Emshwiller question

Mrs. Emshwiller,
How much did you intentionally focus on the different types of submission (through violence, through nurture, etc.) in "The Mount"? How much did creating a dominant species who are really dependent factor into the anatomy you designed for the Hoots?

Though I hope I'm not too provocative, how much psycho-sexual subtext should be read into the relationship between the Hoots and their admiration and need for submissive "mounts"?