"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 (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

in which science fiction author

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...

details the problems that

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

would face in

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

and

reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: Asexual reproduction, asexual and Sexual ...

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

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and the abilities of

Kryptonians Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

as presented in Superman comic books.

Summary

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; : spermatozoa; ) is a motile sperm cell produced by male animals relying on internal fertilization. A spermatozoon is a moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete that joins with an ov ...

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 primarily known for their line of facial tissues. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue, ''Kleenex'' is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark applied to products made in 78 countries. 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'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

Lana Lang Lana Lang is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is a ''Superman'' supporting character and love interest of the teenage Clark Kent. She was created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela ...

and Lori Lemaris.

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 Jigsa ...

''. 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''. It was published with

softcore Soft core or Softcore may refer to: * Softcore microprocessor, microprocessor implemented using logic synthesis and perhaps other circuits * Soft core (synthesis), a digital circuit that can be wholly implemented using logic synthesis * Soft roc ...

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'' is an American mass-market, magazine-sized comic book, published by Penthouse International/General Media Communications from spring 1994 through July 1998 and 2024 to present. Founded and initially edited by George Caragonne ...

''. In 1986, it was posted to

Usenet Usenet (), a portmanteau of User's Network, is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose UUCP, Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Elli ...

, 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, ...

References

External links

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