Tai: my one comment about this is that intersex people should feel at ease marrying the opposite sex and society shouldn't create stigmas that make intersex people feel that they have to pose as anything other than themselves. I once talked to one intersex woman who lived as a man without taking any hormones or surgery. Trying to pretend to be a man made her life way too complicated.

[www.vox.com]

How a pseudopenis-packing hyena smashes the patriarchy’s assumptions

Lessons from female spotted hyenas for the #MeToo era.

By Katherine J. Wu Updated Jun 27, 2018

Like many young women, I grew up aspiring to fit into a patriarchal world. While the boys in my elementary school were encouraged to focus on their professional achievement and financial success, I was instructed to cross my legs, minimize my food intake, and coo at plastic babies with fluttering eyelids.

Every cultural signal I encountered featured men at the top of the food chain, giving me the morning news, leading Fortune 500 companies, accepting Nobel Prizes. It was only years later, while studying biology, that I found empowerment in an unexpected place: through the tale of the spotted hyena’s evolution — possibly one of the most inspirational examples of feminism in the natural world.

In the queendom of the spotted hyena, it’s ladies first
Unlike most other mammals, spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) live in matriarchal societies led by alpha females. In these clans throughout sub-Saharan Africa, females do the majority of the hunting, dictate the social structure, and raise cubs as single mothers. Because most males in clans join from other groups, the highest ranking male in the group is often subservient to the most junior female. Male spotted hyenas have also evolved to be smaller than females.

Scientists have come to a few different conclusions about how hyena society works by studying different populations across Africa. But they’ve learned that cubs are born into a competitive world, immediately tussling for dominance, with sisters typically beating out brothers. (Though siblicide occurs in many populations, it is now understood to be related to resource scarcity.)

If they are lucky enough to blossom into adolescence, the vast majority of male hyenas leave their childhood clan. They wander the savannah alone until they assimilate into a new group at the bottom of the hierarchy of males.

Their sisters, on the other hand, almost always stay with the clan they’re born into, inheriting their mothers’ ranks in the complex social ladder. Power in these clans most often passes from female to female. Much like the Greek Amazons and Wonder Woman, hyenas are a lineage of queens that prove the human assumption that patriarchies are inevitable — or even natural — completely wrong.

What’s more, their vilification in films like The Lion King as cackling, conniving scavengers is off base. Spotted hyenas are fiercely loyal to their packs, cooperating in everything from child care to distributing shares of food. They hunt at least 50 percent of their meals and have no tolerance for waste, consuming even the hooves, bones, and teeth of prey (take that, nose-to-tail restaurants).

These powerful creatures are also keen and socially perceptive: Unlike most other animals, any given hyena in a clan knows each of the other members of her society on an individual level. Females will band together to bring down prey, and quarreling friends will reconcile after fights.

Researchers believe hyenas’ intelligence and social sophistication may even be comparable to that of primates: Hyena packs more closely resemble groups of monkeys than those of other predators, and hyenas are the only known non-primate species to pass status from mother to daughter.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that other mammals that feature stable matrilineal communities — including lemurs and orcas — also exhibit great intelligence. In the spotted hyena population, matriarchy, as opposed to patriarchy, appears to have the advantage of maintaining genetic diversity: As the lower-ranking sex, individual males are less likely to father a disproportionate number of cubs in one clan. Dominant females, which can only birth so many cubs at a time and often take multiple partners, do not run this risk.

In this way, female empowerment has served the spotted hyena well: Despite not being the largest animals roaming the savannah, it is arguably the most successful, outnumbering all other carnivores on the continent of Africa.

But there’s one aspect of the spotted hyena matriarchy that appears alarmingly misogynistic at first glance. Look between a lady hyena’s back legs (with her permission, of course), and you’ll find a thick, phallic structure complete with a false scrotum and testes. This is the pseudopenis, a structure so convincing that, for years, researchers wondered if spotted hyenas were hermaphrodites.

While there are several other species, including elephants, where females have pseudophalluses, those of spotted hyenas are a true feat in mimicry, nearly indistinguishable from the male penis in both length and girth. “It’s not just a slight masculinization,” says biologist Carin Bondar. “We’re seeing the entire reproductive system being dominated.”

