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Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis
Phallacy looks closely at some of nature's more remarkable examples of penises and the many lessons to learn from them. In tracing how we ended up positioning our nondescript penis as a pulsing, awe-inspiring shaft of all masculinity and human dominance,.
Emphasizing our human capacities for impulse control, Phallacy ultimately challenges the message that the penis makes the man and the man can't control himself. With instructive illustrations of unusual genitalia and tales of animal mating rituals Phallacy shows where humans fit on the continuum from fun to fatal phalli and why the human penis is an implement for intimacy, not intimidation.
Emphasizing our human capacities for impulse control, Phallacy ultimately challenges the message that the penis makes the man and the man can't control himself. With instructive illustrations of unusual genitalia and tales of animal mating rituals Phallacy shows where humans fit on the continuum from fun to fatal phalli and why the human penis is an implement for intimacy, not intimidation.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published September 22, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
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September 25, 2020A penis book fits together with a vagina one, so I got this book for balance as I got The Medieval Vagina yesterday. I already know quite a lot about penises like barnacles have the longest penises for their size in the world, they are also prehensile and go out into the crowd of other penises looking for a vacant vagina. Nature's Nether Regions And that in bats, the more promiscuous the female of a species, the bigger and danglier the male penis will be. Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos. Having had a skim through an online copy (I prefer print) I already found one error or maybe not an error, maybe a sexual preference.
Male cats have barbed penises which hurt the female. Either the pussy cat doesn't experience it as pain, or she likes it that way! As soon as they come in to heat they put out a call for all males in the neighbourhood to come and party. They wouldn't do that if they didn't like it! Cats don't do anything they don't like. I thought this was in the book. But it isn't.
The first sentence was in a review (not on GR) I read that enticed me to get the book, it isn't in this one I am informed. But I've left it in anyway as its a mildly interesting if gratuitous piece of trivia. And if you are a cat person, it might be Important to Know, although we all get our cats spayed as kittens these days so they are all virgins who don't know what they are always going to miss.
Male cats have barbed penises which hurt the female. Either the pussy cat doesn't experience it as pain, or she likes it that way! As soon as they come in to heat they put out a call for all males in the neighbourhood to come and party. They wouldn't do that if they didn't like it! Cats don't do anything they don't like. I thought this was in the book. But it isn't.
The first sentence was in a review (not on GR) I read that enticed me to get the book, it isn't in this one I am informed. But I've left it in anyway as its a mildly interesting if gratuitous piece of trivia. And if you are a cat person, it might be Important to Know, although we all get our cats spayed as kittens these days so they are all virgins who don't know what they are always going to miss.
November 2, 2020
This book – PHALLACY: LIFE LESSONS FROM THE ANIMAL PENIS by Emily Willingham - and I are not a natural reading match, and yet, it’s certainly turned into one of the most interesting books I’ve read this year.
This book is about putting the penis in its place. Willingham demonstrates how skewed cultural perceptions about penises equalling power is refuted in nature and that our social constructs have given rise to this fallacy. Her examples of scientific research projects where the female species are excluded just … because (??) proved to be quite the eye-opener.
It’s not always a light read and at times I found myself having to reread passages to understand what was happening – hey, fiction is more my jam. Nonetheless, the author has done a great job of shaping what might be considered dry material into a cohesive narrative. It’s educational, humorous and there are plenty of fascinating tidbits to whip out when you want to wow – or even gross out –your friends.
PHALLACY is an ideal gift for that hard-to-buy-for bookworm with eclectic reading tastes.
Finally, barnacles! Who would have thought? But you’ll have to read this book to get the dirt.
Review copy courtesy of publisher and Edelweiss+
This book is about putting the penis in its place. Willingham demonstrates how skewed cultural perceptions about penises equalling power is refuted in nature and that our social constructs have given rise to this fallacy. Her examples of scientific research projects where the female species are excluded just … because (??) proved to be quite the eye-opener.
It’s not always a light read and at times I found myself having to reread passages to understand what was happening – hey, fiction is more my jam. Nonetheless, the author has done a great job of shaping what might be considered dry material into a cohesive narrative. It’s educational, humorous and there are plenty of fascinating tidbits to whip out when you want to wow – or even gross out –your friends.
PHALLACY is an ideal gift for that hard-to-buy-for bookworm with eclectic reading tastes.
Finally, barnacles! Who would have thought? But you’ll have to read this book to get the dirt.
Review copy courtesy of publisher and Edelweiss+
November 26, 2020
Beware of any science writer who in all seriousness ends a paragraph with #truth.
Also, when will people realize that effective advocacy for women's rights doesn't mean or excuse misandry?
Anyway, I'd write a more thorough review about the bad writing, the belittling comments towards researchers, the obnoxious attempts at humor and wit, and the excessive and inappropriate insertion of political ideas, but honestly, the book left me too exasperated to even want to bother.
Could someone please write a book with the same premise (facts about penises throughout the natural world) but without the bad writing and the ideology? Would really love to read a book like that. Too bad this wasn't it.
Also, when will people realize that effective advocacy for women's rights doesn't mean or excuse misandry?
Anyway, I'd write a more thorough review about the bad writing, the belittling comments towards researchers, the obnoxious attempts at humor and wit, and the excessive and inappropriate insertion of political ideas, but honestly, the book left me too exasperated to even want to bother.
Could someone please write a book with the same premise (facts about penises throughout the natural world) but without the bad writing and the ideology? Would really love to read a book like that. Too bad this wasn't it.
March 16, 2021
For a book about penises this book was surprisingly... boring.
