http://theknowledgepodcast.com) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/22 "2014-05-22T12:23:42Z")
I remember a site where some guy was advising about having sex with dolphins (including how to approach them, masturbate them, tips about their sexual behaviour…and about how to fuck them). It might have ben an hoax, of course, but it seemed pretty credible. (And I’m not at all surprised that someone would try, at least). ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/23 "2014-05-22T13:55:19Z")
> [@EdFu](#): > > It’s called “Sirenism.” Arthur Phillips (The Knowledge) did an episode about it:, zombie website ref newbie Reported ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/24 "2014-05-22T14:15:27Z")
Sea cows were 20+ feet long. You might as well fuck a minivan. As for manatees, as a Florida resident I can tell you that (a) they are all but helpless, even though they live in water all the time and we don’t, and (b) they smell really, really bad. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/25 "2014-05-22T14:32:32Z")
Charles Nelson Reilly [did.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLnapb-30hA) > [@](#): > > He had his very own line at the DMV > He made sweet, sweet love to a manatee > Oh yeah > Oh yeah, that was something to see, I tell ya ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/26 "2014-05-22T17:59:04Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Sea cows were 20+ feet long. You might as well fuck a minivan. As for manatees, as a Florida resident I can tell you that (a) they are all but helpless, even though they live in water all the time and we don’t, and (b) they smell really, really bad. I thought only the (now extinct) Steller’s sea cow reached that size. Other extant species are much smaller. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/27 "2014-05-22T21:09:23Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Elephant breasts look like human breasts save for being gray, wrinkled and enormous. Apparently you never met my grandmother, nor the members of her bridge club. [sub]The above is a joke. My grandmother didn’t play bridge[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/28 "2014-05-22T21:09:42Z")
If the female’s genitalia are so close to a human’s, is that true of the male genitalia as well? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/29 "2014-05-22T22:10:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Sea cows were 20+ feet long. Oh! The huge manatee! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/30 "2014-05-22T23:28:55Z")
Wikipedia confirms that only Steller’s sea cow got that big [QUOTE=Wikipedia] Living sirenians grow between 2.5 and 4.0 meters long and can weigh up to 1,500 kg. Hydrodamalis gigas, Steller’s sea cow, could reach lengths of 8 m [/QUOTE] Reading the article reminded me of something else- Sea cows are coastal animals. If you’re out in the middle of the ocean, far from human habitation, you’re also far away from sea cows. If you’re in a region with sea cows, you could probably find humans. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/31 "2014-05-22T23:52:47Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Sailors sing songs about mermaids: > I’m still not sure I know why. > Not enough woman to make love to, > and too much fish to fry. Or the great **Philip J Fry** : > [@](#): > > Why couldn’t she be the other type of mermaid, with the fish part on top and the lady part on the bottom? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/32 "2014-05-23T00:00:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I saw a female dolphin close-up once (through glass, at Sea World or some similar place), and the vulva, at least, looked pretty similar to a human vulva. I can’t say whether there are any internal differences, though. Where’s a marine gynecologist when you need one? According to photos in one of John Lilly’s books, the male dolphin organ is a relative small thingy, perhaps not much larger than a human pinky. An organ of human proportions would probably not fit easily. Also, the female plumbing is designed to keep the salt water out – although I’m not sure of the anatomic details of how this works. BTW, did y’all know that dolphins are born tail-first? BTW#2: **Chronos** (or anyone else reading this thread), can you tell the difference, by sight alone, between male and female dolphins? (Hint: See description in Post #3 above.) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/33 "2014-05-23T03:16:49Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I thought only the (now extinct) Steller’s sea cow reached that size. Other extant species are much smaller. There are other extant _sirenians_ (dugongs and manatees), yes. I didn’t think anyone used the term sea cow to refer to them. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/34 "2014-05-23T15:33:32Z")
Years ago I saw a documentary film about New Guinea natives queueing up to have sex with a beached dugong. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/35 "2014-05-23T15:39:45Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > Years ago I saw a documentary film about New Guinea natives queueing up to have sex with a beached dugong. Jesus Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/36 "2014-05-23T16:28:38Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > According to photos in one of John Lilly’s books, the male dolphin organ is a relative small thingy, perhaps not much larger than a human pinky. An organ of human proportions would probably not fit easily. Having seen one “in the wild”, as it were\*… _not_ a relative small thingy. Considerably larger than a human male’s, and seemed to wave about quite a bit. Our “oceanologist” guide opined that dolphin penes are prehensile, although later cursory research suggests that may not be the case. - roadside swim-with-the-dolphin thing, with a hermit dolphin that turned out – much to our surprise – to be a male. ---
**Author:** ![mojave\_raider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/54ee81/32.png) [@mojave\_raider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojave_raider)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/37 "2014-10-25T12:48:35Z")
Are we talkin’ the same manatees that can withstand speeding boats with them props going across their backs?? I remember rubbin’ all over that thick robust hide that made my skin feel paper thin. I’m sure one of ‘em wouldn’t mind my luvin’. I’ll spread my legs for one a them 1,000 pound monsters any day. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/38 "2014-10-25T13:38:54Z")
I always found it curious that mermaids, while usually depicted as having fish lower bodies, the tails are horizontal as in marine mammals. That, to me, would suggest that marine mammals, rather than fish, are the inspiration for the myth. > [@Mangetout](#): > > Oh! The huge manatee! _rolls up newspaper_ **Magentout** , a word, if I may… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/39 "2014-10-25T13:50:24Z")
> [@mojave\_raider](#): > > I’m sure one of ‘em wouldn’t mind my luvin’. I’ll spread my legs for one a them 1,000 pound monsters any day. 🆒 Well, today’s your turn in the barrel, maybe you’ll get lucky. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051/40 "2014-10-25T14:10:57Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > I always found it curious that mermaids, while usually depicted as having fish lower bodies, the tails are horizontal as in marine mammals. > That, to me, would suggest that marine mammals, rather than fish, are the inspiration for the myth. Early taxonomists did not differentiate fish and marine mammals. They also considered bats to be birds. They had no idea that crocodiles were more closely related to snakes than to otters. Their classification was based on observed behavior and visible form, not on physiological criteria that are used today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-sailors-have-sex-with-dugongs-manatees-siren-mermaid-myth/496051.md?page=3)