The internal plumbing remains the same, however, which means that females must urinate through the pseudopenis. They must have sex through the pseudopenis. They must even give birth through the pseudopenis. And though it remains flaccid during these acts, the latter two ordeals are just as complicated and painful as they sound.

We could stand to take a leaf or two out of the hyena playbook
I’ve been thinking a lot about the spotted hyena this year — and not just because of the mind-boggling fact that these ladies push multiple 3-pound cubs through a fake penis and live to tell the tale. In many ways, their complexities echo so many human notions about the roles women can and cannot occupy. The idea of a woman at the helm remains a hard pill to swallow in our own society.

This past January, hundreds of thousands across the world marched for the second year in a row to protest the constraints on women in all walks of life. Fifty-five years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act, women still make only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men — a gap that widens into a chasm for women of color. And in the prolonged wake of the #MeToo movement, stories of sexual misconduct by powerful CEOs, Hollywood stars, and White House staff continue to appear in the news week after week.

The scandals surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Larry Nassar, and countless others have empowered women everywhere to speak out. But every woman who has come forward to share her story also reminds us that ignorance and female marginalization are still the norm rather than the exception.

Hyenas run a successful matriarchal society, but are they illustrating a fundamental contradiction to feminism by adopting the guise of males? When two females face off, the one losing the battle will actually get an erection to signify her submission. And in some instances, hyenas may even take things a step too far: Males are expected to be not just respectful of females but absolutely deferential.

Halfway between our patriarchy and the hyena matriarchy might lie a compromise
I’m not suggesting we try to emulate hyena societies. We’re striving for gender equality, not a reversal of traditional subjugation.

But we should not have to succumb to the binary of patriarchal or matriarchal. There is a middle ground, and it’s completely achievable. To someday reach that compromise, our male-dominated society needs to study female empowerment.

We can start by acknowledging that patriarchy isn’t a necessary natural order. Powerful females abound in nature and govern complex societies of intelligent individuals. A culture led by women is not doomed or damned.

In spotted hyena clans, male stalking, harassment, and aggression toward females are taboo. These tactics simply don’t work. If a guy wants to woo a girl, he waits patiently and earns her respect through deference and altruism — because he knows he is not entitled to her affection or anatomy simply by virtue of being male. When it comes to hyena sex, it’s the considerate guys who get the ladies. Human males, take note.

Even the pseudopenis, torturous as it is, has a few tricks up its shaft. Rather than being a form of flattery, the mimicry of the female pseudopenis may actually be a way to outcompete the male penis.

“When males have penis power, they have the ability to hold that over females,” says Bondar. Such is not the case with spotted hyenas. Their false penile structures are actually protective during sex, during which a male penis must be inserted into (yes, you read that right) the female pseudopenis. The majority of the time, the female’s reproductive tract is blocked by the phony scrotum, such that for sex to occur, a female must hold still and patiently retract her pseudopenis to reveal her vagina. In other words, sex doesn’t happen without the female’s full consent and cooperation. The pseudopenis is a built-in anti-rape defense.

Even after copulation, if the female decides the male wasn’t actually worth her time, she can take advantage of the fact that the long urethra and vaginal tract converge … and simply urinate to flush out undeserving semen. As male-looking as the pseudopenis is, it’s one of the most strategic tools in the female arsenal.

Female hyenas are aggressive, accomplished leaders who never have to second-guess their own strength. Mothers remain the primary caregivers for cubs, who are promptly abandoned by their fathers after birth.

And the pseudopenis itself? It’s a bit of a misnomer. It’s actually a clitoris, just a very big one.

Which means female hyenas haven’t manipulated their way to the top by assuming the traits of another sex. Rather, they’re showcasing an exaggerated version of their most uniquely female anatomy.

Hyenas with the most influence aren’t masquerading as males. They’re exerting their femininity. And it’s powerful as hell.

Katherine J. Wu is a PhD student in microbiology and immunobiology at Harvard University and co-director emeritus of Science in the News, a graduate student organization that trains young scientists to communicate science to the general public. She is also a 2018 AAAS mass media fellow at Smithsonian magazine.

Update, June 27: The story has been updated to clarify that there are some differences between hyena populations when it comes to siblicide and males leaving the clans they’re born into. It also now includes more nuance on males’ place in the hierarchy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2018 11:10PM by Tai.