There were cool facts (honestly did not consider how many folks research bug sex) and important commentary (how focus needs to be taken away from the penis), but overall the impression I got is that the author was more interested in berating the scientific community than engaging the reader. Yes, there is a disparity between the amount of research on phalluses compared to vaginas, but there are only so many ways to be told this before it gets tiresome.
I wanted was a fun and cheeky informative read, what I got was a repetitive tirade occasionally sprinkled with phallus facts.
2.5/5 - rounded up.
There were cool facts (honestly did not consider how many folks research bug sex) and important commentary (how focus needs to be taken away from the penis), but overall the impression I got is that the author was more interested in berating the scientific community than engaging the reader. Yes, there is a disparity between the amount of research on phalluses compared to vaginas, but there are only so many ways to be told this before it gets tiresome.
I wanted was a fun and cheeky informative read, what I got was a repetitive tirade occasionally sprinkled with phallus facts.
2.5/5 - rounded up.
March 21, 2022
So interesting! I heavily annotated this one and will likely spend the next week with a horrible case of the didjaknows, which I will quickly follow up with facts about the penis that various creatures have.
Huge kudos for being inclusive in regards to the spectrum that gender exists on. I was a little worried that a book like this might distill gender into just genitalia. It absolutely worked against that line of thinking and pointed out that the science supports inclusivity of gender on a spectrum.
Huge kudos for being inclusive in regards to the spectrum that gender exists on. I was a little worried that a book like this might distill gender into just genitalia. It absolutely worked against that line of thinking and pointed out that the science supports inclusivity of gender on a spectrum.
September 28, 2020
This was highkey really fascinating.
December 28, 2020
My Review: GROSS
My Actual Review: Guys, I am not trying to be funny, this is one of the best science books I think I have ever read. Yes, there are lots of funny and weird penis (or intromittum) facts, but the author also uses that to provide a pretty good primer on evolution and gene expression. The writing is fun and accessible, but I think what really puts this book above a lot of science writing is it also places the science within a sociological context, discussing how things like gender bias and rape culture have influenced this research and vice versa. If you can get past the fact that you are reading a book all about penises, then I highly recommend this one.
My Actual Review: Guys, I am not trying to be funny, this is one of the best science books I think I have ever read. Yes, there are lots of funny and weird penis (or intromittum) facts, but the author also uses that to provide a pretty good primer on evolution and gene expression. The writing is fun and accessible, but I think what really puts this book above a lot of science writing is it also places the science within a sociological context, discussing how things like gender bias and rape culture have influenced this research and vice versa. If you can get past the fact that you are reading a book all about penises, then I highly recommend this one.
March 13, 2021
Going on the list of one of my faves of all time. My husband is genuinely sick of me talking about it! Reframes masculinity through the penis in a cultural and scientific way. I learned a tonnnn, and I have a degree in evolutionary biology!
May 12, 2024
Curiosity got the best of me. So glad I listened to the audiobook so I didn't have to see spiders or their penises.
March 12, 2022
Q:
Nothing gets clicks like a story about dicks, even if it’s about a penis that’s 1.5 millimeters long and millions of years old. (c)
Have you ever heard about that super-duper-lame study of how strippers get more money for performances when they are ovulating? And the on-birth-control ones don't? The author also had and she's got loads to say about it, including just how darn lame that study was, how badly organised and how misinforming overall.
Have you ever stumbled on all those 'does size mater' quizzes/articles (spoiler: looks like virgins and lesbians and people with very limited experience were a large chunk of responders), 'how human sexuality happened' studies and all that? Yeah, the author's providing us with a book that's a giant rant (an extremely entertaining and illuminating one!).
I probably could say that this must be a poster case of penis envy but I guess I won't and will applaud instead since she actually made this topic into a case for feminism.
Q:
Washburn did both. He pointed to nonhuman primates as examples of the necessary power of males and the dependence of females in social and economic exchanges. Like so many of his kind, he used military language to characterize the males, even if they were baboons, and cast the females as passive. Like Peterson with his lobsters, Washburn argued that this (inaccurate) interpretation of baboon interpersonal and intersexual dynamics clearly indicated that among primates, the males drive progress and the females just drag along behind, periodically undulating in a prehistoric version of the lap dance. Humans must therefore have followed a similar pattern. It’s the most insidious of Lobster Traps. (c)
Nothing gets clicks like a story about dicks, even if it’s about a penis that’s 1.5 millimeters long and millions of years old. (c)
Have you ever heard about that super-duper-lame study of how strippers get more money for performances when they are ovulating? And the on-birth-control ones don't? The author also had and she's got loads to say about it, including just how darn lame that study was, how badly organised and how misinforming overall.
Have you ever stumbled on all those 'does size mater' quizzes/articles (spoiler: looks like virgins and lesbians and people with very limited experience were a large chunk of responders), 'how human sexuality happened' studies and all that? Yeah, the author's providing us with a book that's a giant rant (an extremely entertaining and illuminating one!).
I probably could say that this must be a poster case of penis envy but I guess I won't and will applaud instead since she actually made this topic into a case for feminism.
Q:
Washburn did both. He pointed to nonhuman primates as examples of the necessary power of males and the dependence of females in social and economic exchanges. Like so many of his kind, he used military language to characterize the males, even if they were baboons, and cast the females as passive. Like Peterson with his lobsters, Washburn argued that this (inaccurate) interpretation of baboon interpersonal and intersexual dynamics clearly indicated that among primates, the males drive progress and the females just drag along behind, periodically undulating in a prehistoric version of the lap dance. Humans must therefore have followed a similar pattern. It’s the most insidious of Lobster Traps. (c)
November 22, 2020
Okay, so, yes, I picked this book up because I'm twenty-nine going on twelve, but. It was fantastic! Really informative, but interesting, while (for a book about penises) being intersectional! The only bad thing was I wish it had been longer (heh. Said the actress to the bishop.) (Told you I was twelve.)
June 15, 2021
May go up to five stars once I purchase a hard copy and read it more thoroughly.
January 4, 2021
The book is quite hard to evaluate as it's distinguished into two parts: biological also socio-cultural.
The part dealing with biology is a real pleasure: it's written in a fun and comprehendible manner, complex, astonishing and simply weird animal copulation acts are described extraordinarily punny (like "funny" but "punny", you get it?) and at times it seriously got me laughing hysterically. This part truly packs you with super weird animal sex facts that you can tell your friends at a bar (if you're the kind of person to tell super weird sex facts to your friends at a bar, 'cause I am). The socio-cultural part, on the other hand, is quite lacking, which is completely understandable as the author is a biologist, not a sociologist herself. Overall, it's worth a read as it gives you a good perspective on the human penis itself as well as its imagery, power and usage in the times both modern and old, and acts as a good introduction to other sex-related readings.
The part dealing with biology is a real pleasure: it's written in a fun and comprehendible manner, complex, astonishing and simply weird animal copulation acts are described extraordinarily punny (like "funny" but "punny", you get it?) and at times it seriously got me laughing hysterically. This part truly packs you with super weird animal sex facts that you can tell your friends at a bar (if you're the kind of person to tell super weird sex facts to your friends at a bar, 'cause I am). The socio-cultural part, on the other hand, is quite lacking, which is completely understandable as the author is a biologist, not a sociologist herself. Overall, it's worth a read as it gives you a good perspective on the human penis itself as well as its imagery, power and usage in the times both modern and old, and acts as a good introduction to other sex-related readings.
February 18, 2022
3,5 ⭐
This was quite interesting, pretty funny and occasionally boring. Not so sure about the "life lessn from the animal penis" part, however. It was more like animal penis facts and then some info about studies or cases made on the human penis. I think the first part of the book did this better than the rest of it.
This was quite interesting, pretty funny and occasionally boring. Not so sure about the "life lessn from the animal penis" part, however. It was more like animal penis facts and then some info about studies or cases made on the human penis. I think the first part of the book did this better than the rest of it.
January 5, 2025
I bought this book based on the cover and title as well, hoping to read a funny anecdotal book that uses genitalia as humor. From the introduction on, I was pleasantly surprised and learned a lot just from that section alone. As a female in today's world, I am well aware of the power imbalance between men and women, but this book delves into many issues that I had never even considered as reasons why that power imbalance exists. Seriously, the whole book is fascinating and thought provoking, and the whole book is enhanced by the author's witty and hilarious comments and footnotes that are throughout. I would absolutely recommend reading it and getting your feminism on.
The introduction begins with an idea that I had never considered when it comes to the penis - that many scenarios where women are assaulted or men have behaved incomprehensibly, the focus is on the penis. And I've never thought about it that way, but it's really kind of true and eye opening. The power in those scenarios is given to the phallus and I will definitely be looking at situations like that I hear of in the future with different eyes.
Chapter 1 is a look into different scientific studies and I was a little irritated after reading even the first study. I am aware that the field of science is heavily male dominated, but the lack of actual scientific evidence in these studies where they felt like they had drawn legitimate conclusions is absolutely asinine. Like, grab onto your hair and scream levels of frustrating. It continues on in that fashion throughout the chapter and good Lord, men do a phenomenal job of making a lot of assumptions about women and stretch what is actual scientific fact. It's really not surprising that any studies worth their salt when it comes to sexual satisfaction in women in relation to penis size and other factors are those written by women. And actual women, not girls masquerading as such.
Chapter 2 had a lot of information that went over my head, if I'm being honest. I do not hold a science degree and can try and follow along with the best of them. But I had to reread a lot of parts to make sure that I was grasping at least the main ideas before moving on. The reader gets a brief introduction into various penises in some animal species and how they've either evolved or came to be. The author highlights again that in some major scientific discoveries that should have been popular for many other reasons, got a lot of popularity due to a dick being involved. Learned about cloacal kisses in this chapter as well. Did not know that was a way that sperm can be transferred. All in all, this chapter is fascinating and the animal kingdom has some very interesting penises.
Chapter 3 goes into what exactly makes a penis. And, you think you know all about the penis, having had them shoved in your face for a lot of your life, but I was definitely limited in my knowledge about what can constitute a penis. There are so many variations of what can make a penis in the animal kingdom, the author is wrong, the human penis kind of pales in comparison. I have genuinely learned so much from this book already, but this chapter was really eye opening. I've never really considered that there are way more methods for conception than the old stick and poke. This chapter was wild and there are honestly kinds of penises that I had never even considered. I think the craziest one that's gone into detail in this chapter are phallic feet on millipedes. I hadn't really considered how the millipede procreates, but using it's eighth set of feet definitely wasn't on my radar!
Chapter 4 goes in depth about the many uses of the penis. Animal penises that is, the human penis, once again, is very boring and really only has one intended purpose. So really, it makes even less sense that so much importance is placed on this fleshy organ and is a symbol of power. Seriously, there are so many different ways that the penis is used in the animal kingdom. It can send out signals, give snacks (penises giving out snacks?! We're really missing out as humans), as weaponry, battering ram, a hypodermic needle, musical instrument, and in some rare cases, used as eyes. While it's taking me awhile to make it through some of this dense material, I am continually fascinated.
