When Vaginas Attack!

Summary

Science Vs: "When Vaginas Attack!" – A Comprehensive Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Science Vs
• Host/Author: Spotify Studios
• Description: Science Vs dives into the facts behind popular fads, blogs, and strong opinions, leveraging scientific research to clarify what’s true, what’s not, and what lies in between. Topics range from 5G and pandemics to vaping and fasting diets.
• Episode: When Vaginas Attack!
• Release Date: December 5, 2024

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Introduction

In the episode titled "When Vaginas Attack!", host Wendy Zuckerman explores the intricate and often misunderstood world of animal reproductive anatomy. Challenging long-held misconceptions, the episode delves into the diverse and sophisticated structures of animal vaginas, revealing an evolutionary arms race between male and female reproductive strategies.

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Challenging Scientific Bias

Dr. Tiana Purdle, a researcher from the University of Tasmania, initiates the conversation by addressing a significant bias in scientific literature. Traditionally, male animals are portrayed as active participants in reproduction, often described using terms like "coercing," "manipulating," and "harassing." In contrast, female animals are depicted as passive, merely responding or adapting to male actions.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [04:09]: "The males are often described as these very active players... And females, on the other hand, are described in very passive terminology."

This dichotomy stems from historical figures like Aristotle and was further solidified by Charles Darwin during Victorian England, where prevailing societal attitudes influenced scientific perspectives. Darwin's depiction of female animals as "coy and chaste" ignored behaviors contradicting these traits, reinforcing a patriarchal narrative in science.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [05:11]: "Darwin... described female animals as coy and chaste... it really gave scientific credence to the patriarchy."

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The Diversity of Animal Vaginas

Dr. Purdle counters the simplistic view of the vagina as a passive structure with an engaging overview of various animal species, each showcasing unique vaginal anatomies.

Ducks: The Corkscrew Conundrum

Ducks present a fascinating case where both male and female genitalia are intricately evolved. Male ducks possess corkscrew-shaped penises, which are unusual among birds, who typically engage in a "cloacal kiss" to transfer sperm. To counteract the forced copulations by males, female ducks have evolved corkscrew-shaped vaginas with side pockets.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [09:39]: "The vagina is also corkscrewed... with little side pockets formed by the corkscrew."

Despite males forcing matings about 40% of the time, only 2-5% of ducklings result from these coercive encounters, indicating that females successfully resist unwanted matings through these vaginal adaptations.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [11:14]: "Only 2 to 5% of the ducklings are fathered by those forced matings."

Hyenas: Female Dominance and Pseudo Penises

In contrast to ducks, spotted hyenas showcase a different evolutionary strategy. Female hyenas are larger, more aggressive, and possess pseudo penises—fused labia that resemble male penises. This unique anatomy grants them dominance in social structures and mating control.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [12:14]: "Female hyenas... have these giant 8-inch-long clitorises that work like a pseudo penis."

However, this adaptation comes with significant costs, such as the challenging birthing process, often described metaphorically as "pushing a cantaloupe through a garden hose."

Dr. Tiana Purdle [13:39]: "It comes at a very high cost... the pup has to rip through the pseudo penis."

Water Striders: Genital Shields and Sexual Conflict

Water striders exhibit another form of sexual conflict with the evolution of genital shields in females. These shields allow females to control mating by either permitting or preventing males from transferring sperm, thus maintaining reproductive autonomy.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [17:18]: "The female has evolved this morphology that gives her full control over who's mating with her."

Males respond by threatening predators to coerce females, creating a high-stakes dynamic where the female's control is constantly challenged.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [18:07]: "He will threaten her by sitting on top of her and tapping the water... until she either opens her ovipositor, gets eaten or they both leave."

Rattlesnakes: Dual Vaginas and Hemipenes

Rattlesnakes possess two vaginas (hemovaginae) and hemipenes, dual reproductive organs in males. This allows for complex mating strategies, including sperm storage and selective fertilization, enhancing genetic diversity and reproductive success.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [19:30]: "The males have two-pronged penis, the hemipenes... using them both at the same time."

Females can store sperm for extended periods, sometimes up to four years, allowing them to choose the most viable sperm for each clutch of eggs.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [21:17]: "She can select which sperm to use for which clutch... based on genetic viability."