Great - Libs using hyenas to attack "Patriarchy". Libs Hate Men! The lengths Libs go to in perpetuating their WAR ON MEN.

***********

And this quote below is just plain wrong/a lie! It's been debunked so many times by "The Right" yet The Libs just keep on with The False Narrative that Women Earn Less Money Than Men. Geez.

Quote
Fifty-five years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act, women still make only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men — a gap that widens into a chasm for women of color.

In nature, sometimes there are dominant females. This knowledge should empower all women to not be afraid to be themselves, whether they are ultra passive anti-feminists by nature or intersex women who feel at odds with their anatomy yet destined for something different with higher testosterone.

And btw, the implication of superiority of females by implicit correlation to hyenas in this ridiculous article is through the impact of the word "pseudopenis". Well that's a misnomer; a name given to the hyenas vagina by Lib Women as a means to designate females as equal or superior to men; a way to knock down men again. THE LIB WAR ON MEN!

In reality as this article below and others state - what the Libs are calling a "pseudopenis" is really just an elongated clitoris or labia that some animals possess, not just hyenas - (See the examples below)

Female Animals With Fake Pseudo Penises

[www.ranker.com]

there are those species where the girls look like they have penises.

female hyenas have clitorises that are seven inches long

They also have fused, elongated labia, creating the appearance of a scrotum.

Female squirrel monkeys have pseudo penises that are actually elongated clitorises.

Female lemurs have elongated clitorises

A female fossa possesses an elongated clitoris, but it shrinks with age, making it a feature of only juvenile females.

The animal is also called a bearcat. This cute-but-scary species lives in Asian rainforests, and the females are blessed with elongated clitorises.

Female European moles have long clitorises complete with urethras

the female spider monkey. They have elongated labia that have the appearance of a phallus



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2018 01:18AM by Jennifer.

Quote
Tai
In nature, sometimes there are dominant females. This knowledge should empower all women to not be afraid to be themselves, whether they are ultra passive anti-feminists by nature or intersex women who feel at odds with their anatomy yet destined for something different with higher testosterone.

Yes, I'm sure that's the lesson that Vox and Katherine Wu were going for in writing and publishing this article - nothing to do with perpetuating the Lib Concept of "MASCULINE TOXICITY" again!

And that nasty "Patriarchy" as the Title of the Article states -

How a pseudopenis-packing hyena smashes the patriarchy’s assumptions

*************

This is a bunch of horsesh*t -

"Like many young women, I grew up aspiring to fit into a patriarchal world. While the boys in my elementary school were encouraged to focus on their professional achievement and financial success, I was instructed to cross my legs, minimize my food intake, and coo at plastic babies with fluttering eyelids."

(Oh, really - you were instructed to do that?! I call BS!)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2018 01:19AM by Jennifer.

Oopsie!

As per usual, this is another case of Lying Libs. (Katherine Wu and VOX) Libs twisting/spinning and Lying to get their Narrative, their Agenda (War on Men) across. Here it's The Patriarchy/Toxic Masculinity.

I just figured I'd check out what a Hyena Expert thought of the Vox takedown of men and found out the Hyena/Patriarchy article is just a bunch of Lib Woman bullcrap. (No) Surprise. Oh, yeah, and it's not new - Lib Women have been using the Hyena Analogy to Destroy/Emasculate Men for a while now.

*********

Vox Says Hyenas Are Feminist; Hyenas Say "What's Feminism?"

[www.thestranger.com]

On Wednesday, Vox published an article entitled "How a Pseudopenis-packing Hyena Smashes the Patriarchy’s Assumptions: Lessons from Female Spotted Hyenas for the #MeToo Era." The piece, by Katherine J. Wu, a graduate student in microbiology and immunobiology, broadly explores how the spotted hyena could be used as a model for humankind. The bottom line: Humans get it wrong; hyenas get it right.

"Unlike most other mammals," Wu writes, "spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) live in matriarchal societies led by alpha females. In these clans throughout sub-Saharan Africa, females do the majority of the hunting, dictate the social structure, and raise cubs as single mothers. Even the highest-ranking male in the group is subservient to the most junior female. Accordingly, male spotted hyenas have evolved to be comparatively diminutive, weighing about 12 percent less than females—a feature uncommon even among matrilines."

