# Females have .. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398 "2014-04-18T07:29:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/1 "2014-04-18T07:29:01Z")
…penises. \*Female insects with “penises” have been discovered in Brazil - the first example of an animal with sex-reversed genitalia, scientists say. Neotrogla females insert the erectile organs into males’ vagina-like openings. The elaborate structure, dubbed a “gynosome”, is used to suck out sperm and nutritious seminal fluids.\* Link.:eek:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/2 "2014-04-18T08:01:11Z")
I don’t know much about insects but how do they decide, anyway? I mean, I would look at these things and… Actually, no. I would not look at these things. I am not clicking on that link. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/3 "2014-04-18T08:14:15Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I don’t know much about insects but how do they decide, anyway? I mean, I would look at these things and… > > Actually, no. I would not look at these things. I am not clicking on that link. [The creature with the larger gamete is considered female and the one with the smaller gamete is considered male.](http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2013/05/09/male_female_-_ah_whats_the_difference_106530.html) ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/4 "2014-04-18T23:37:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Copulation lasts an impressive 40-70 hours, the researchers report in Current Biology. So, it’s not just vampire sex. It’s two to three day long vampire sex. That just sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/5 "2014-04-19T01:32:12Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > the one with the smaller gamete is considered male. …with a crushing gynosome-envy complex ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/6 "2014-04-19T02:32:18Z")
> [@Indian](#): > > …The elaborate structure, dubbed a “gynosome”, is used to suck out sperm and nutritious seminal fluids.[… Hmm… a lot like mouth and tongue. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/7 "2014-04-19T16:23:01Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > [The creature with the larger gamete is considered female and the one with the smaller gamete is considered male.](http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2013/05/09/male_female_-_ah_whats_the_difference_106530.html) You gotta wonder why gamete size is a greater criterion than having a penis or a vagina. But I’m no biologist… ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/8 "2014-04-19T18:56:47Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > You gotta wonder why gamete size is a greater criterion than having a penis or a vagina. But I’m no biologist… There are a lot of sexually-reproducing species where neither sex has a penis. Most birds, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/9 "2014-04-19T19:20:56Z")
I thought female hyenas…needed something like a cup. More or less. Not _actual hardware_…buuuutt… ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/10 "2014-04-19T20:16:24Z")
Ignorance deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/11 "2014-04-19T20:22:15Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > You gotta wonder why gamete size is a greater criterion than having a penis or a vagina. But I’m no biologist… It makes sense that if one sex contributes only DNA and the other contributes an egg, the egg-producing one is the female. The “bigger gamete” is the hair-splitting version of that same distinction. My guess is that if there was a case where the bigger gamete was almost entirely DNA and meaningless stuff taking up space, and the smaller one contributed most of the organelles for the resulting fertilized cell, they’d adjust the definition so that it’s the one that contributes the most complexity, rather than mere size. But until we find a funky example like that, size matters. Of course, it’s biology and evolution, so my guess is that chances are good we’ll find an example that challenges the definition. I bet that happens with just about any biological definition. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/12 "2014-04-20T17:01:05Z")
I’ll bet they have the best orgasms on earth. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/13 "2014-04-20T20:04:50Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I thought female hyenas…needed something like a cup. > More or less. > > Not _actual hardware_…buuuutt… IIRC Due to needing to compete in dominance battles, the female hyenas clitoris has gotten so big it’s a pseudo phallus. They give birth through the pseudo phallus. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/14 "2014-04-20T21:44:31Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > They give birth through the pseudo phallus. \>wince\< ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/15 "2014-04-20T21:57:09Z")
Well, at least the neotrogla stick together. From the article: > [@](#): > > When the researchers attempted to pull a male and female apart, the male’s abdomen was ripped from the thorax without breaking the genital coupling. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/16 "2014-04-21T00:38:44Z")
^ Typical dude. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/17 "2014-04-21T03:38:38Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > [The creature with the larger gamete is considered female and the one with the smaller gamete is considered male.](http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2013/05/09/male_female_-_ah_whats_the_difference_106530.html) In this case, it’s even simpler than that. The “penis” works in reverse, sucking the male gametes into the female. The gametes still combine in the female, and the female lays the eggs. And it appears that she consumes the male, since the BBC article mentions getting nutrients from the male. The “penis” is the only thing that seems to be male about her. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/females-have/686398/18 "2014-04-22T16:09:09Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > IIRC Due to needing to compete in dominance battles, the female hyenas clitoris has gotten so big it’s a pseudo phallus. They give birth through the pseudo phallus. Indeed. Lord have mercy. [Dissection photo of relevant organs](http://muton.blogspot.com/2006/05/oddness-of-hyaenas.html). Safe for work because the photo does not appear until one scrolls. :eek: