Last Thursday I had the opportunity to hear Kee Malesky speak at the Kentucky Library Association fall meeting. For many years now I have been envious of her job as one of the three reference librarians for NPR, but after hearing about the stress and intensity that is a part of her daily routine in a deadline oriented institution, I am glad I have my quiet cataloging job.
First it was Bert & Ernie, then it was Tinky Winky, and according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, some folks are claiming that SpongeBob SquarePants is gay. I don’t care one way or the other, but what gets me is that some people are afraid of gay characters in children’s television programming. With the backlash against even the hint of the possibility of a character being gay, should the number of hate crimes against gay people committed by youth really surprise us?
“Whether he’s intended to be a gay character or not, that’s the question people are asking,” responded Mr. Kenny. … “It’s never been addressed by us on the show,” he said, adding with a wink that besides, “all the main characters are hiding horrible secrets of their own.”
The truth about sea sponge reproduction is even stranger. You could actually describe them as “transgendered” and into “role-playing.”
Most sponges are hermaphroditic (having both sexes in one), but produce only one type of gamete per spawn. (i.e. some play the male role and the other plays the female role, even though they are both capable of playing either role). The sperm is released into the water column by the “male” sponge and finds its way to the “female” sponges, where fertilization occurs internally. Eventually, the planktonic larvae are released from the female sponge and float around in the water column as plankton for only a few days. They then settle down and start growing. The next time the sponges reproduce, they may change sexual roles.
from http://www.oceanicresearch.org/sponges.html