Alpacas: The Regal Reproduction

Alpacas feature a long, thin penis with a collagenous hook that punctures the female's vagina to deposit sperm directly into the uterus, bypassing the cervix. This adaptation ensures efficient sperm delivery, especially since alpaca mating sessions can last up to an hour with the males being "dribble ejaculators."

Dr. Tiana Purdle [23:40]: "The penis punctures through the little hook, pokes through the cervix and deposits the sperm straight into the uterus."

Females maintain control by choosing not to lie down, effectively regulating when and how mating occurs.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [25:43]: "She can just get up and leave... she hasn't necessarily needed to evolve all these fancy bells and whistles."

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Evolutionary Arms Race and Sexual Conflict

The detailed anatomical adaptations highlight an ongoing evolutionary arms race between male and female reproductive strategies. While males develop methods to maximize sperm transfer, females concurrently evolve mechanisms to exert control over fertilization, ensuring reproductive success aligns with their interests.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [16:10]: "It's an evolutionary battle between both vaginas and penises... where both males and females are evolving in response to each other."

This dynamic underscores the complexity of sexual selection and reproductive biology, challenging the simplistic narratives often presented in traditional scientific discourse.

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Societal Implications and Shifting Perspectives

Dr. Purdle emphasizes that understanding the diversity of animal reproductive systems can reshape human perspectives on gender and sexuality. Acknowledging the vast array of reproductive strategies in the animal kingdom fosters a more inclusive and scientifically accurate view of diversity.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [27:24]: "There's many different ways to reproduce and be a male and a female in the world. And I think appreciating that diversity in the animal world will hopefully help us appreciate that diversity in the human world."

Her project, "Vaginal Vignettes," aims to educate and inspire by showcasing these remarkable anatomical structures, receiving positive feedback for empowering individuals to embrace the diversity of female anatomy.

Dr. Tiana Purdle [28:46]: "I've had a lot of women come up. I'm so glad to hear this story. It just makes me so much happier to have a vagina myself."

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Conclusion

"When Vaginas Attack!" offers a compelling exploration of animal reproductive anatomy, debunking gender-biased scientific narratives and highlighting the intricate evolutionary strategies that shape reproductive success. Through engaging discussions and visual aids, the episode not only educates but also challenges listeners to rethink long-standing beliefs about gender roles in the animal kingdom and beyond.

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Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Tiana Purdle [04:09]: "The males are often described as these very active players... And females, on the other hand, are described in very passive terminology."

• Dr. Tiana Purdle [05:11]: "Darwin... described female animals as coy and chaste... it really gave scientific credence to the patriarchy."

• Dr. Tiana Purdle [11:14]: "Only 2 to 5% of the ducklings are fathered by those forced matings."

• Dr. Tiana Purdle [16:10]: "It's an evolutionary battle between both vaginas and penises... where both males and females are evolving in response to each other."

• Dr. Tiana Purdle [27:24]: "There's many different ways to reproduce and be a male and a female in the world..."

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For More Information:

To visualize the complex anatomical structures discussed, listeners are encouraged to watch the episode on Spotify, where Dr. Purdle showcases various animal vaginas using detailed models.

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This summary is based on the transcript provided and captures the essence of the "When Vaginas Attack!" episode from Science Vs.

Transcript

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman, and you're listening to Science versus Today on the show Animal Sex. Why? So much that we've been taught about it is wrong. The story that seems to have stuck in our heads about how animals have sex is that the male, with their spear like Willie, plunges into a passive vagina. But it turns out that the truth is so much more complicated and so much more fun. So to tell us all about this is Dr. Tiana Purdle at the University of Tasmania. Hi.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Hi. Thanks for having me.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

And you should really watch this on video, which you can if you're looking, if you're watching this on Spotify, because Tiana brought props.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

What's in the box?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Well, this very, very special box is full of different animal vaginas.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Animal vaginas.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

I may require a stabby implement.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Not a penis to open the box.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Oh, my gosh. I've never been sent a box with animal vaginas. Oops.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

And I might have just destroyed your pencil or your pen a little bit.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

That's fine. That's what today's episode's all about, isn't it? Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's coming out?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

What's coming out?

