His blazing hair is slicked back, his azure lips pucker slightly and his washboard abs glisten in the sunlight. This describes but one piece of salacious Temoc fanart created as an ode to UTD’s mascot. From sultry body pillows to intense fan fiction, students have made their carnal desire for Temoc well-known throughout the UTD community. And that insatiable lust stems from the heart of what makes Comets unique, said David Baker, neuroscience junior and Student Government vice president.
“I think we have a very unique culture around how we treat our mascot that most other universities do not,” Baker said. “I think [Temoc appreciation] helps build a lot more of the actual culture on campus, because we don’t really have [a] big unifying thing like a football team, for example. So I think people find other ways to kind of rally around it. I think Temoc is one of those rallying points.”
If there is a ground zero for this phenomenon, it’s the radioactive offices of UTD’s official opinion and satire magazine A Modest Proposal. AMP has been producing provocative portrayals of Temoc for years, with some highlights being their 2019 body pillow giveaway and the covers of their infamous February issues. Animation and games senior Sasha Wuu, the Editor-in-Chief of AMP, said the impetus to pump out Temoc erotica was to shock readers of the magazine.
“Something that I wanted to do [with the magazine] is push the boundaries a little bit,” Wuu said. “I felt like it was a good time to scandalize people, because I think that that’s something that’s satire, that’s something this kind of magazine does really well.”
The influence of sexy Temoc extends beyond AMP — it has infiltrated the entire campus. Student Government held a fanfiction competition from 2022 to 2023 called EROL, where Comets submitted all kinds of fanworks ranging from shipping Temoc with Enarc to detailing the painful account of Temoc and the former president of UTD’s divorce. Even the official UTD Temoc account references his salacious reputation from time to time. Wuu said the sexy Temoc phenomenon is a result of UTD students taking the mascot and making it their own.
“I think [sexy Temoc is] a fun spin on collegiate mascot culture,” Wuu said. “[Mascots are] usually brought about as this very sanitized, cryptic thing that the school wants to present. The way I see the sexy Temoc bit is students making it more their own. It’s us interacting with that mascot in a way that is more personal, and I think that it’s a really strong way to engage with the culture on our campus.”
According to Wuu, there are no plans to slow down smut production at AMP. Wuu said sexy Temoc is not just a fun way for students to express themselves at UTD, but also an avenue through which important taboo topics like sex can be discussed.
“It’s definitely something that I think is a fun kind of thing to participate in on campus,” Wuu said. “I think that continuing that conversation over more sexual, more taboo subjects, is still something that is very valuable. I think that it continues to do a good thing, to bring attention to that kind of thing, so there’s definitely plans in the works for [more sexy Temoc] for as long as I’m here.”
The Retrograde reached out to Jenni Huffenberger, senior director of marketing in Student Affairs and the administrator in charge of Temoc’s image, for comment regarding this usage of the school’s mascot. As of publication, Huffenberger did not respond to comment.
Comet Comments:
The sultry depictions of Temoc invite a spectrum of reactions from Comets, ranging from abject disgust to insatiable hunger for more scantily-clad portrayals of the UTD mascot.
“Temoc shouldn’t be this sexy, ever,” biology freshman Leslonie Edusei said.
“[Sexy Temoc has] always existed as long as UTD’s existed, basically,” business analytics senior Clark Baird said. “I don’t have an opinion on it. It’s just like the sidewalk, you just come to accept it.”
“Sexy Temoc is better than actual Temoc,” psychology freshman Aja Thornton said. “This is better — I would rather see sexy Temoc all over campus. I would be less scared.”
“I don’t really care for [sexy Temoc],” literature junior Kavya Racheeti said. “I think that that’s the intention. I don’t think it’s anything subversive. He’s an anthropomorphized comet and he’s extremely buff. I feel like the people who designed him had that intention in mind and I feel like you’re just playing into what the administration wants by making him sexy.”
“Sexy Temoc is what keeps UTD alive, I think,” literature senior Caleb Jenkins said.
One Comment
Sexy Temoc is the lifeblood of UTD.