# so..is King Kong a boy or a girl? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385 "2005-12-20T01:15:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/1 "2005-12-20T01:15:53Z")
I guess Im wondering how they dance around this one, and if its right or not. I think they should show an anatomically correct Kong. I went to a kong website and asked the question on the chat room and was instantly banned for life…so I am guessing there is a tremendous amount of sensitivity around the issue. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/2 "2005-12-20T01:35:23Z")
Well…the beast is called “King” Kong, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/3 "2005-12-20T01:40:01Z")
Why the hell were you banned? Seems like a legitimate question to me! Anyway, seeing as how he’s charmed by that little blonde hottie, I’d think he was a male, since _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/4 "2005-12-20T01:41:38Z")
Actually, I was reading today an article about Kong which referenced an article that appeared in a 1976 book called _The Girl in the Hairy Arm_ which featured a discussion regarding King Kong’s genitalia. Although the book is out of print, and I can’t find a copy of the full article on the internet, they came to the conclusion that Kong’s penis is two feet long when erect. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/5 "2005-12-20T01:41:49Z")
so if he is a boy…whence the anatomy? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/6 "2005-12-20T01:44:35Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > so if he is a boy…whence the anatomy? It tucks up inside his fur! ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/7 "2005-12-20T01:51:46Z")
Um, Kong is one huge hairy walking dong; he IS male genitalia. Talk about gilding the lily! ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/8 "2005-12-20T01:57:58Z")
Kong’s very obviously a boy, if his species’ resemblance to the African mountain gorilla extends to gender dimorphism. He has the elongated canines and exaggerated sagittal crest of the male gorilla, even without taking into account his silver back. The fact is that male gorillas simply don’t have as enormous a package as most people imagine; their testicles are the smallest of all the great apes, and the fully erect penis is less than two inches long. However, lest one imagine that this connotes a lack of virility and machismo compared with other ape species, it’s generally thought that the opposite is true: other male primates have larger nads because they have to work harder to ensure that their precious vital fluids are passed on. In the gorilla social structure, however, the reigning silverback’s breeding privileges are almost never challenged, so he can afford to have a more economical batch. Any inaccuracy in the presentation of Kong’s area lies not in the way it was depicted, but in the fact that he wasn’t scratching it every thirty seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/9 "2005-12-20T02:00:02Z")
I thought it was just a known fact that he’s male? As for his genitalia, get real, they’re not going to show that. If you want to see that sort of thing wait for the porn version “King Dong”. As further evidence that he is male in Peter Jackson’s King Kong, he is depicted as a silverback which is an adult male gorilla. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/10 "2005-12-20T02:00:33Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > Any inaccuracy in the presentation of Kong’s area lies not in the way it was depicted, but in the fact that he wasn’t scratching it every thirty seconds. [Channeling Lewis Black]“What’s hard is finding a picture of a chimp that doesn’t have it’s d\*\*\* in its hands going ‘yayaya!’ \*That \*picture’s hard to come by.”[/CLB] ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/11 "2005-12-20T02:13:04Z")
Terrifel…great answer, completely makes sense. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/12 "2005-12-20T02:19:21Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > Terrifel…great answer, completely makes sense. Thanks! Happy to be of service; allow me to thank you in return, for not asking why I know so much about the genitalia of male apes. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/13 "2005-12-20T02:27:00Z")
heh heh heh ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/14 "2005-12-20T02:39:22Z")
Oddly, the same question occured to me earlier this evening while watching _Son of Kong_. I pretty quickly dismissed the matter as trivial. Given the prevailing notions of gender in the 1930s, it seems fairly clear that audiences of the time were likely to interpret Kong’s attraction to Ann as “hetrosexual”. This isn’t to suggest that the original can’t be interpreted as a story of lesbian inter-species obsession, just that that isn’t the most obvious take on it. Altogether more relevant, however, is the fact that Carl Denham refers to the original Kong as “he” on a couple of occasions in the sequel. I suspect there are similar references in the first film, but, as I say, I happened to be watching the sequel when the thought arose and so was catching such references in it. If Denham didn’t know, then I suppose we’re reduced to seeking the opinion of any other giant apes on Skull Island. Unless they’re very confused, they ought to know. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/15 "2005-12-20T04:51:24Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > I thought it was just a known fact that he’s male? As for his genitalia, get real, they’re not going to show that. If you want to see that sort of thing wait for the porn version “King Dong”. Yeah, but you can clearly see the “package” of the T-Rexes in some scenes (Yes, I _was_ looking for it. No, I do _not_ have a lizard fetish, I was curious as to how they’d handle it.) so you’d think that they could do a large lump of fur at the critical spot. ---
**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/16 "2005-12-20T09:26:57Z")
So the emperor says to the village idiot: “You fool! I said _Ping Pong_ balls!” so sorry. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/17 "2005-12-20T09:37:55Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > The fact is that male gorillas simply don’t have as enormous a package as most people imagine; their testicles are the smallest of all the great apes, and the fully erect penis is less than two inches long. Hmmm. King Kong is 25 feet tall, right? According to the _Encyclopedia Britannica_, an adult male gorilla may attain a height of about 5.5 feet. So, Kong is about 4.55 times taller than a regular gorilla, which means, assuming everything’s proportional, his erect penis should be a bit over 9 inches long, which is actually rather…anatomically compatible. :dubious: ---
**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:** [December 20, 2005, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/18 "2005-12-20T11:24:56Z")
Philip Jose Farmer adressed Kong’s genitals in After Kong Fell. The story is an old man who was actually present for Kong’s unveiling telling the story to his grandson. According to him Kong was only 20 feet tall. Sexual intercourse would likely have been possible. Ann sued whatisname for vague reasons, and the tabloids went nuts speculating. ---
**Author:** ![indierock82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f14d63/32.png) [@indierock82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indierock82)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/19 "2005-12-20T12:04:19Z")
Haha… the thought actually crossed my mind when I was watching the movie last friday. Just a matter of time before they do an x-rated movie with the very title… ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385/20 "2005-12-20T13:26:10Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Hmmm. > > King Kong is 25 feet tall, right? According to the _Encyclopedia Britannica_, an adult male gorilla may attain a height of about 5.5 feet. So, Kong is about 4.55 times taller than a regular gorilla, which means, assuming everything’s proportional, his erect penis should be a bit over 9 inches long, which is actually rather…anatomically compatible. :dubious: I suppose almost enjoyable, once you get past the flaring nostrils and fur. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-king-kong-a-boy-or-a-girl/336385.md?page=2)