Chapter 5 is all about how the female controls certain aspects of the act of copulation. I honestly cannot believe that it took until 2005 to even consider looking into the structure and anatomy of the vagina. Specifically the duck vagina, but still. That's a long time and progression for science to have not even considered the vagina. And for a lot of scientists to write it off in their books or studies, deeming it not all the necessary to study and figuring the bulk of information could be figured out by studying the penis and straight up ignoring the vagina. I'm glad that this chapter starts looking at the importance of the vagina in detail. Thought it is in relation to animals and how female selection is vital when it comes to copulation. The fact that the vagina is just brushed to the side on so many occasions is really beginning to piss me off. Scientists clearly have identified that the penis has evolved very quickly over time and thinks that there is absolutely no correlative factors to the vagina?! The fact that the author only really identifies one scientist who has looked into vagina (who is a woman btw - shocker) and how it's structure relates to it's counterparts penises is so ludicrous to me. And she has to defend herself?! I really just don't see how the whole world isn't in an uproar about this.
Chapter 6 gets into penis size in relation to the animal's body and how they size up against one another. Humans aren't even close to coming in as a contender. But I do love how the author gives us a comparison to different animals sizes how that would look on a human if the same body size/length ratio applied to humans. To no one's surprise, the barnacle comes in first place, if you use the body size to penis length ratio. I had no idea that Darwin was so obsessed with the barnacle. Even though he's know as the father of evolution, he really had a thing for the barnacle and wrote many papers on them. The author also goes into whale penises and some very interesting experiments that were done in relation to the whale vagina as well. I know, it's a shock that someone thought to look at the vagina. But it will be no shock that that scientist was female. Snails are absolutely wild, and while the author gives you a suggestion video to be able to see snail copulation, I have to draw the line somewhere. I love that the phrase intromittens is used in reference to spiders by the way. So many witty inserts throughout that liven up an information heavy book.
Chapter 7 is kind of a continuation of sorts of chapter 6, but goes more into different species copulation techniques. Once again highlight how truly boring humans are. I loved that this chapter started out with sex toys as an example and continued to go back to that example throughout the chapter. Some of these animals mating routines and copulation practices seem really awful, but as the author points out, we can't really base our perception of the acts based on what we as a species finds sensorily acceptable. We have no idea what these animals deem as sensorily acceptable or pleasurable. Ticks participating in oral sex definitely wasn't on my bingo card for this book, but I suppose I should put away all of my preconceived notions (not that I had many to be honest) when it comes to behaviors in the animal kingdom.
Chapter 8 delves into different animal species that manage to reproduce without the use of a penis and the various ways that they go about doing that. Various species of animals engage in many practices to pass on spermatophores including: cloacal kissing with a dance to entice their partner, females using a vacuum like device to suck out the spermatophores, external fertilization, intersex fertilization, copulatory tubes, and female intromittum. The fact that scientists refer to female intromitta as male-like is really insulting though. It's a female structure and the fact that the only thing that anyone can think to compare it to is a male really shows how deep and far back the "phallacy" goes. It really is fascinating how animals have developed all sorts of means to pass on their DNA to future offspring. The most fascinating one was the anaconda who didn't have any contact with males and said, "fuck it, I'll do it myself."
Chapter 9 looks into how the penis is viewed in our society today and how it came to be that way. There is so much fascination with the flaccid organ and viewed as a symbol of power, that the author is correct in this boiling down of the issue: men have been relegated to a penis, and women viewed as a receptacle for said organ. There are various weird examples throughout this chapter of how the penis has been viewed throughout history and the role that women have played in addition to the changing views. Women are rarely painted in a positive light, if ever, and clearly are very jealous of not having the organ themselves. My favorite example of history in this chapter was the book entitled The Hammer, in which women are said to steal penises and keep them in nests. How penises came into the role they currently hold vary significantly from their original intended purposes of idolization. We, as a society, definitely need to redefine how we view the organ, and remember, as the author beautifully sums up at the end, we need to put the emphasis on our brains leading our sexuality, and not the organ itself.
This book was all around very interesting and I do feel like I learned a lot. The material was very dense and it took me quite awhile to get through it, though I do admit that nonfiction isn't a genre that I read a lot of. I would definitely recommend reading this if you would like to learn about this subject. The author is very knowledgeable and hilarious to boot. And for the love of God, can scientists please focus on the vagina for the foreseeable future - we have a bevy of knowledge in regards to the penis and it's time for the vagina to get the attention it deserves.
The introduction begins with an idea that I had never considered when it comes to the penis - that many scenarios where women are assaulted or men have behaved incomprehensibly, the focus is on the penis. And I've never thought about it that way, but it's really kind of true and eye opening. The power in those scenarios is given to the phallus and I will definitely be looking at situations like that I hear of in the future with different eyes.
Chapter 1 is a look into different scientific studies and I was a little irritated after reading even the first study. I am aware that the field of science is heavily male dominated, but the lack of actual scientific evidence in these studies where they felt like they had drawn legitimate conclusions is absolutely asinine. Like, grab onto your hair and scream levels of frustrating. It continues on in that fashion throughout the chapter and good Lord, men do a phenomenal job of making a lot of assumptions about women and stretch what is actual scientific fact. It's really not surprising that any studies worth their salt when it comes to sexual satisfaction in women in relation to penis size and other factors are those written by women. And actual women, not girls masquerading as such.
Chapter 2 had a lot of information that went over my head, if I'm being honest. I do not hold a science degree and can try and follow along with the best of them. But I had to reread a lot of parts to make sure that I was grasping at least the main ideas before moving on. The reader gets a brief introduction into various penises in some animal species and how they've either evolved or came to be. The author highlights again that in some major scientific discoveries that should have been popular for many other reasons, got a lot of popularity due to a dick being involved. Learned about cloacal kisses in this chapter as well. Did not know that was a way that sperm can be transferred. All in all, this chapter is fascinating and the animal kingdom has some very interesting penises.