Sounds great. Unfortunately, it's not exactly true, according to Oliver Höner, a research scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife and the co-founder of the Spotted Hyena Project, a research project based in Tanzania.

A tweet by the Hyena Project was featured in Wu's article (much to Höner's chagrin), and when I saw him getting salty about Wu's work on Twitter, I reached out to ask what she got wrong. There was plenty in that paragraph alone. Höner says:

1. "Even the highest-ranking male in the group is subservient to the most junior female." This statement is wrong because both sons and daughters obtain the social rank just below their mother. As an example, the son of an alpha female will be ranked just below his mother, and above ALL other females (and males) of the clan.

2. "Females do the majority of the hunting, dictate the social structure...." Immigrant males are ranked below all native clan members and have to do most of the hunting to get enough food to survive. Females do not dictate the social structure: It is influenced equally by females and males.

3. "Male spotted hyenas have evolved to be comparatively diminutive." A recent scientific study on a large number of hyenas has shown that sexual size dimorphism is very small and only evident in some morphological traits and absent in others.

There's more. Later, Wu writes, "Cubs of this species are born into a competitive world, immediately tussling for dominance. Siblicide is common, and sisters typically beat out brothers. If they are lucky enough to blossom into adolescence, male hyenas must leave their childhood clan. They wander the savannah alone until they assimilate into a new group by seeking the favor of its queen."

Not according to Höner. "Siblicide is in fact very rare," he says, "even in the ecosystem where it occurs most frequently. And there are ecosystems in which siblicide has never been observed (because prey abundance is high and mothers can go back to nurse their cubs every day)." What's more, he adds, "male hyenas do not have to leave their childhood clans but decide freely whether to stay or leave and, if they leave, where they go. In our study area, approximately 15 percent of males stay in their natal clan and reproduce there. Males that are about to become reproductively active do not 'wander the savannah alone' but keep doing short excursions into the territories of neighboring clans until they decide where they want to stay. They also do not assimilate into a new group by seeking the favor of the queen but by building up relationships with the other immigrant males and all native clan members."

Then, Wu writes, "Spotted hyenas are fiercely loyal to their packs, cooperating in everything from child care to distributing shares of food."

Yeah, no. "Spotted hyena females do not cooperate in rearing their cubs but only suckle their own cubs. Adoptions are very rare and seem to be the result of confusion rather than intended cooperation," Höner says. "They also do not cooperate in the strict sense when hunting and they certainly do not distribute shares of food (except with their own cubs)."

Wu gets into mating practices as well, writing that "male stalking, harassment, and aggression toward females are taboo. These tactics simply don’t work. If a guy wants to woo a girl, he waits patiently and earns her respect through deference and altruism—because he knows he is not entitled to her affection or anatomy simply by virtue of being male. When it comes to hyena sex, it’s the considerate guys who get the ladies. Human males, take note."

While not stalking, harassing, or assaulting potential mates does seem like pretty sound advice, this is the part of Wu's piece that seems the most faulty, at least to me. There is no evidence that hyenas are aware of male privilege and she's projecting human emotions onto non-human animals. Besides, Höner says, she's wrong. "Males actually regularly team up to harass single females," he says. "We even have a specific term for this: 'baiting.' During these baitings, males may even bite and severely injure a female." Human males, maybe don't take note.

While looking at other animal species for inspiration on how our own species can better organize our society may be a fun thought experiment, the fundamental flaw of this piece is its blatant anthropomorphism. In one section, when describing the female hyena's "pseudopenis" (a phallic sex organ that resembles a penis so much that males and females can be hard to distinguish) Wu writes that "there’s one aspect of the spotted hyena matriarchy that appears alarmingly misogynistic at first glance. Look between a lady hyena’s back legs (with her permission, of course), and you’ll find a thick, phallic structure complete with a false scrotum and testes." This is just silly. The pseudopenis is essentially an enlarged clitoris and it's the organ through which female hyenas mate, urinate, and even give birth. It's not "alarmingly misogynistic" at any glace; it's not even human.