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Who we got here? Well, meet the family.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes. Let's see. We've got the alpaca, common dolphin, couple rattlesnakes, dogfish, shark harbour porpoise, and a domestic duck.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Amazing. Oh, my God. Okay, so wait, how. Wait, that looks like a penis. How is this a vagina?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So these are all the internal negative space inside the vagina.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So how did they make them?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So how these got made was an animal died, and the vagina was excised from the body and then filled with a silicone. So it created this mold of what is inside the space that would be inside.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Okay, yes. Yes, that makes sense. So the penis is going inside. So this is inside. Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So there's some animals with multiple vaginas, some with corkscrews. Vaginal folds, long and thin ones. Thicker, fatter ones.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

The array of vaginas in front of me. The story is clear that both males and females were allowed to participate in the evolutionary arms race. And I'm so excited for you to tell us all about it after the break. This episode is presented by bank of America. Money Decisions. Do they really have to be either or with bank of America? Turns out they can be. Yes. And as in yes to getting your own telescope and saving for a trip to the space observatory in Hawaii, Their digital tools help you create the future you want and help you keep enjoying today too. Do more with the bank that asks what would you like the power to do? Explore tips and [e-mail] yesand member FDIC.

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[Wendy Zuckerman]

Welcome back. Today on the show the Wonderful World of Animal vaginas. And we're here with Dr. Tiana Purtel. So welcome back. Let's start from the beginning for you. So you were in the middle of a PhD studying evolutionary theories and you started noticing something a bit frustrating in some of the papers that you were reading.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

I just noticed there was quite a difference in the way male animals and female animals were described, especially in terms of reproductive behavior and evolutionary strategies. The males are often described as these very active players. They're coercing, manipulating, harassing. And females, on the other hand, are described in very passive terminology. They're responding, reacting, even. Like adaptation is what males do and counter adaptations are what females do.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Wait, what do you mean by that?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So the male is adapting all these strategies and she's only relevant compared to what he's doing. And yes, there's an empirical bias in the way Western science has treated female animals, starting with Darwin, but extending even, even before that.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So tell me about that. Yeah. When, when did this bias begin?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Well, Aristotle, in fact, has described males as active and females as passive. So it extends all the way back till then. But it really was solidified by Darwin. He was developing his theory of sexual selection. And sexual selection is the struggle for mates, essentially, in how animals get mates. And he was developing his theory during Victorian England, which, as we all know, had some very pernicious views on women and their role in society. And that really formed the foundation for how Darwin viewed female animals, describing them as coy and chaste. And the thought that an animal, female, an animal couldn't be promiscuous was unacceptable. So they just ignored any sort of examples that would suggest otherwise. And it really a gave scientific credence to the patriarchy, but also kind of set Western science on this trajectory of focusing on the males. They're doing the interesting things, evolving weaponry and behaviors and tactics. Cool feathers and cool penises.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

And the Females, on the other hand, are just in the sidelines waiting for the males to do their thing and then working themselves around what the males decide. And the reality is that's not true at all.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Okay, so you're reading about all of this feeling scandalized, frustrated. How would we describe your emotions as you're kind of reckoning with this bias in science.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yeah, I suppose as you train in science, you're kind of given this line that science is objective. We all like to think we're objective observers of the world and we're testing theories in an objective manner, but the reality is science is very biased. So these models all came from Dr. Patricia Brennan in the US who's a phenomenal researcher and has made it her life mission to categorize as many animal vaginas as possible. Because the line that we often think about when it comes to penises and vaginas is that the penis is doing the thrusting, the ejaculating, and the. The vagina is just a passive tube sitting there ready to catch the penis and let the sperms go where they need to go. But that's not even remotely the case. And they're very diverse in function and form.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Let's jump in. Okay, so let's start with the duck.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes, the duck is the classic example. And this is actually, I think, the vagina that launched a thousand ships. That Patricia Brennan's line of research started from the duck vagina.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

From the duck.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So this is the duck vagina, and you can see it's corkscrewed.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Do you feel like you're on a game show? It's corkscrewed. Okay, yes. Let me look at this. Okay, so science first understood not the duck vagina, but the duck penis.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So what does the duck penis look like?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Male ducks are quite unusual in the bird and they have penises. So most birds have cloacas which are just like multi orifice holes or multipurpose holes, and they do a cloacal kiss. So the birds just rub it together, transfer the little sperm and flutter off. But ducks have these giant fleshy corkscrew organs that explode out of their body.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Really?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

And it explodes inside her.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

It's like, it's impressive to observe. And like most animals, we've known what the penis looks like for a while, and no one thought to even look at what the vagina might look like that would handle a penis like that.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So the male's penis is corkscrewed. Well, the vagina is also corkscrewed. And there's Some like little side pockets, like some flaps.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Pockets in the vagina. Wow. Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So why does it. You have all these?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

