Beluga.

I was at the zoo the other day (the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium--Zoolights are on 'til the 4th!) and I saw a Beluga (a white whale) and my first thought was "it looks like a penis."



And I was ashamed.

But then I thought about it. What I mean isn't just that it's an elongated shape, but it's a shape of strength and sinew, of sleekness and grace. There's a lovely symmetry to a beluga's muscular underside, a sense of great power gracefully shaped. They're beautiful animals, and the way they glide their three-thousand-pound bodies through the water with just a flick--and just for the sake of play!--is awe-inspiring.

"Looks like a penis" isn't always goofy or insulting or potty-humorous. A beluga looks like a penis because it is beautiful in the same ways that a penis is beautiful.