History Main / NonhumansLackAttributes

It appears to be common practice for animals, aliens, monsters and other nonhuman animals to have no visible genitals, even when depicted in the nude. This is particularly true in comics and animation, but can also be seen in live action TV. Its most glaring use tends to be when an otherwise anthropomorphized or mutant human character is shown ''au naturale'', especially if they could just as easily put on some clothes.

* Cats in general have [[http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_penis_of_a_male_cat_look_like less obvious]] reproductive systems than other domesticated animals.

* {{Pokemon}} don't seem to have genitals, although since no one knows how they mate it's possible that they actually don't and they use some other way of determining gender.
** From TheRant of ''PennyArcade'':
-->"...Rotom is an Electric pokemon, so Ground based attacks should be a good match, but since he is also a Ghost he levitates - making him immune to that class of damage. I keep saying he, even though it is basically a cloud of friendly, forking electricity. If he has a penis - and I don't know that science can even determine that - it must be a [[{{Squick}} writhing]], [[NightmareFuel nightmare thing]]."[[hottip:*:Rotom actually is a genderless 'mon. So, thankfully, it does not possess a writhing nightmare penis.]]

* Cats in general have [[ http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_penis_of_a_male_cat_look_like less obvious]] reproductive systems than other domesticated animals.

* Shows up in the ''ScoobyDoo'' and ''{{Garfield}}'' live action films, where they don't have the excuse of being cartoon animals. Of course, having to make them anatomical would lead to buckets full of NoJustNo.

* The ''SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise primarily features animals without clothing (or very little), except in case of the females. None of the male characters are shown to have genitals, thankfully.

* Totally averted in ''Gon''.

* The ''SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise primarily features animals without clothing (or very little), except in case of the females. None of the male characters are shown to have genitals, thankfully.

* This trope is invoked in-character in ''Discworld/ThiefOfTime'', when Susan takes a paper tube away from Jason and informs the boy that, no, the cardboard animal which the class is constructing is a ''polite'' horse.

** Rebecca Romijn even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this by commenting that her character?s costume was basically "strategically placed body paint, pasties, and clever camera angles".

** Lampshaded by Mark Hamil's initial reaction to seeing Chewbacca on the set of the first Star Wars movie: "The wookie has no pants."

* BugsBunny may have actually [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar averted]] this trope in the short ''The Wabbit Who Came To Supper'', during a scene in which he's coming out of the shower and his towel slips, revealing what looks like a white fur-covered penis for a couple frames. This has pretty much been discredited by most though, it was most likely supposed to just be the area between his legs and the towel behind them.

-->''It's a mockery. It doesn't even have any .. ahhem .. attributes. ''

This trope exists as an easy way of censoring anatomical parts some people might find offensive, even when those areas would be plainly visible in RealLife. For example, anyone who has ever seen a male pig knows that it's nearly impossible to ''avoid'' noticing certain anatomical features on its underside, yet a cartoon pig will be drawn lacking them; and the same goes for the female pig, too. This is also a concession of realism for the sake of the artist, as most artists would prefer to avoid drawing ''that'' part of an animal themselves.

Besides, for particularly small and many non-mammal species, most people would have some difficulty finding and identifying the genitals, if they are external at all; but in this trope even large mammals are portrayed this way. There is a common assumption that a creature's natural fur will obscure the genitals and/or nipples, even though a glance at a real animal will show that this isn't the case, and often the fur is actually thinner in those places.

Often [[BizarreAlienBiology Bizarre Alien Anatomy]] can be cited for [[HandWave justification]], but it's rare that anyone will actually [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom address the issue on-screen]]. It is easily excused in literature, thanks to the LawOfConservationOfDetail leaving certain anatomical details to the reader's imagination rather than pointing them out explicitly. In comics, male characters sometimes suffer from this as well; shadows may conveniently cover the area in question, but if there is a silhouette, something will be missing.

A subtrope of AnatomyAnomaly. Compare FunnyAnimalAnatomy. AnimeAnatomy is a sister trope, and HalfDressedCartoonAnimal is a subtrope.

* ''DragonBallZAbridged'' lampshades this with the Namekians. Repeatedly. At length.

* The preservers in ''{{Elfquest}}'' have androgynous bodies without genitals or nipples. Justified, as they're apparently asexual and genderless.

* The prawns of ''{{District 9}}'' are built like Earthworms. They are hermaphroditic, and they self-fertilize.

* [[StarWars Wookiees]]. You'd ''hope''.

--> ''See? I'm as anatomically impaired as a Ken doll.''

* Shows up in the ''ScoobyDoo'' and ''{{Garfield}}'' live action films, where they don't have the excuse of being cartoon animals. Of course, having to make them anatomical would lead to buckets full of NoJustNo.

* A particularly curious example is in ''{{Son Of The Mask}}'' where Otis the dog is partly played by a real dog and partly by horrifying animation. When the dog is real, it obviously has the equipment you would expect but as soon as it puts on the mask and becomes animated the downstairs department is noticeably lacking. This would have been less jarring had it not been for the fact that the whole premise of the movie is that a human male impregnates his wife whilst wearing the mask.

* When the AlienAutopsy was presented on {{Fox}} they pixilated the part of the "body" where the genitals would be, if it had any. (And truthfully, it looked like it was lacking.)

* The ''SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise primarily features animals without clothing (or very little), except in case of the females. None of the male characters are shown to have genitals, thankfully.

* In ''ElGoonishShive'' Grace's fur covers unsightly parts when she is naked. This is even lampshaded by Greg. Somewhat justified due to the whole VoluntaryShapeshifting thing.

* Both [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] and [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in this '' [[http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20071117 BuckGodot: Zap-Gun For Hire]]'' strip. Buck, on the run from an [[{{Determinator}} ardent pursuer]], drops into the rooftop garden of his best friend (and bartender)'s fiance, Tal. Both she and her husband-to-be are Thuxians, vaguely resembling somewhat 'softer' versions of the Xenomorphs from ''{{Alien}}''. Tal was apparently sunning when Buck dropped in, and is thus buck-naked, which causes her to complain loudly about Buck's sudden appearance. He silences her, however, by pointing out that since humans and Thuxians are biologically incompatible, he wouldn't even know which parts of her could be considered 'naughty'. Then he comments on how her plumb thorps bring out the sway of her tail, and promptly gets [[MegatonPunch Megaton Punched]] through a window. (The lesson, my friend: Buck Godot [[MagnificentBastard ALWAYS knows more than he lets on.]])

* PvP has Skull, a large, fat, blue naked troll. Several characters have commented on his lack of genitalia, particularly when he was dating a normal human girl.

* Subverted in the movie versions of 'The Plague Dogs' and 'Watership Down'. Both featured animals (mostly dogs) drawn with realistic genitals.

It appears to be common practice for animals, aliens, monsters and other nonhuman animals to have no visible genitals, even when depicted in the nude. This is particularly true in comics and animation, but can also be seen in live action TV. Its most glaring use tends to be when an otherwise anthropomorphized or mutant human character is shown ''au naturale'', especially if they could easily just put on some clothes.

* PvP has Skull, a large, fat, blue naked troll. Several characters have commented on his lack of genetalia, particularly when he was dating a normal human girl.