The birds and the bees
"The birds and the bees" aka "the facts of life" (sometimes expanded to "the birds, the bees and the butterflies" or "the birds, the bees, the flowers, and the trees") is a commonly used phrase (which has become somewhat cliché) which refers to clumsy or inept attempts at sex education for children or adolescents, such as the use of euphemisms or symbols to describe sexual behaviour or body parts. A discussion about "the birds and the bees" may therefore involve references to nature (ie. bees pollinating flowers and birds laying eggs) without actually describing human biology or providing any useful insight.
The phrase is said to have its origins in a folk tale, whose exact source is unknown, that reportedly became popular in Southern Africa (probably Namibia) around the turn of the last century. It tells the story of a colony of bee-eater (Merops pusillus) birds laying their eggs after a meal of honeybees.
Or possibly derived from Kamadeva, Hindu god of love that is accompanied by a selection of Birds and Bees at all times.
"Word sleuths William and Mary Morris hint that it may have been inspired by words like these from the poet Samuel Coleridge: 'All nature seems at work ... The bees are stirring--birds are on the wing ... and I the while, the sole unbusy thing, not honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.' " [1]
The phrase was also part of a hit song in the early 1960s.
In popular culture
- In the Star Trek episode "Amok Time", at the outset of Spock's explanation of pon farr, given his evident reluctance to share the information, Kirk tries to relieve Spock's discomfort by saying, "It happens to the birds and the bees"; Spock rejoins by saying that such creatures are not Vulcan.
- "The talk" is another euphemism, and appears in an episode of "The Brady Bunch".
External links
See also
.svg){kind=small} | This sexuality-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |