Re:The dolphin who loved me: the Nasa-funded project that we...
by DoreenMichele on Tuesday November 20, 2018 @08:24PM
(#18499477)
I sort of fail to understand the outrage about the sex thing
I will suggest that, in this case, the outrage may be rooted in the fact that the dolphin literally killed itself.
She didn't masturbate the dolphin for her own sexual pleasure. To her, it was a perfunctory part of her job. It was expedient, to free up time to teach the dolphin. And no one stopped to wonder what the emotional and psychological consequences would be for the dolphin.
It was smart enough to try to teach language to, but then it was simultaneously assumed to be a "dumb animal" just needing to ejaculate, like that's a necessary bodily function like peeing and that's it. But the dolphin apparently experienced emotional bonding and was completely devastated when separated from her and literally committed suicide because of it.
So I think on some level people are reacting not to the "sex" per se, but to the "You did a thing that caused an intelligent creature to want to be dead because of the thing you did. Seriously? What is wrong with you?"
I will suggest that, in this case, the outrage may be rooted in the fact that the dolphin literally killed itself.
She didn't masturbate the dolphin for her own sexual pleasure. To her, it was a perfunctory part of her job. It was expedient, to free up time to teach the dolphin. And no one stopped to wonder what the emotional and psychological consequences would be for the dolphin.
It was smart enough to try to teach language to, but then it was simultaneously assumed to be a "dumb animal" just needing to ejaculate, like that's a necessary bodily function like peeing and that's it. But the dolphin apparently experienced emotional bonding and was completely devastated when separated from her and literally committed suicide because of it.
So I think on some level people are reacting not to the "sex" per se, but to the "You did a thing that caused an intelligent creature to want to be dead because of the thing you did. Seriously? What is wrong with you?"