Gwen says that y’all are gonna think I’m going too far, but I can’t resist posting this. More, readers often think we post things because they make us mad grrrr, but we usually post stuff just because we think it’s interesting or illustrative. This is a case of the latter.
Jordan G. sent me this clip of a young bobcat captured on a balcony near his house in Irvine (LA Times). They released it into the wild, but not before a news crew came by and filmed the intrepid hunters with their catch. Enter my amusement: I just love how two of them at some point feel the need to place their foot on the cage, like in a victory pose. This is recognizably masculine body language, a dominance gesture, and kind of silly. Maybe you’ll think I’m silly too, but there it is:
Also posing with your kill: Taming Nature (a personal favorite).
And, in body language, Whoopi sits, sitting like a man, and gendered anatomy.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 67
Jonah — May 4, 2011
The connection between masculinity and animal oppression and dominance is by now well established. For much stronger footage, see the last in a long line of undercover videos documenting the reality behind the meat that consumers who haven't shifted to vegetarianism pay for:
http://www.mercyforanimals.org/calves/
Look at the poses of these men (yes), the pride and joy in exacting violence on defenseless others.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik — May 4, 2011
IF YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING TO KEEP THOSE FURRY MONSTROCITIES IN LINE NOW, HOW WILL YOU BE ABLE TO PACIFY THEM LATER, WHEN YOU WISH TO TURN THEM ALL INTO RRRROBOTS?
HEDGEHOG SYMPATHIZERS, THE LOT OF YOU!
emfole — May 4, 2011
What do you mean, it's meant to be sickening? It's happening, it's real! Every day animals endure all kinds of horror at the hands of humans. And the EXACT same reasoning used to exploit animals is used when humans exploit other humans. This kind of analysis is totally relevant to this site.
http://vegansofcolor.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/intersections-black-female-slave-vivisection-non-human-animal-experimentation-and-the-foundation-of-western-gynecology/
"He would actually experiment on these women, of course without their consent, but when you’re a “slave,” you’re property so you don’t actually have any say in what white people do to you. What Sims was trying to do was solve the problem of fistula amongst white middle-class women, and a fistula is a condition in which there is a tear in the bladder that happens during a long labor sometimes, or the improper use of forceps during labor tears the bladder, so, um, women are constantly leaking urine, and he was using black women’s bodies to solve this “problem.” He did this without anesthesia, and one of the women that he did this on, he did more than thirty times. I mean, he cuts up their vaginas, their wombs, without anesthesia. "
:D — May 4, 2011
Vegetables feel pain, too :
http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/121/2/325.full
Just wanted to let people know this before they started saying vegetarianism/vegan-ism is the only morally high ground diet. Actually, the only moral diet is Fruitarianism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitarianism
Of course, humans cannot survive on such a diet. Damn our cruel omnivorous ancestors!
emfole — May 4, 2011
There are in fact people who live solely on fruit and of course I do not know what vegetables feel but I'm going by what I DO know. I DO know that animals feel a range of emotions, pain, they bleed and they scream. If I go by what I don't know, I could easily contract my "moral line" to just beyond my nose as there's no way for me to REEEALLY know what other human beings are feeling if I were to hit one.
emfole — May 4, 2011
Anyway, it comes down to the fact that I do not agree that simply because I am human, human life is worth more than animal life. Such a way of thinking is pure Chauvinism.
WG — May 4, 2011
Poor analysis by someone that has obviously never encountered a bobcat in real life. They are wicked dangerous and vicious. Placing a foot on the trap was probably to keep it from tipping over and further angering/injuring the animal. To capture and contain a wild animal like that is significant. Thankfully they appeared to accomplish this with little harm to anyone involved or to the animal. Yes, the animal was just confused and may have just as much right to roam wherever, but from a reasonable stance, it is necessary to capture wild animals in residential areas for release to the wild at a later time. This is good for the humans and the animals alike.
Tim — May 5, 2011
What losers these "men" are.
Tim — May 5, 2011
I find it interesting that people are outraged when women dominate animals (e.g. crushing/crush videos) but are okay when men do it. It speaks to the patriarchal norms of society.
Tim — May 5, 2011
Or dominate humans, for that matter.
Village Idiot — May 5, 2011
What a cute kitty! Reminds me of a friend's bobcat that roams around his house and if he brings a date home Bob sprays her out of jealousy or territorial imperative or something. I guess it would be accurate to say the bobcat is dominating humans in that context. It's pretty funny, and incidentally his cat could not have survived in the wild. My friend makes pretty good money selling small bags of Bob's used cat litter on eBay, and oddly enough he's still single.
Cindy — May 5, 2011
Maybe I'm being simplistic, but I actually think they were worried it would thrash in its cage and they were simply holding it.
We had to catch a feral cat once and it thrashed so hard in the cage we thought it would hurt itself. It's not pretty. Bobcat = much larger than a house cat.
Village Idiot — May 5, 2011
This video clip = Rorschach ink blot.
It's been kind of interesting to see what's on peoples' minds recently.
Don — May 6, 2011
When I watch this I half expect one of the guys to put on an upperclass English accent and say "Shot it in Inja..."
Extra points for twirling a silver moustache.