Chapter 3 goes into what exactly makes a penis. And, you think you know all about the penis, having had them shoved in your face for a lot of your life, but I was definitely limited in my knowledge about what can constitute a penis. There are so many variations of what can make a penis in the animal kingdom, the author is wrong, the human penis kind of pales in comparison. I have genuinely learned so much from this book already, but this chapter was really eye opening. I've never really considered that there are way more methods for conception than the old stick and poke. This chapter was wild and there are honestly kinds of penises that I had never even considered. I think the craziest one that's gone into detail in this chapter are phallic feet on millipedes. I hadn't really considered how the millipede procreates, but using it's eighth set of feet definitely wasn't on my radar!
Chapter 4 goes in depth about the many uses of the penis. Animal penises that is, the human penis, once again, is very boring and really only has one intended purpose. So really, it makes even less sense that so much importance is placed on this fleshy organ and is a symbol of power. Seriously, there are so many different ways that the penis is used in the animal kingdom. It can send out signals, give snacks (penises giving out snacks?! We're really missing out as humans), as weaponry, battering ram, a hypodermic needle, musical instrument, and in some rare cases, used as eyes. While it's taking me awhile to make it through some of this dense material, I am continually fascinated.
Chapter 5 is all about how the female controls certain aspects of the act of copulation. I honestly cannot believe that it took until 2005 to even consider looking into the structure and anatomy of the vagina. Specifically the duck vagina, but still. That's a long time and progression for science to have not even considered the vagina. And for a lot of scientists to write it off in their books or studies, deeming it not all the necessary to study and figuring the bulk of information could be figured out by studying the penis and straight up ignoring the vagina. I'm glad that this chapter starts looking at the importance of the vagina in detail. Thought it is in relation to animals and how female selection is vital when it comes to copulation. The fact that the vagina is just brushed to the side on so many occasions is really beginning to piss me off. Scientists clearly have identified that the penis has evolved very quickly over time and thinks that there is absolutely no correlative factors to the vagina?! The fact that the author only really identifies one scientist who has looked into vagina (who is a woman btw - shocker) and how it's structure relates to it's counterparts penises is so ludicrous to me. And she has to defend herself?! I really just don't see how the whole world isn't in an uproar about this.
Chapter 6 gets into penis size in relation to the animal's body and how they size up against one another. Humans aren't even close to coming in as a contender. But I do love how the author gives us a comparison to different animals sizes how that would look on a human if the same body size/length ratio applied to humans. To no one's surprise, the barnacle comes in first place, if you use the body size to penis length ratio. I had no idea that Darwin was so obsessed with the barnacle. Even though he's know as the father of evolution, he really had a thing for the barnacle and wrote many papers on them. The author also goes into whale penises and some very interesting experiments that were done in relation to the whale vagina as well. I know, it's a shock that someone thought to look at the vagina. But it will be no shock that that scientist was female. Snails are absolutely wild, and while the author gives you a suggestion video to be able to see snail copulation, I have to draw the line somewhere. I love that the phrase intromittens is used in reference to spiders by the way. So many witty inserts throughout that liven up an information heavy book.
Chapter 7 is kind of a continuation of sorts of chapter 6, but goes more into different species copulation techniques. Once again highlight how truly boring humans are. I loved that this chapter started out with sex toys as an example and continued to go back to that example throughout the chapter. Some of these animals mating routines and copulation practices seem really awful, but as the author points out, we can't really base our perception of the acts based on what we as a species finds sensorily acceptable. We have no idea what these animals deem as sensorily acceptable or pleasurable. Ticks participating in oral sex definitely wasn't on my bingo card for this book, but I suppose I should put away all of my preconceived notions (not that I had many to be honest) when it comes to behaviors in the animal kingdom.
Chapter 8 delves into different animal species that manage to reproduce without the use of a penis and the various ways that they go about doing that. Various species of animals engage in many practices to pass on spermatophores including: cloacal kissing with a dance to entice their partner, females using a vacuum like device to suck out the spermatophores, external fertilization, intersex fertilization, copulatory tubes, and female intromittum. The fact that scientists refer to female intromitta as male-like is really insulting though. It's a female structure and the fact that the only thing that anyone can think to compare it to is a male really shows how deep and far back the "phallacy" goes. It really is fascinating how animals have developed all sorts of means to pass on their DNA to future offspring. The most fascinating one was the anaconda who didn't have any contact with males and said, "fuck it, I'll do it myself."
Chapter 9 looks into how the penis is viewed in our society today and how it came to be that way. There is so much fascination with the flaccid organ and viewed as a symbol of power, that the author is correct in this boiling down of the issue: men have been relegated to a penis, and women viewed as a receptacle for said organ. There are various weird examples throughout this chapter of how the penis has been viewed throughout history and the role that women have played in addition to the changing views. Women are rarely painted in a positive light, if ever, and clearly are very jealous of not having the organ themselves. My favorite example of history in this chapter was the book entitled The Hammer, in which women are said to steal penises and keep them in nests. How penises came into the role they currently hold vary significantly from their original intended purposes of idolization. We, as a society, definitely need to redefine how we view the organ, and remember, as the author beautifully sums up at the end, we need to put the emphasis on our brains leading our sexuality, and not the organ itself.
This book was all around very interesting and I do feel like I learned a lot. The material was very dense and it took me quite awhile to get through it, though I do admit that nonfiction isn't a genre that I read a lot of. I would definitely recommend reading this if you would like to learn about this subject. The author is very knowledgeable and hilarious to boot. And for the love of God, can scientists please focus on the vagina for the foreseeable future - we have a bevy of knowledge in regards to the penis and it's time for the vagina to get the attention it deserves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2025
I really have no idea who the target audience of this book might be. On the one hand, I assume biologists probably know a lot of what's going on already; on the other, is there *anybody* else who's that interested in the subject matter?