The amazing thing is it's corkscrewed in the opposite direction of the penis. So for a long time. And for some animal species, you think the penis and the vagina fit together, like the lock and key hypothesis.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

But this seems to be a vagina that's evolved to not accept the penis. And that's exactly what it can do. So male ducks can be quite coercive, to use a term that's often used to describe male animals. And the sex ratios tend to be skewed. There's more males than females, and I'll explain why in a second. And that means that not every male gets a female partner for the season. So the males that don't form these little bachelor gangs roving around looking for some females, and when they find one, they jump on her and force themselves on her. And that's why sex ratios can be skewed, is that some females end up being killed in this process or harmed.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Right.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

There's penises exploding everywhere. The female can't really do much about it on the outside, but she has her secret weapon, which is her vagina. And if the female doesn't want the penises that are exploding at her, she can shift her body around so that the penis tips go into these little side pockets formed by the corkscrew. Or in some species, she can squeeze the muscles around and just fully expel the penis. So. And it. And it works remarkably well. So in some duck species, about 40% of the matings a female will experience are these forced matings.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Right.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

But only 2 to 5% of the ducklings are fathered by those.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So of all the matings that she's having, up to 40% of them in some species are these forced, these sort of gangs of bachelor dogs. But then when you look at who's actually fathering the ducklings, it's only 2 to 5%.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Only 2 to 5% of the ducklings are coming from those.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Wow. So the rest are from mates that were more consensual that she was the.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Partner she's chosen for that season, or other males she's gone out to solicit matings from.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Oh, interesting. And so without science, having been able to know who was actually fathering these ducklings, you could see why this story would persist.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yeah, It's a great example of, you know, when you only tell. Look at half the story, you only get half the story, and it's funny.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

I'm still hearing that males are the coercive, violent ones.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes, yes. So it's not an untrue storyline. But there's females, like hyenas are a great example of a female that kind of flips that story. So female hyenas are bigger, more aggressive, dominate the society. And they also have these giant 8 inch long clitorises that work like a pseudo penis. They look like. They look exactly like the male's penis. They even have fused labia that look like testicles.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Oh, wow. But there's no sperm inside.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

No, no, no, no. It's just. That's just the fused labia that looks like it. And the. For a long time, actually, scientists really struggled to figure out what was going on with hyenas because they thought there were only males out there. But the female genitalia looks remarkably like the male. And they use these pseudo penises in dominance displays, greeting rituals. But it also gives them a very high degree over who's mating with them because it's like two socks, I guess, trying to push into each other if they're full, if they don't go in. So basically the female has to allow the male to mate with her. It's like I've heard it described as kind of like inverting a sock push. And she relaxes it and the penis gets to push in there.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Oh, wow.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

But it gives her full control over what's going on.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So is there a downside to this amazing.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Funny you say that this amazing control does come at a cost. So they'll urinate through this pseudopenis. They use it in their dominance displays, they mate through it, but they also have to give birth through it. And it's been described as pushing a cantaloupe through a garden hose. So it comes at a very high cost.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

I'm clenching. I'm clenching.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes. The pup has to rip through the pseudo penis.

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Wow.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Okay, after the break, we're going to learn about one creature that has a genital shield. I think it's my favorite, actually. It's coming up.

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[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Thank you.

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[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

How did you.

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[Wendy Zuckerman]

I am so happy. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

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[Wendy Zuckerman]

Welcome back. Today on the show, Dr. Tiana Purtle is walking us through vaginas of the animal kingdom. It's really an evolutionary battle between, between both vaginas and penises which when you think about evolution is that is how obviously it worked. Right. It doesn't really make sense that only one would be evolving.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yeah. And also it makes sense that they wouldn't necessarily be evolving in the same direction together. Always the obviously both males and females want to reproduce, but females have to invest a bit more resources, time and energy into reproduction relative to males. And that's where you get the sexual conflict, where the males and the females interests don't always align. So that's why you get some of these wild, wild tactics and different physiology, morphology and behaviors.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So tell me how the water strider.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes, the water strider is a great story of kind of sexual conflict, evolutionary arms race in action. So water striders are bugs that sit on top of the ponds and water. The females have these genital shields. So and I do have a model of this but unfortunately didn't make it.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

On the you can't fly with that sort of weaponry.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

But it she's got her ovipositor that sits inside of her abdomen and then the ovipositor.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

