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Gendered Penguins

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Clarissa

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On page 3 of the book I’m reading, a pregnant woman buys for her baby “a crib sheet dotted with gender-neutral penguins.”

I tried to imagine a crib sheet with non-gender-neutral penguins, but my imagination failed me.

Now I’m left wondering about penguin genitals. Literature definitely makes one think. If not always in the way one hopes.

I should have stuck with Trollope.

13 responses to “Gendered Penguins”

  1. oldcowboy3 Avatar
    oldcowboy3

    Hmmm, okay, if one wants to study fascinating penguin mating/rearing behavior consider the amazing Emperor Penguin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_penguin

    To be blunt, why does “the love that dare not speak its name” never seem to shut up ;-D

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    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Penguins, like most birds, have no external genitalia.

      Dreidel

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  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    In this case, she may mean that penguins are suitable decor for either baby boys or girls rather than the penguins themselves being gender neutral. You never know these days though.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      That might be but then who or what would be a non-gender-neutral alternative? Nobody would put guns on a crib sheet. Or those breast cancer triangles.

      Flowers, maybe? Are those considered female?

      I’m seriously pondering this at the moment.

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      1. random reader Avatar
        random reader

        Girls – princesses, anything pink, flowers, hearts, …

        Boys – cars, rockets, trains, robots, anything blue, …

        From animals, cats are more for girls, dogs for boys, although it is harder to make a distinction there, in my opinion.

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      2. el Avatar
        el

        \ Flowers, maybe? Are those considered female?

        Flowers, pink colors, etc.

        Btw, in Israel I saw an interesting combination – a pinkish airplane blanket! Bought it hoping it counts as gender-neutral.

        Other gender-neutral things are in darker colors imo.

        Here is this neutral sheet for example (I saw many when googled “penguin crib sheet”):

        https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81X5JMc2xvL._AC_UF350,350_QL80_.jpg

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        1. Clarissa Avatar
          Clarissa

          You … bought it?

          You got anything to tell me, child?

          Please understand that even the mere possibility brings tears of joy to my eyes. And I just did my makeup.

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          1. el Avatar
            el

            \ You got anything to tell me, child?

            Thank you, but no, not yet.
            It’s hopefully for future.

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            1. Clarissa Avatar
              Clarissa

              Don’t play with a person’s feelings like this.

              Here’s hoping for a very near future.

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  3. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I was in Antarctica working with some scientists that were studying penguins. I asked them how they could tell the males from the females. They said it was easy because it’s breeding season and the female penguins are the ones with muddy foot prints on their back.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      OK, this is really funny.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. oldcowboy3 Avatar
        oldcowboy3

        Particularly because both sexes of Emperor penguins axrually bow deeply before each other immediately prior to mating ;-D

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        1. oldcowboy3 Avatar
          oldcowboy3

          actually damnation, where did I put my glasses ;-D

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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