The book seemed to be suffering from the same perspective, not knowing quite what it wanted to be. It varied between some honestly hilarious (but never vulgar) jokes—the crocodilian 'airbag' and drone bee explosions were quite something—and then quite dry scientific content. It was structured as bite-sized pieces, essentially covering a range of the animal kingdom.
I do think that this book would blow the minds of gender essentialists who believe there are 'two sexes' and that that is in ANY way easily defined. I also think it might be somewhat of a revelation for those who have fallen down the Jordan Peterson hole and think that lobster behaviour has anything to do with that of humans. Ugh.
My favourite part was actually the closing chapters, which explicitly drew a line between monotheism and patriarchy (no more worshipping penis gods—which was a trend? Then we have to de-deify dicks and make them important in some other way); it reminded me of Jack Holland's "A Brief History of Misogyny" (highly recommended). I enjoyed even more the link between medieval witch burnings and paranoia over "magical castration", i.e. stealing penises from men via magic (TO KEEP AS PETS...!), and Freud's quackery. It's still unbelievable to me that people take his work as serious (there's even Freudian therapists in the US!!) when it requires that everything in life is analagous to a penis (meanwhile, Jung was more about that magical penis energy). Anyway, that's a whole other rant—but I loved how this book rendered that type of work that purports to be 'scientific' even more ridiculous through the comparison with straight-up magic.
I listened to the audiobook, and the reading was horrific; perhaps I would have enjoyed the book more had there been even a little life to it.
The book seemed to be suffering from the same perspective, not knowing quite what it wanted to be. It varied between some honestly hilarious (but never vulgar) jokes—the crocodilian 'airbag' and drone bee explosions were quite something—and then quite dry scientific content. It was structured as bite-sized pieces, essentially covering a range of the animal kingdom.
I do think that this book would blow the minds of gender essentialists who believe there are 'two sexes' and that that is in ANY way easily defined. I also think it might be somewhat of a revelation for those who have fallen down the Jordan Peterson hole and think that lobster behaviour has anything to do with that of humans. Ugh.
My favourite part was actually the closing chapters, which explicitly drew a line between monotheism and patriarchy (no more worshipping penis gods—which was a trend? Then we have to de-deify dicks and make them important in some other way); it reminded me of Jack Holland's "A Brief History of Misogyny" (highly recommended). I enjoyed even more the link between medieval witch burnings and paranoia over "magical castration", i.e. stealing penises from men via magic (TO KEEP AS PETS...!), and Freud's quackery. It's still unbelievable to me that people take his work as serious (there's even Freudian therapists in the US!!) when it requires that everything in life is analagous to a penis (meanwhile, Jung was more about that magical penis energy). Anyway, that's a whole other rant—but I loved how this book rendered that type of work that purports to be 'scientific' even more ridiculous through the comparison with straight-up magic.
I listened to the audiobook, and the reading was horrific; perhaps I would have enjoyed the book more had there been even a little life to it.
September 18, 2022
Main themes of the book: penises in another animals are weird, and a lot more research needs to be done on vaginas.
However I found the book quite dry the moment I got halfway through it. For starters, despite the subtitle of the book being “Life Lessons from the Animal Penis” I find that over 90% of the examples as being oddities and not “lessons.” What human lesson can you glean from the slugs that mate while hanging from a tree? The book is undoubtedly well researched and displays the expertise of the author, but it reads more like a reference book or a Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not rather than a pop science book. The way nine chapters were done also didn’t necessarily have a logical flow, with many examples showing up in multiple chapters. It just makes for a messy read where many examples come in and out of my brain, unable to stick — perhaps these factoids need something like penile barbs to stay in my mind!
The author was at their best when using the animal genitalia to discuss human issues and explaining the problematic (read: male-focused) ways in which we conduct science, or fixate on genitalia for societal labeling (and shaming), or use cherry-picked animal behaviors to argue an ill-conceived political agenda. The author ends the book on a high note (Chapter 9). Most impactful to me was the assertion that Western culture has put so much emphasis on the phallus that rape is treated as a “shattering of identity,” a narrative that is another tool in the rapist toolkit to inflict psychological harm on their victim. Also important was the introduction (to me that is) of non-Western cultures and their concepts of gender that weren’t simply related to physical traits. And finally, the author calls for the recentering of our sexual behaviors and discussions onto our brain.
However I found the book quite dry the moment I got halfway through it. For starters, despite the subtitle of the book being “Life Lessons from the Animal Penis” I find that over 90% of the examples as being oddities and not “lessons.” What human lesson can you glean from the slugs that mate while hanging from a tree? The book is undoubtedly well researched and displays the expertise of the author, but it reads more like a reference book or a Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not rather than a pop science book. The way nine chapters were done also didn’t necessarily have a logical flow, with many examples showing up in multiple chapters. It just makes for a messy read where many examples come in and out of my brain, unable to stick — perhaps these factoids need something like penile barbs to stay in my mind!
The author was at their best when using the animal genitalia to discuss human issues and explaining the problematic (read: male-focused) ways in which we conduct science, or fixate on genitalia for societal labeling (and shaming), or use cherry-picked animal behaviors to argue an ill-conceived political agenda. The author ends the book on a high note (Chapter 9). Most impactful to me was the assertion that Western culture has put so much emphasis on the phallus that rape is treated as a “shattering of identity,” a narrative that is another tool in the rapist toolkit to inflict psychological harm on their victim. Also important was the introduction (to me that is) of non-Western cultures and their concepts of gender that weren’t simply related to physical traits. And finally, the author calls for the recentering of our sexual behaviors and discussions onto our brain.