Wu also claims that the pseudopenis is "a built-in anti-rape defense." While this may be true, the science on this question is hardly settled. "The debate about which selective force made females develop a pseudopenis that so closely resembles a male hyena penis—or whether it is a byproduct of the evolution of another trait—is still ongoing," Höner, says. "But it most likely does make it difficult for males to mate, and this makes it simpler for females to exercise mate choice. Thus, the fact that it helps prevent rape may have contributed in that it was not selected against."

The idea that hyenas are "matriarchal" in the first place simplifies a complex hierarchical structure into something that sounds good if you're making an argument, but doesn't reflect the most up-to-date research, as Beth Windle, a natural history illustrator who works with the Hyena Project, pointed out in a blog post about the myth of the hyena queen.

"Personally, it was the idealized view of the female spotted hyena that shocked me the most [about Wu's article]," Windle told me. "We know that 'hyena matriarchy' theories are very popular, despite being factually wrong and outdated. It made me realize that the reason why this theory may be popular is due to the human-related issues and POLITICS. I can understand to some extent, in using animals as a form of inspiration and symbolism, that's a very 'human' way to view the natural world. But what I don't understand is bending scientific fact (even if it may seem positive) to be a form of empowerment to a human. When we have many humans that fight and have fought very hard for equality, I think they rightly deserve to be an inspiration of human empowerment and not hyenas."

(Wu didn't even get the basic biology of hyenas right)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2018 08:17PM by Jennifer.

(Why is a microbiologist branching out to anthropomorphize behavioral ecology of vertebrates?) Duh! To further the Lib Agenda of Male Toxicity/Patriarchy = WAR ON MEN!

And...

... more FACTS/THE TRUTH which proves that Lib Woman Wu/VOX Lied - (THE FACTS/TRUTH (THAT HYENA SOCIETY IS NOT MATRIARCHIAL) HAS BEEN OUT THERE SINCE 2002.


The Problem With Hyena Queens

[bethwindleillustration.wordpress.com]


It’s incorrect and does not reflect up to date research on hyena society.

IN FACT THE MATRIARCHY THEORY WAS DENOUNCED IN 2002. Following from this, further research from institutions like the Hyena Project in Tanzania revealed that spotted hyena society was far more complex than female > male. With thanks to modern technology and improved fieldwork techniques the intricacy of a spotted hyena’s life began to show itself.

************

Matriarchal

1. adjective

A matriarchal society, family, or system is one in which the rulers are female and power or property is passed from mother to daughter.

2. graded adjective

A matriarchal family or group is one in which women are more powerful or important than men.

Above is the dictionary definition of ‘matriarchal’. Usually referring to human and animal groups that are dominated by the female sex. For many years spotted hyenas were seen as a matriarchal animal, the archetype of absolute female dominance. With the ‘pathetic’ male hyenas right at the bottom of the heap. Having dominance over nothing, with a high risk of dying at the hands of siblicide and bowing down to any female that crosses his path. To top it all off, the females have genitalia that resembles a male’s penis and scrotum.
This idea has proved to be popular with scientists, science communicators and feminist bloggers alike. Many references to spotted hyena social heirarchy have presented themselves in popular media and scientific YouTube videos aimed at a wide range of audiences.

So, what’s the issue?

It’s incorrect and does not reflect up to date research on hyena society.
In fact, the matriarchy theory was denounced in 2002. Following from this, further research from institutions like the Hyena Project in Tanzania. Revealed that spotted hyena society was far more complex than female > male. With thanks to modern technology and improved fieldwork techniques the intricacy of a spotted hyena’s life began to show itself.

How does spotted hyena hierarchy actually work?

Female hyenas pass on their status to their offspring regardless of sex. Status is still maternal, but that does not make hyenas a matriarchal society. A male hyena will have dominance over any female that is below his mother’s rank. Interestingly, this dynamic is eerily similar to some primates.

If there’s a male and female sibling, the female will not kill the male. Ritualistic sparring among hyena siblings is common to establish internal dominance. However, siblicide is uncommon and in some populations sparingly documented. The female sibling will often assert dominance over the male, but there are exceptions and it’s not a strict social rule.

Adult Male Hyenas

When a male hyena reaches maturity he has a choice to either depart his birth clan and sacrifice his birth rank or stay put. This largely depends on available mates and other resources.

However, for the mature males that stay within their clan they have the luxury of keeping their rank. Incidentally, if a mature male is the son of the lead female and she dies, he will take her crown and run the clan as the dominant leader. Several cases of this occurrence has been documented and recorded in the wild.

