"Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" is a 1969

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

in which science fiction author

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are '' Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, '' The Mote in God's E ...

details the problems that

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

would face in

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal pene ...

and

reproduction 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 or ...

with a human woman, using arguments based on humorous reconciliation between

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

, and the abilities of Kryptonians as presented in Superman comic books. The issues discussed include Superman's loss of physical control during intercourse, the presumed "super powers" of Superman's

sperm cells A spermatozoon (; also spelled spermatozoön; ; ) is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote. (A zygote is a single cell, with a complete set of chromosomes, ...

genetic incompatibility Genetic incompatibility describes the process by which mating yields offspring that are nonviable, prone to disease, or genetically defective in some way. In nature, animals can ill afford to devote costly resources for little or no reward, ergo, ...

between humans and Kryptonians, and the dangers the woman would face during gestation. The title is a reference to the power and invulnerability indicated by Superman's epithet "Man of Steel", contrasting it with the relative fragility – like

Kleenex Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, tampons, and diapers. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue in the United States and Canada, the ...

brand facial tissue – of a human. The hypothetical woman is referred to in the essay as "LL", the initials of three women Superman has been romantically involved with:

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...

Lana Lang Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has appeared in other media adaptations of Superman, typically as a teenager. These portrayals include the ''Superboy (TV series), Advent ...

, and

Lori Lemaris Lori may refer to: *Lori (given name) *Lori Province, Armenia *Lori Fortress, a fortress in Armenia *Lori Berd, a village in Armenia * Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, a historical Armenian kingdom from c. 980 to 1240, sometimes known as the Kingdom of ...

Publication history

The essay was first published in the men's magazine ''Knight'' in 1969, then collected in Niven's 1971 collection, ''

All the Myriad Ways ''All the Myriad Ways'' is a collection of 14 short science fiction stories and essays by American writer Larry Niven, originally published in 1971. Contents * All the Myriad Ways * "Passerby" * "For a Foggy Night" * "Wait it Out" * " The Jigsaw ...

''. It was republished in the 1978 anthology ''SuperHeroes'' edited by Michel Parry and noted with a starburst on the cover: "SPECIAL BONUS FEATURE! Intimate details of Superman's sex life revealed!" It was reprinted in the 1990 Niven compilation ''

N-Space n-Space Inc. was an American video game developer founded in 1994 by Erick S. Dyke, Dan O'Leary, and Sean Purcell. It developed games on nearly a dozen different platforms, but was mostly focused on Nintendo consoles and handhelds in particul ...

''. It was published with softcore illustrations by classic Superman artist

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

, with the character's identifying features and logo obscured, and conspicuous trademark/copyright disclaimers, in a 1995 issue of ''

Penthouse Comix ''Penthouse Comix'' was an American mass-market, magazine-sized comic book, published by Penthouse International/General Media Communications from spring 1994 through July 1998. Founded and initially edited by George Caragonne and Horatio Weisfel ...

''. In 1986 it was posted to

Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it wa ...

, leading to an early debate about online

copyright violation Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

References

External links

Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex
{{Larry Niven 1969 essays Essays about comics Essays by Larry Niven Superman in other media Sexology literature Works about sex Sexuality in science fiction