The ovipositor where the eggs go. Yeah.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

And if she wants to mate, she will push it out and it kind of opens and the male can deliver the sperm. But if it's in this position, there's no chance the male gets to mate with her.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

If it's closed up, it's closed.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So the female has evolved this morphology that gives her full control over who's mating with her. She has full say over who's going to father her offspring. But the males have evolved this counter strategy and historically it would have been described the other way around oh, of course.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Right.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Generally. But the, so the, the male can't mate with FEMA unless she is fully.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

On board, open for business.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So the male's response strategy is he will, to use those terms that we said are often describing males. Yeah. He will threaten her by. He sits on top of her and taps the water. And that will alert all the predators in the, in the water.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Right.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

And the predators will come up and because the females on the bottom, she has a higher chance of being eaten. So he'll just sit there. She can't fly away because he's sitting on her and he'll just tap this little threatening tap dance until she either opens her ovipositor, gets eaten or they both leave.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Wow, what a strategy.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

The insect world is really fascinating when it comes to genitals and insects where the females have the penis, what we would call, it's a gynosome, but it would be what we think of as a penis. And the male has the receiving organ.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Okay.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes. There's many ways to be a male and a female.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So there's a couple more animals I want to go through. So so far we've just been talking about generally one vagina. But there are animals with two.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes, in fact there are many animals with two. So this is the rattlesnake. So you can see there's two of them, two vaginas, two uterus.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

And each one can be fertilized.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

The males have two pronged penis, the hemipenes. So they use them both at the same time, the hemipenes.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

And either one can shoot out sperm.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

And then they have the two vaginas, two uterus. So two clitoris? Yes, clitoria, hemic, hem. Clitoris is what it's called in snakes.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Does it give pleasure?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

A hemipene. So there's been remarkably little research about clitorises, which is remarkable because all mammals definitely have one. And I'm pretty sure pretty much all vertebrates have one as well. And we don't really know what they do and for these animals, but presumably they play an important role in reproduction.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Because otherwise that's a big lot of wasted energy for evolution. So tell me the evolutionary arms race going on with these snakes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Okay, well, so snakes, these rattlesnakes, they reproduce quite slowly. They're long lived, slow growing animals. So I believe they don't become sexually mature until they're about 13.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Okay.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

And they also don't produce very many clutch. So what these snakes do and a lot of other species in the animal queendom do is they'll store sperm. So these guys have, like, a special organ that will store the sperm.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Okay.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Over winter, for years even. There's, I believe there's a tortoise or a turtle that stored sperm for four years. And then could you still clutch from it? Wow.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

They've got, like, a little IVF fridge.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

In there, these snakes. They'll go around and mate with the males they come across. They can be quite indiscriminate because they can keep all the sperm they find and deal with it later. So that is amazing.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

They could store it for that long.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yes. And then there's some evidence to suggest that snakes, alligators, sharks, all these species that are storing sperm can then select which sperm to use for which clutch. And we don't exactly know how they're doing this, but there's quite a complex dialogue happening between the sperm and the vagina environment.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So the female will mate with a bunch of different males, store the sperm, and then we think when she releases an egg, she'll somehow, using the word choose generously, but she'll somehow be like, all right, well, for this egg, yeah, we really want this sperm.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

They want this sperm. Well, in the ejaculate, you have quite a diverse range of sperms. This sperm has crappy genetics. We're not gonna choose that one. Oh, this one. It's got great receptors on the outside. We're gonna help this one go forward.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Interesting. And you'll be the one to fertilize my eggs, and that'll increase my baby chance of survival. Amazing. So clearly some animals have evolved this amazing. These bells and whistles, these sperm storage facilities. Corkscrew.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Corkscrews. Vaginal folds.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Yes. And, like, genital shields. No shade to my vagina or anyone else listening, but it's pretty cut and dry as far as I'm concerned. And the alpaca, not throwing it under the bridge, but like, also just kind of looks like a tube. Yeah. Why is it which.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

You know, I do still love it, though. It's one of my favorites. It's very regal looking, isn't it?

