Suffice it to say, mammals are scarce, reptilians are the new intelligent dominators of the planet, and there might be unicorn wrangling occurring in a western style setting (I told you it was strange)
Classically, Unicorns are of course able to be caught by having a virgin lure the animal in. But what happens when you have a character that is based on whip tail lizards, which are capable of parthenogenesis? For those who don't know, parthenogensis is (source: Wikipedia) form of asexual reproduction found in females, where growth and development of embryos occurs without fertilization by a male. So I'd basically have a virgin mary lizard.
If you consider virginity to be based on the intactness of a hymen, then laying eggs or giving birth effectively removes the 'virgin' status. If you consider it to be based on the sexual act, then they -are- still virgins.
So I'm torn. I could easily just have my main character not lay any eggs, but a part of me wants to have that be just a natural part of life. She wouldn't have to be a mother to them, so laying them wouldn't affect her career choice (geologist/archaeologist) but it could determine who I have as a character that's been -hired- to try and catch a unicorn.
What are your thoughts and opinions?