For immigrant males life is certainly tougher, once established in a new clan, he has to work his way up the clan hierarchy. If the immigrant proves to be worthy and popular with the established clan members, this will raise his status amongst the clan. Immigrant males usually only increase in social rank when higher ranking males leave the clan or die, and they will always remain below all native clan members

Adult Female Hyenas

Unlike males, female hyenas rarely leave their birth-clans. This is the reason why hierarchal clan status is passed on maternally and why females commonly hold high ranks within a clan. There have been documented cases of females moving clans, usually this has been due to her birth-clan breaking up and other related issues that cause intense clan instability.

Hyenas Lack Sexual Dimorphism

Firstly, what is sexual dimorphism? Sexual dimorphism, in the most basic of definitions is a condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs. This includes differences in size, colour, markings and secondary sex characteristics. Secondary sex characteristics are changes that occur when an animal reaches maturity (or puberty for humans). For example, mane development in lions or antler growth in deer species, with males in their prime exhibiting the most impressive set of antlers.

sexualdimorphism

Interestingly hyenas don’t exhibit traits of sexual dimorphism. It’s often assumed that female hyenas by default, are ‘larger’ in size to their male counterparts. But this isn’t entirely true, whilst clan females will generally exhibit a better body condition/weight to immigrant males, due to prime access to food and resources from her clan. Hyenas are extremely variable and come in all shapes and sizes. Sexing hyenas in the wild can be a difficult task, with researchers often relying on the shape of a hyena’s genitalia.

maleorfemale

The Pseudo-penis

One of the most interesting and compelling characteristics of a female spotted hyena is her enlarged clitoris or pseudo-penis. This unique trait has caused many myths to surround the spotted hyena, from changing sex at will, to being natural hermaphrodites. In truth, the pseudo-penis has all the components of typical female genitalia. In order to mate, a female hyena needs to distend her clitoris to allow the male access. She also gives birth through her enlarged clitoris, which can result in death and commonly tears the clitorial tissue. Ouch!

Hyena researches aren’t entirely sure why female spotted hyenas evolved this unique form of genitalia. Many theories have sprouted up over the years, from anti-rape device to male mimickry. What we know for sure, is that females play the deciding role when it comes to breeding and both sexes have to rely on each other to make breeding successful. Hyena females often choose to mate with hyenas that they have formed a close bond with. Males will ‘shadow’ females during courtship, some will often follow a specific female for several weeks to attempt to gain her favour.

There’s conflicting research as to whether females prefer immigrant males over clan-born males. The Hyena Project (Tanzania) argues, that females prefer males that have immigrated into their clan after they (the females) were born, or (in the case of clan-born males) males that were born after they (the females) were born. Thus, their mate choice rules are based on male tenure and not immigration.

If you want to read more on ‘male hyena tenure’ I have linked the research and detailed arguments in the ‘further research’ section.

In Conclusion

Spotted hyena society is not matriarchal nor completely female dominated. We have touched on explanations and new research illustrating why hyena society is more complex than this popular theory. Similar to the outdated ‘alpha and omega’ hierarchy regarding wolves, we need to start looking at spotted hyena societies and how they function in light of new research.

But don’t let this put you off spotted hyenas, these are social, intelligent animals that deserve our respect. I can certainly take my hat off to the female hyenas that have to give birth through their clitoris.

I can understand why it might be hard for some people to ‘let go’ of this theory. A POSSIBLE REASON FOR STICKING TO FEMALE HYENA DOMINANCE THEORIES, MAY TAKE ROOT IN MODERN POLITICS. The idea of a female animal being dominant, can be alluring to humans who suffer from human social issues. But we shouldn’t look to animals for female/human empowerment. There are many people that have fought hard or are actively fighting for equality. Perhaps, we should look to these humans for inspiration and let spotted hyenas be themselves.

Thanks for finding the science update. The hyena anatomy is a new fact I found and decided to share it.

Science is always developing. I met a hunter from the jungles of Costa Rica and he had been placed to be the groundskeeper at a UC reserve. The scientists would pick his brain when they would visit for their short trips. He was the real knowledge bearer because he was living with the animals and insects 24/7, while the scientists would take very short excursions. There is so much anthropomorphism in science but hopefully that gets weeded out over time.