March 15, 2023
Hmmmm a book about cock written by someone who doesn’t have one? Put me down as initially dubious. However, the author won me over with her brilliant introduction and its hilariously snarky takedown of the Jordan Peterson gang.
With clever and witty footnotes and chapter titles the author then goes on to enumerate a huge load of crazy cock facts from the animal world. I’m looking at you arthropods, spiders and kalutas (marsupial mice that die after days of endless fucking - apparently grindr is lit in the Australian outback).
While all those phallic facts are fascinating (bet you didn’t know that word comes from the Roman cult of the cock) the book gets to be a bit like a waaaaay too long porno - my eyes kinda glazed over somewhere around the 47th bizarre cock factoid. So maybe my beef is with the editors. (Omg did I just complain about too much cock?)
The dual messages the author hammers (pounds?) on throughout the book: a) guys, your cocks aren’t so special b) scientific misogyny means we don’t even know about the amazeballs lady bits are appreciated but the author sorta clobbers you with them.
Oh did I mention (holy shit) snakes have 2 cocks? What would Freud say about my ophidiophobia?
With clever and witty footnotes and chapter titles the author then goes on to enumerate a huge load of crazy cock facts from the animal world. I’m looking at you arthropods, spiders and kalutas (marsupial mice that die after days of endless fucking - apparently grindr is lit in the Australian outback).
While all those phallic facts are fascinating (bet you didn’t know that word comes from the Roman cult of the cock) the book gets to be a bit like a waaaaay too long porno - my eyes kinda glazed over somewhere around the 47th bizarre cock factoid. So maybe my beef is with the editors. (Omg did I just complain about too much cock?)
The dual messages the author hammers (pounds?) on throughout the book: a) guys, your cocks aren’t so special b) scientific misogyny means we don’t even know about the amazeballs lady bits are appreciated but the author sorta clobbers you with them.
Oh did I mention (holy shit) snakes have 2 cocks? What would Freud say about my ophidiophobia?
July 7, 2021
3.5 stars.
what I didn't love:
- sometimes abrasive sarcasm and manhating
- I ended up skimming sometimes instead of reading because it just didn't hold my interest, even though I would have thought that the topic (penises and sex) would hold my attention
- some of the analysis seemed overly... I don't know, inaccurate?
What I did love:
- the sometimes abrasive sarcasm and cutting wit
- the footnotes! Dear lord, those footnotes!
- the great way she has of telling a story
- the incredibly detailed research
- the emotional involvement in the analysis
- the index (for when I want to look up the animals I skimmed over)
- the good points about how we magnify the significance of the penis culturally
I'm glad I read this. I salute the author for what was clearly a huge amount of research and I quite enjoyed the writing style.
what I didn't love:
- sometimes abrasive sarcasm and manhating
- I ended up skimming sometimes instead of reading because it just didn't hold my interest, even though I would have thought that the topic (penises and sex) would hold my attention
- some of the analysis seemed overly... I don't know, inaccurate?
What I did love:
- the sometimes abrasive sarcasm and cutting wit
- the footnotes! Dear lord, those footnotes!
- the great way she has of telling a story
- the incredibly detailed research
- the emotional involvement in the analysis
- the index (for when I want to look up the animals I skimmed over)
- the good points about how we magnify the significance of the penis culturally
I'm glad I read this. I salute the author for what was clearly a huge amount of research and I quite enjoyed the writing style.
January 10, 2021
This book is amazing! I love the author's snarky writing and her obvious anger and frustration towards male-dominated scientific research. It's a very refreshing insight on sexuality and biology, and incredibly eye-opening to see how little research has been done on vaginas and female genitalia in general. I loved how extensive the author's work was, as she wrote about many different species and for humans, different cultures. I really enjoyed the last chapter on penises in human culture, society, and psychology.
Though, I thought the organization of the book and some of the descriptions were a little confusing, but maybe that's because there were numerous new terms I had to learn while reading.
Though, I thought the organization of the book and some of the descriptions were a little confusing, but maybe that's because there were numerous new terms I had to learn while reading.
September 23, 2020
I enjoy Willingham's science writing, and this book is an example of her best work: It's insightful, accessible, entertaining (full of intriguing diversions to revisit later), and thoroughly researched. Phallacy balances a sharp critique of cultural and scientific biases with an absorbing and often very funny survey of the animal penis in all its bizarre, varied forms (web search terms helpfully provided for those who want video). Willingham frames the book with a teardown of our preoccupation with one relatively ordinary part of human anatomy, but she also offers a positive argument for the rewards of refocusing our attention elsewhere. Like its subject, this book has many dimensions (pun intended).
January 31, 2021
2 things I was expecting from this book:
•Discussions of the ways we can —and can't — draw conclusions about human sexual behaviors from studying evolutionary biology.
•Discussions of the ways gendered biases in scientific research harm that research as well as society at large.
2 things I was _not_ expecting:
•To discover such a large amount of variety in the means by which sex cells are transferred from being to being. There are some weird (from a human perspective) phalluses out there.
•The author to be hilarious. “Wry” is putting it mildly.
Highly enjoyable as well as interesting, informative, and important.
•Discussions of the ways we can —and can't — draw conclusions about human sexual behaviors from studying evolutionary biology.
•Discussions of the ways gendered biases in scientific research harm that research as well as society at large.
2 things I was _not_ expecting:
•To discover such a large amount of variety in the means by which sex cells are transferred from being to being. There are some weird (from a human perspective) phalluses out there.
•The author to be hilarious. “Wry” is putting it mildly.
Highly enjoyable as well as interesting, informative, and important.