[Wendy Zuckerman]

It is very regal. It's just like a very long tube.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Coincides with a very long, thin penis.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

I could only imagine.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

This vagina does many amazing things.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Still, tell me about the alpaca. What's happening here?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So this vagina is punctured by a very long penis that has a little hook on the end of it.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What does the alpaca penis look like?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Terrifying. It's long and thin. And it has a collagenous hook on the bottom. And alpacas are quite unusual in the mammal world in that the. So most penises stay in the vagina deposit the sperm within the vaginal canal.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

The cervix will often kind of function as a bit of a quality control checkpoint. And the sperm have to make it.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Through the cervix, the trapdoor of the cervix.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Whereas for these guys, the penis punctures through the little hook, pokes through the cervix and deposits the sperm straight into the uterus. Ooh.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Okay. Does feel efficient if I'm gunning for the male alpaca. Good strategy, I would say. Good work. Evolution.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

And, you know, this is potentially because male alpacas, what we call dribble ejaculators.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Hello.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Now, dribble ejaculators. So the ejaculate dribbles out very slowly. So mating can take up to an hour. In alpacas, it's like anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes. And it happens in a very reclined repose. The female alpaca will sit on the ground, the male will get on top of her and sometimes she'll lay down on her side, have a nap, wait for him to finish his job. And so other species, the ejaculate comes out with force.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Get familiar with those species.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, needs a little bit of force to get through the cervix. Whereas, I guess, you know, if you're dribbling, you might as well put it where it needs to go.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Of course, that makes sense.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

I guess this nondescript normal vagina.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Can look the way it does because the female has a high degree of control behaviorally. So if she's not intimating, she'll just stand up and walk away. Or if she doesn't want it in the first place, she just won't lay down. So she hasn't necessarily needed to evolve all these fancy bells and whistles to stop sperm from getting to where she doesn't want it to go because she.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Can just get up and leave. Oh, that's so interesting. So we find that in the animals, like to go back to the dark, where it is more forcible and the males are really coercing that sexual behavior. Then you have to evolve a vagina that can handle that, that can sneakily.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Well, that will give you the final say.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Right. But with some animals like alpacas, the sort of evolutionary arms race actually comes from the behaviour that you can just walk away. I'm done. With this dribble. So it is interesting. We do often see, as you've talked about at the beginning of the show, you know, we often see sex as this battle where the slutty male is fighting to impregnate.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

But it's never described as slutty for the male. Like, promiscuous is used for females that mate multiple times, but the male is just multiple matings. Oh, right.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

The male's just being a male.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

We've had this since Darwin, this very narrow view of what a female should and shouldn't be. You know, monogamous was the word just that Darwin used to describe females. Coy, passive, chaste, loyal, dutiful mothers. But that's not what we see in the animal kingdom. Also, you know, we haven't even touched on this, you know, homosexuality and homosexual behaviors in animals.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Very common.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

And there's many different ways to reproduce and be a male and a female in the world. And I think appreciating that diversity in the animal world will hopefully help us appreciate that diversity in the human world.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

That's right. Where we just. There's so much diversity within species, let alone amongst species. Yes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Yeah. And, yeah, the patriarchy has had scientific credence for too long from this very narrow view of males and females and reproductions.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

So when you look at all these rainbow vaginas, this rainbow of vaginas, do you have a favorite? Can you choose amongst your children?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

I mean, it's hard. I mean, I do love the alpaca one because it's just very regal. It stands taller than all the rest. But I saw. Yeah, the duck is one of my favorites as well. Just because I love that story of, you know, the secret weapon vagina. And the female has the last laugh.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Mm. So you have this show, Vaginal Vignettes. Vaginal Vignettes.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

I've. It's had many different names over the years, but this year was the Vaginal Vignettes.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Vaginal Vignettes. And where you showcase all of these amazing vaginas. What's been the best reaction you've gotten so far?

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

They've all been the greatest reaction. What do they say about it? Love it. I've had a lot of women come up. I'm so glad to hear this story. It just makes me so much happier to have a vagina myself.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

You made them happier that they had a vagina?

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That's huge.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

You are changing lives, Tiana.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

One vagina at a time.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

One vagina at a time. Yeah.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

It's again, gives people insight into how diverse being female is.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

Thank you so much for your time.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Thank you.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

If you haven't been watching this video, you can find it on Spotify. Also on instagram and TikTok, we're going to put little snippets of this video up so you can see these fabulous model vaginas. We're on sciencevs.

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That's us.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

On instagram and on TikTok. I'm Wendy zuckerman.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

So.

[Wendy Zuckerman]

I'm wendy zuckerman. And I'll fact you next time. You look like you just won the Oscar.

[Dr. Tiana Purtel]

Thank you. Thank you. You don't know how much this means to.