You seem trigger happy when you smell lib.

I maintain my point about all the women who have body shaming issues, including women who have PCOS and hormone problems.

Yes, I do enjoy calling out the Libs on their BS - lies and just plain nonsense. (Actually, much of it is dangerous, like what they're doing/have done to males and ruining children)

These College Fix people (who expose the ridiculous divisive Lib Professors and Students) summarized the fallacy of the article better than I could -

Harvard PhD student claims hyenas are feminist, gets schooled by hyena expert

[www.thecollegefix.com]

When so-called intellectuals compare aspects of the animal kingdom to human society in an attempt to show how “woke” they are, it usually doesn’t end well.

Earlier this month a PhD in feminist studies told us we could learn about rape culture and oppression by observing man’s (oops, humans’) best friend in dog parks.

Now, a Harvard PhD student in microbiology and immunobiology informs us that hyenas can teach us something about the #MeToo era.

“How a pseudopenis-packing hyena smashes the patriarchy’s assumptions” is the title of Katherine Wu’s article at Vox.com, and it is pretty much just as you’d expect.

“Like many young women,” Wu begins, “I grew up aspiring to fit into a patriarchal world. While the boys in my elementary school were encouraged to focus on their professional achievement and financial success, I was instructed to cross my legs, minimize my food intake, and coo at plastic babies with fluttering eyelids.”

“Every cultural signal” that Wu uncovered showed “men at the top of the food chain” — in the news, “leading Fortune 500 companies, accepting Nobel Prizes.”

But — she discovered empowerment in, of all places, the spotted hyena, “possibly one of the most inspirational examples of feminism in the natural world”:

Unlike most other mammals, spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) live in matriarchal societies led by alpha females. In these clans throughout sub-Saharan Africa, females do the majority of the hunting, dictate the social structure, and raise cubs as single mothers. Even the highest-ranking male in the group is subservient to the most junior female. Accordingly, male spotted hyenas have evolved to be comparatively diminutive, weighing about 12 percent less than females — a feature uncommon even among matrilines.

Wu’s thesis was spotted (no pun intended) by research scientist Oliver Höner, co-founder of the Tanzania-based Spotted Hyena Project, and, well, look:


Hyena Project
@HyenaProject
Replying to @Sauvryn @WindleBeth
One of the worst pieces about hyenas + hyena society in the last years! Angry that our institute's and project's names appear in it.


In The Stranger, Höner tears into Wu’s piece:

1. “Even the highest-ranking male in the group is subservient to the most junior female.” This statement is wrong because both sons and daughters obtain the social rank just below their mother. As an example, the son of an alpha female will be ranked just below his mother, and above ALL other females (and males) of the clan.

2. “Females do the majority of the hunting, dictate the social structure….” Immigrant males are ranked below all native clan members and have to do most of the hunting to get enough food to survive. Females do not dictate the social structure: It is influenced equally by females and males.

3. “Male spotted hyenas have evolved to be comparatively diminutive.” A recent scientific study on a large number of hyenas has shown that sexual size dimorphism is very small and only evident in some morphological traits and absent in others.

Then there’s the #MeToo stuff:

There is no evidence that hyenas are aware of male privilege and she’s projecting human emotions onto non-human animals. Besides, Höner says, she’s wrong. “Males actually regularly team up to harass single females,” he says. “We even have a specific term for this: ‘baiting.’ During these baitings, males may even bite and severely injure a female.” Human males, maybe don’t take note.

As for that “pseudopenis” in the article title which Wu says “appears alarmingly misogynistic at first glance,” Höner notes it is merely “an enlarged clitoris and it’s the organ through which female hyenas mate, urinate, and even give birth.”

“It’s not ‘alarmingly misogynistic’ at any glace; it’s not even human,” he says.

The Hyena Project’s Beth Windle follows up: “Personally, it was the idealized view of the female spotted hyena that shocked me the most [about Wu’s article]. We know that ‘hyena matriarchy’ theories are very popular, despite being factually wrong and outdated.”

Windle adds that she can understand the temptation to make use of animals as a form of “inspiration and symbolism”; however, “[W]hat I don’t understand is bending scientific fact (even if it may seem positive) to be a form of empowerment to a human.”

Read the full Vox.com and The Stranger stories.

MORE: Study: Dog parks are manifestations of rape culture and oppression

MORE: Study: Female animals less colorful ‘to avoid sexual harassment’

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Tai

I maintain my point about all the women who have body shaming issues, including women who have PCOS and hormone problems.

What is 'body shaming' issues? That whole 'shaming' thing (body shaming, fat shaming, slut shaming, this shaming, that shaming, just saw 'lunch shaming') is another Lib Woman Construct if you ask me. Another way for Libs to maintain their moral superiority by calling out 'someone else' by saying they're 'shaming' someone for something or other.

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Just saw more - Caucasian Shaming, Mental Illness Shaming, Mom shaming. Libs just love to accuse other people of 'shaming'.

The 'shamer' is supposed to be the bad guy, when in reality it's the Libs who are the Character Assassinators.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2018 02:29AM by Jennifer.

Geez Jennifer. In these hormonal hell cases, it's self shaming that's the key issue. I spelled it out in the first paragraph of this thread.

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Tai
Tai: my one comment about this is that intersex people should feel at ease marrying the opposite sex and society shouldn't create stigmas that make intersex people feel that they have to pose as anything other than themselves. I once talked to one intersex woman who lived as a man without taking any hormones or surgery. Trying to pretend to be a man made her life way too complicated.

Oh, it wasn't clear that you were talking about 'body shaming' from the above statement in your first post.

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Tai

I maintain my point about all the women who have body shaming issues, including women who have PCOS and hormone problems.

So when I saw this second post above about 'ALL THE WOMEN who have body shaming' issues I assumed you meant 'body shaming' as per the definition of 'body shaming', wherein 'body shaming' is that which is done to someone else, not the way you used the phrase 'body shaming' which you say was to mean shaming of oneself. See the definition below -


bod·y sham·ing
noun
1.
the action or practice of humiliating someone by making mocking or critical comments about their body shape or size.
"she is not the only celebrity to speak up about body shaming"
adjective
1.
expressing mockery or criticism about a person's body shape or size

So 'body shaming' is done to someone else, not what one does to oneself.

Then after using the phrase "Body Shaming", you said you 'meant' "Self Shaming" ...

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Tai
"Geez Jennifer. In these hormonal hell cases, it's self shaming that's the key issue."

But then in your post above you said 'self shaming' , but that was after using the phrase 'body shaming' which is different, hence the confusion. "Body Shaming" and "Self Shaming" are two different things.

So if it was 'self shaming' you were referring to, using the word 'body shaming' as you did was very what's-the-word - confusing...



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2018 10:02PM by Jennifer.

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Tai
Geez Jennifer.

And hence me going off on my 'Lib concept of Shaming' rant because you used the phase "body shaming" - lol



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2018 10:21PM by Jennifer.

well self shaming is non specific. Body shaming relates to the physical appearance.

Anyway, in my field, I have dealt with a lot of women with PCOS, which doesn't just affect their facial and body characteristics, it affects their moods (more aggressive sometimes) and of course, self esteem.

If you ever listen to some women who become transsexuals, some of them feel that since they didn't fit the stereotypical female mold, they felt they had to identify as male, which of course, is not true. As we see with cows to hyenas, being female is a broad range.

I read that alpha female hyenas pass on a surge of hormones to their offspring, so they can be alpha too. Anyway, I think nature shows that males and females can still exist in heterosexual relationships, even if the females have 3 times more testosterone than the males.

The intersex woman I talked with had a child early in life but felt that men could never fully accept her with so many masculine features, so by circumstance, she felt she was forced to pretend to be a man and just adopted a lesbian lifestyle. But she is tormented by a life of pretend.

Female spotted hyenas demonstrate yet another way women can still harmoniously coexist with males with unusual hormone ratios.

I don't think two people can co-exist no matter what gender they are, meaning live together for a long time without at the very least getting on each other's nerves, irritating each other. At the most you end up hating each other. (Sad but true) Except some nuclear family members because you grew up with them and you're used to them so you just put up with them because 'family'.

Anybody here ever live with someone who isn't family for decades and still love them or enjoy living with them?

Oh, yeah, I forgot there's nobody here much, just a couple of us - lol



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2018 10:29PM by Jennifer.