February 8, 2021
This is one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. It’s so, so funny. Read about an octopus that rips his junk off, throws it in the vicinity of a female’s vagina and runs away! Read about the flea penis! Read about getting kindly spiked in the head, right between the eyes! Read about how scientific research into sexual selection has focused almost exclusively on this one member, as though the vagina was just an empty hole!
December 31, 2021
This book was amazing!! Highly recommend.
February 8, 2024
Penises are weird, reproduction evolution is weird, and I’m never looking at animals the same way
March 11, 2025
I fear I know too much now.
February 9, 2021
"The human version of the penis is made for love; not war" (Subliminal words of advice).
I've come to learn that many insects are more prepared for the test of evolutionary reproduction and survival. The descriptive reproductive process the author provides is like a well-articulated YouTube video which seemed to be extra-focused on spiders 🕷
I've come to learn that many insects are more prepared for the test of evolutionary reproduction and survival. The descriptive reproductive process the author provides is like a well-articulated YouTube video which seemed to be extra-focused on spiders 🕷
January 6, 2021
In short, the things we know about all penises (and arguably most female reproductive organs, too) are often centered from a Western, male perspective. Regardless, a fascinating look at all types of penises.
April 14, 2021
Fun, funny, nerdy. Check, check, check.
December 31, 2020
There's a good book hidden in this pages but in its current form I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to, and I really wanted to like this book.
The book it's supposed to be an examination of the penises in the animal world that can help in understanding the culture around the human penis, and while indeed there's some of that, the book feels a bit too disorganized and it's often hard to grasp the points its making.
My main issue with the book is in the way chapters are organized and divided. Each chapter is supposed to be answering a main question (i.e. 'What makes a penis;' and 'Why does the penis exist?) and is divided in several subsections with quippy tittles, the problem is some of these subsections do have a logical flow and continue the points of the previous subsection, but in most cases each subsection is an abrupt change of theme aimed mostly to throw a random fact. By the end of each chapter I had mostly forgotten the points that were being addressed and felt that the main questions of the chapter were forgotten somewhere in the middle (this was particularly true for chapter 2 'Why does the penis exist?', which days after finishing the book I could not tell you what it wanted to say).
It feels that the book is torn between being a long essay book to be read at once and with a central theme to be discussed or a 'toilet book' to be picked up sporadically and get a random penis fact from time to time; it ends up being something in the middle that is not entirely pleasant to read. The humour in the book is also uneven, between actually clever, to mostly just cringey.
Finally, the one main point the reader will get from this book is that the penis has been disproportionately studied and analysed in 'evolutionary psychology' and overall in zoology, and how much the vagina has been ignored. This is a great point and an important takeaway, but be prepared for this to be hammered in your head to exhaustion. Every couple of pages there's a new jab at researchers for focusing on the penis, and by the end I just felt I was being told the same joke, slightly louder each time, 100 times.
Overall, is a sometimes fun and interesting read, but an exasperating one.
Music for this book:
Hymn to Dionysus, Op 31 No. 2 - Gustav Holt
Short Dick Man - 20 Fingers ft. Gillette
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This organ has gone from being a symbolic protector of and contributor to life to becoming the embodiment and full measure of masculinity, something that men never fully comfortably feel they have achieved and women envy. That is the state of the American penis and, in a global society, more broadly the state of the human penis in general."
"In 1980, when I was still in middle school and emphatically prepubescent, I encountered my first real-life adult penis."
"The human mind deserves to be recentered as the most fundamental element of our sexual behaviors, and we should focus more on using it for these purposes, wisely and well."
The book it's supposed to be an examination of the penises in the animal world that can help in understanding the culture around the human penis, and while indeed there's some of that, the book feels a bit too disorganized and it's often hard to grasp the points its making.
My main issue with the book is in the way chapters are organized and divided. Each chapter is supposed to be answering a main question (i.e. 'What makes a penis;' and 'Why does the penis exist?) and is divided in several subsections with quippy tittles, the problem is some of these subsections do have a logical flow and continue the points of the previous subsection, but in most cases each subsection is an abrupt change of theme aimed mostly to throw a random fact. By the end of each chapter I had mostly forgotten the points that were being addressed and felt that the main questions of the chapter were forgotten somewhere in the middle (this was particularly true for chapter 2 'Why does the penis exist?', which days after finishing the book I could not tell you what it wanted to say).
It feels that the book is torn between being a long essay book to be read at once and with a central theme to be discussed or a 'toilet book' to be picked up sporadically and get a random penis fact from time to time; it ends up being something in the middle that is not entirely pleasant to read. The humour in the book is also uneven, between actually clever, to mostly just cringey.
Finally, the one main point the reader will get from this book is that the penis has been disproportionately studied and analysed in 'evolutionary psychology' and overall in zoology, and how much the vagina has been ignored. This is a great point and an important takeaway, but be prepared for this to be hammered in your head to exhaustion. Every couple of pages there's a new jab at researchers for focusing on the penis, and by the end I just felt I was being told the same joke, slightly louder each time, 100 times.
Overall, is a sometimes fun and interesting read, but an exasperating one.
Music for this book:
Hymn to Dionysus, Op 31 No. 2 - Gustav Holt
Short Dick Man - 20 Fingers ft. Gillette
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This organ has gone from being a symbolic protector of and contributor to life to becoming the embodiment and full measure of masculinity, something that men never fully comfortably feel they have achieved and women envy. That is the state of the American penis and, in a global society, more broadly the state of the human penis in general."
"In 1980, when I was still in middle school and emphatically prepubescent, I encountered my first real-life adult penis."
"The human mind deserves to be recentered as the most fundamental element of our sexual behaviors, and we should focus more on using it for these purposes, wisely and well."
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews