Give em The Harkness Test
Does that mean there could be species which humans want to fuck, but which would not consider humans intelligent enough to give proper consent?
Theoretically, yeah. There are tool using species right here on this planet that pass a lot of tests about self awareness, but we're an order of magnitude more intelligent than a bonobo (well, mostly) and shouldn't be banging them. I purposely used a species that has recreational sex as an example here.
If there were an intergalactic species that saw us as little more than self aware tool users, that would be up to their morals.
Either you're smart enough to understand the concept of consent or you aren't. Even if there is a sliding scale of intelligence of creatures (I have some issues with the concept of intelligence as a thing that can reasonably be objectively measured, but we can put that aside for now), whether you're intelligent enough to understand what you will be doing and what will be done to you and make an informed decision about whether you want to do it seems a pretty binary thing, and largely independent of your intelligence in other contexts (e.g. ability to use tools).
You could make the argument that alien sex might be complicated enough for whatever reason that that the aliens would argue that humans couldn't meaningfully understand everything that was being done to them and thus could not, by definition, give informed consent, but at least from my experience, humans seem pretty on board with things they don't fully understand. Whether it's ethical to fuck someone who has admitted that they don't know anything about what you're going to do to them, is aware they may be harmed by it, and wants to do it anyway is another question.
Besides, all we'd need is for one human to fuck one alien for science to know whether or not it was safe.
I don't think so... Intelligence isn't required for consent, it's informed willingness in the absence of coercion or manipulation. The other factor is the likelihood of harm - I think that covers the full ethics of what beings you can ethically fuck
There's a few ways to look at it
One of my parent's dogs once had sex with a handyman's foot to completion... By the time he realized what was happening it was over, and the dog wasn't very bothered. The guy was also very nice about it, but I bet he stopped wearing sandals to jobs
What if he was into it? It's not like the dog would care... He clearly knew what he was doing. If we're just horny dogs humping their feet, it's not like they're doing anything wrong by not kicking us off
It also reminds me of a YouTube skit where an 18 year old boy goes to an adoption agency to find a 16 year old girl to adopt, with clear implications. It's a dark joke, but I think it lines up with this nicely
Let's say there's an alien species far more advanced than us. We're too dumb to even understand the basics of their technology, so to them we're basically pets - they can keep us around, but we're at their mercy. Now, there's an issue - a human could believe, even falsely, that we have to have sex with them or there will be consequences. We could even believe it's expected of us - and that's not coercive
Now let's say that same species came to Earth, guaranteed the health and happiness if every human, and made tinder for humans who want to have sex with an alien. In that case, if you handle it correctly, you can minimize or eliminate coercion from the act
Maybe the aliens don't even have sex... Maybe they just think humans are cute, and they enjoy making us feel good the way we enjoy petting animals
I don't think intelligence plays into any of this - consent isn't about intelligence at all. It's about willingness in an uncorrupted state
Someone needs to get this to Riker
Might want to add, "Does it consent?" to the end of that.
There's also the card game Consentacle
A few years later:
These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.
Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations. And have sex with them.
Interspecies Reviewers but sci-fi
“However, I did make it with a hot alien babe. And in the end, is that not what man has dreamt of since first he looked up at the stars?”
Riker Maneuver intensifies.
Original for those who are frustrated by a phone screenshot of a fuzzy version on Facebook
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/humans-2
Bonus panel:
!spoiler
!<Obviously Earth has passed the test.
They were given a task, found a group for whom the task would be ideal in both their willingness and ability to do it, and presented this group to the task giver. They did not force a slave class, they didn't do a lottery, they didn't see it as a chance to get rid of undesirables, they just sent people who legitimately wanted to go.
There was no victim, thus there was no crime.
If these aliens can't tell, they're morons who clearly didn't think it through.
Sir, this is a Wendys
If these aliens can't tell, they're morons who clearly didn't think it through.
There's a popular phrase:"breeding like rabbits". We view rabbits like some sex crazed breeding machines, like all they do is fuck. What if we're the galactic rabbits and the other galactic civilizations aren't trying to fuck everything that moves? Maybe for them kinks aren't a thing and as such their test makes sense because you can't prepare for something you can't imagine (or believe to be impossible).
Imagine you want to prank an alien by putting a bucket on top of the door. When the alien walks in the bucket falls on them. Brilliant, except the alien doesn't move the door because it phases through the door. Are you stupid for making a prank that expects the victim to be solid? Or did you just make the prank based on the knowledge you have, which includes knowing you can't just phase through things.
The aliens weren't dumb. Maybe they did think in through and they thought it would be impossible to be intelligent being to want to fuck extraterrestrials.
“Careful what you ask for, you just might get it.”
I mean id at least sign up. Who knows, I could be into it.
If not, hell, at least I'm off earth.
Yeah.
The odds feel at least even as a penniless immigrant in a space faring society, than as a citizen in one that no longer particularly seems to value truth or science.
You know, sometimes I wish I did a little more with my life instead of hanging out in front of places selling weed and shit. Like, maybe be an animal doctor. Why not me? I like seals and shit. Or maybe an astronaut. Yeah. Like, be the first motherfucker to see a new galaxy, or find a new alien lifeform... and fuck it. And people'd be like, "There he goes. Homeboy fucked a Martian once.
Shut up and get that alien dick out!
Godamnit, I told you we shouldn't get someone who UwUs!
That's a bad dragon.
Drag's name is Dragon Rider and drag approves this message.
That woman, earlier in the day;
"I mean we've been coming here for 50 years and performing anal probes and all that we have learned is that one in ten doesn't really seem to mind."
Humans: hold my beer...
I'll bet they have advanced healthcare.
That alone would get you the volunteers.
Maybe, but they might also have never encountered warm blooded species, so it’s a toss up
Everyone under the median income just heard, "So there's a chance?"
an extremely elegantly bite-sized HFY story
I miss that sub
I miss the pancakes.
I always preferred the HASO variety.
Personally I prefer to taste the pancakes rather than just smelling them, but I guess I'll take it.
....humans, amiright?
Just blow them up while you can...they spread
you're next 🦁
About time, been waiting my whole life!
Considering the behavior of hive organisms, what is the difference between a species forcing individuals to go with the aliens, and members of a species willingly going? From a biological perspective, what is the difference between individuals being exposed to fear hormones and being exposed to horny hormones, to an outside observer?
Do bees willingly die to protect their hive? Do humans have children out of a desire to see their species thrive?
