The elaborate show male birds put on seems to contrast what a human male does to get the girl. In our human game of courtship it's the female that consistently has to put on the show, and the game appears to be more intense than I remember growing up.
Girls spend a lot of money and time fluffing to get a male's attention: implants, makeup, botox, hair dyes, manicures, long gym hours, the list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, I highlight my hair and put on makeup to go out, certainly not to attract a male--I'm taken, but because I feel prettier that way, oh how I've been conditioned.
I can just imagine what the human world would be like if the males had to do most of the work:) I think that's why love triangles in literature make girls swoon, to have two males begging for you to pick them...sigh, it brings me back to the turkeys and I smile.
2 comments:
So true! Today's culture is all about the attractiveness of women--completely opposite the animal kingdom's or even our society years ago when men also dressed in white wigs and powdered their faces (although, how ridiculous was that?)
Pressure on young girls to grow up too fast and on aging women to fight the clock is the worst. Perhaps one day, we will all strive to become more like turkeys. ;-)
We have flocks of wild turkeys in Davis, too. Such fun to watch from the safety of one's car. The males are, at times, so territorial that they'll chase any bicycle rolling past.
There's one culture that I know of in which the men are the ones who try to win the women's attentions. It's the Wodaabe culture in Niger. The young suitors wear elaborate make-up, feathers and other adornments. In the Yaake dance festival they dance and sing to impress women.
Post a Comment