"Venus and the Seven Sexes" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

story by American writer

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass mo ...

. It was first published in the anthology ''The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, and Other Stories'' ( Avon Publishing) in 1949, and then in 1953 in the anthology ''Science-Fiction Carnival'' by

Fredric Brown Fredric Brown (October 29, 1906 – March 11, 1972) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer.D. J. McReynolds, "The Short Fiction of Fredric Brown" in Frank N. Magill, (ed.) ''Survey of Science Fiction Literature'', Vol. 4 ...

and

Mack Reynolds Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds (November 11, 1917 – January 30, 1983) was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont, and Todd Har ...

(

Shasta Publishers Shasta Publishers was a science fiction and fantasy small press specialty publishing house founded in 1947 by Erle Melvin Korshak, T. E. Dikty, and Mark Reinsberg, who were all science fiction fans from the Chicago area. The name of the press was ...

).ISFDB publication history
/ref> The story was reprinted in 1968 in ''The Seven Sexes'', an anthology of William Tenn's

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

published by Ballantine Books. It also appeared in the 2001 anthology of William Tenn's works titled '' Immodest Proposals'', published by

NESFA Press NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books: * Books honoring the guest(s) of honor at their annual convention, Boskone, and at some Worldcons and ...

Plot

On the planet

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, the native Plookhs —who require the participation of seven different

sexes Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

in order to

reproduce Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual org ...

— are corrupted by human film director Hogan Shlestertrap.

Reception

Don D'Ammassa Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts ...

has described it as "quite funny",William Tenn
by

, at DonDammassa.com; published no later than September 14, 2015; retrieved November 24, 2017 while

Nick Gevers Nick Gevers (born 1965) is a South African science fiction editor and critic, whose work has appeared in ''The Washington Post Book World'', '' Interzone'', Scifi.com, SF Site, ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' and ''Nova Express''. H ...

considered it to be a "scathing nalysisof militarism and cargo-cult culture possessing great bite even now".Immodest Proposals
reviewed by

, at the ''

SF Site SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genre ...

''; published 2001; retrieved November 24, 2017

Io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

called it "off-kilter" and "humorous.Remembering Golden Age Science Fiction Author William Tenn
by Alisdair Wilkins, at

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

; published February 8, 2010; retrieved November 24, 2017 '' Inc.'' editor George Gendron has compared the Plookh reproductive cycle to the difficulties of running a startup.The Seven Sexes of Venus
by George Gendron, at '' Inc.''; published April 1, 1999; retrieved November 24, 2017

References

External links

* 1949 short stories Science fiction short stories Short stories set on Venus Works by William Tenn Avon (publisher) books {{1940s-sf-story-stub