# Science fiction fans: how "alien" is too alien to sleep with? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737 "2008-08-20T23:15:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/81 "2008-08-22T13:08:31Z")
Pretty damn alien. Centaurs, fur, tentacles, extra limbs, missing limbs, extra eyes, performs all sex by direct cerebral stimulation… as long as we’re compatible and the appearance doesn’t make me shiver and/or puke, I’m on. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/82 "2008-08-22T17:55:23Z")
[QUOTE=Tristan] Wow. > **[File:Supergirls.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Supergirls.jpg)** > > Natash Irons, Traci 13, and Cir-El form "The Supergirls". Art by Mike Deodato, Jr. > Scan of the last comic panel in Superman # 200. > Supergirl (Cir-El) > Image shown in its entirety. That’s… Wow. I’ll be in muh bunk. [/QUOTE] Merry X-mas [![](https://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/supergirls.jpg) ](https://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/supergirls.jpg) (Link broken because image may not be work-safe.) ---
**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:** [August 22, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/83 "2008-08-22T18:37:05Z")
Consider the advantages of– Maya, from _Space:1999_. Or a Skrull girl. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/84 "2008-08-22T18:53:16Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Consider the advantages of– Maya, from _Space:1999_. Or a Skrull girl. [/QUOTE] Yes, because there’s no reason to think the Skrull might betray you. Or might be Skyppi. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/85 "2008-08-22T21:02:20Z")
I don’t remember, were there any female Autobots? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/86 "2008-08-22T21:25:01Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] I don’t remember, were there any female Autobots? [/QUOTE] Sure. But they’d be 15 feet tall and made of steel and weigh several tons each and lack apetures or lubricant useful to a human, so it would have to be a celestial love. [Arcee](http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/c/c5/ArceeManga1.jpg/250px-ArceeManga1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/87 "2008-08-22T21:25:50Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] I don’t remember, were there any female Autobots? [/QUOTE] Arcee. She was a pink motorbike. I only know this because of OAFE and Shortpacked. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/88 "2008-08-22T21:30:14Z")
[QUOTE=Silver Tyger Girl] Arcee. She was a pink motorbike. I only know this because of OAFE and Shortpacked. [/QUOTE] You are freaking me out, woman. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/89 "2008-08-23T00:14:10Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] Or might be Skyppi. [/QUOTE] BRAIN BLEACH! BRAIN BLEACH! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/90 "2008-08-23T00:14:47Z")
Y’know, this is a subject I’ve tinkered with, privately, as a thought/design experiment. Starting with the premise that the alien was female, and sounded and acted roughly like, say, Kaylee from _Firefly_ (I think that’s a good baseline for a charming, attractive personality that’d stand out in anyone’s mind). Working with making a _female_ alien sexually atractive might adding another layer of difficulty by default—it’s harder to make “pretty” than it is “handsome,” as any number of Discovery channel medical documentaries prove. Bah. Anyway… For the record, I thought [Taun We](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Taun_We) was kinda cute. I hasten to comment on “Catgirls,” because—M’ress aside—I’ve never really seen a photorealistic depiction of one that didn’t look like wither a half-hearted photoshop, or a woman wearing a cat mask. Of course, like has been said, personality is likely to count for a lot. A psychopath who looked like an olympic volleyballer might become less attractive than a nice country girl who happened to have transparent skin and maggots for blood. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/91 "2008-08-23T00:17:32Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] BRAIN BLEACH! BRAIN BLEACH! [/QUOTE] I’m just looking out for you dude. Tomorrow morning, when you lean over in bed and do NOT find yourself cuddling with Skyppi, you’ll thank me. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/92 "2008-08-23T00:26:52Z")
Clifford D. Simak. Lopers on Jupiter? Am I remembering that right? Well, John Carter had no problem falling for Dejah Thoris, that winsome and winning Princess of Mars. Remember? She laid an egg, and they used to stand looking at it . . . ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/93 "2008-08-23T01:08:27Z")
[QUOTE=vison] Clifford D. Simak. Lopers on Jupiter? Am I remembering that right? [/QUOTE] That’d be the short story “Desertion”. No sex in it, though. Edited to correct myself. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/94 "2008-08-23T01:10:01Z")
[QUOTE=Apollyon] Assuming the “centaur type female” is sentient I’m pretty sure that “bestiality” isn’t the appropriate description… “miscegenation” I might buy, but bestiality suggests one partner is a lower order animal. [/QUOTE] Nope – \*miscegenation \* basically boils down to polluting Race A with the genes of Race B. For this, I’d figure the correct term would be \*xenophilia \* which I understand means loving a species outside one’s own. That said, there are way too many factors to really say, but I do know that I want to survive the experience in one piece, mentally/physically/emotionally. No praying mantises for me! :eek: I also know that I want to have fun during the process. Look at anglerfish reproduction back right here on good ol’ Earth – they don’t have any fun. (besides, that form of reproduction is way too alien for me) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/95 "2008-08-23T01:16:23Z")
I still wish I knew what Susan Ivanova would have had to have done with that alien ambassador, if they’d done it “his way”! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/96 "2008-08-23T01:16:55Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] I don’t remember, were there any female Autobots? [/QUOTE] [Quite a few, actually](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_Transformers)… Mostly introduced as girlfriends of the male autobots. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/97 "2008-08-23T01:20:24Z")
[QUOTE=lizardling] Look at anglerfish reproduction back right here on good ol’ Earth – they don’t have any fun. **(besides, that form of reproduction is way too alien for me)** [/QUOTE] This from someone named **lizardling**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/98 "2008-08-23T01:32:42Z")
[QUOTE=Projammer] Ambient body temperature needs to be close to 98.6. Something who’s normal temp is 75 or 110 would be far too uncomfortable. [/QUOTE] This always bothered me about Buffy and her paramours Angel & Spike. In one of the Initiative episodes, it is stated that a vampire (Spike, in that particular case) has a body temperature equal to room temperature. “Boinking the undead”\* would be a clammy and unpleasant experience. - Faith has a way with a phrase, doesn’t she? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/99 "2008-08-23T01:54:27Z")
[QUOTE=BrotherCadfael] This always bothered me about Buffy and her paramours Angel & Spike. In one of the Initiative episodes, it is stated that a vampire (Spike, in that particular case) has a body temperature equal to room temperature. “Boinking the undead”\* would be a clammy and unpleasant experience. [/QUOTE] Turn up the thermostat. Hot tub. I think low body temp might be something you can work out, at least in some cases. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737/100 "2008-08-23T02:03:42Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick] Turn up the thermostat. Hot tub. I think low body temp might be something you can work out, at least in some cases. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but running through damp sewers, escaping up through a manhole into a torrential downpour, she’s soaked to the skin and borderline hypothermic, and they get under the covers to warm up?\* I don’t care how much she loves him, it’s going to be like an icicle. (\* More or less the order of events in “Innocence”.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-fans-how-alien-is-too-alien-to-sleep-with/460737.md?page=6)