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According to the Guardian, these fish along with another species of wrasse start off as female but become male as they age, becoming more colourful as they do so. Nature seems to have it the wrong way round to my thinking but they are beautiful fish.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/19/discover...
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Comments
Fairies
At least those Wrasse have the memories of having been at one time female? Though it seem (to me) to be a shame that they get to only wear their colourful scales when they change to the male persuasion.
An Avid Reader
in the natural world
it is usually the male of the species who get the fancy plummage, ruffs, antlers etc whilst the females quite literally rule the roost. Indeed, in some human cultures this is still very much the case, its the males putting on a display to attract a mate. Some of this has endured into 'modern' western society, indeed much of what we now associate as female 'fashion' started out with the male of the species. Elaborate ruffs, high heeled shoes, indeed even stockings and corsets were designed to enhance 'maleness', And its not just clothing, 'makeup', fancy hair styles, gaudy jewellery, emphasis on 'erotic' body parts, think codpieces and 'war' paint for example. All were male 'things' to impress the ladies in the past which over time have been pirated by the fairer sex.
It is only in the last 30 years or so that many of these things have been claimed to become female only preserves, any male wanting to join in the fun being derided for doing so, something society seems intent on reinforcing.
It wasn't so long ago that young children would all be dressed alike, indeed there are pictures of our new King as a toddler wearing a dress! Now, almost from the cradle, they have to become micro versions of adults, reinforcing gender stereotypes, strangling self expression in favour of an insistence on compliance with a societal norm that, in reality, is a modern construct.
Madeline Anafrid Bell
30 Years?
"It is only in the last 30 years or so that many of these things have been claimed to become female only preserves..."
30 years ago was in the early 1990s. These notions existed long before that. Even if toddler boys wore dresses as late as the 40s, the notion of boys and men in dresses -- except in kilts in Scotland -- got revulsion, was viewed as obscene. Make-up? Except for movies and theater and camouflage makeup, boys in makeup could be beaten up, punished in school, punished for public indecency and obscenity. Men only began wearing earrings (in one ear) in the 1980s.
-- Daphne Xu (a page of contents)
Men only began wearing earrings (in one ear) in the 1980s.
There is evidence to suggest that the wearing of earrings by men was quite common a thousand years ago in northern Europe and it was common practice in seafaring and military contexts since at least the 1500's. The Punk movement reintroduced the idea to the general populace in the mid '70's but the likes of Hendrix and Golden Earring were there earlier than that. And of course what self respecting pirate wouldn't be wearing some of his wealth from at least one ear?
It was certainly common practice in the UK and indeed across Europe for all kids up to @ age 3 to wear 'dresses' rather than shorts - never trousers well into the 1960's - certainly in my family. This was largely for practical reasons, much easier for nappy changing and clothing could be passed on regardless of gender.
I didn't suggest men were wearing dresses at any point or indeed wearing makeup on western streets in recent history, but it was common certainly into the early 1800's across Europe, 'painted dandy's' often appearring in period literature. Mayhap your education om these matters is somewhat lacking and US centric - lol
Madeline Anafrid Bell
'60's
Men only began wearing earrings (in one ear) in the 1980s.
Had both ears pierced back in the late 60's, pretty common for the hippie/peace movement. When I came out in the 70's I added a second hole to each ear, then a hole in the top of my left ear. I'm something of an earring fetishist. Must have over a hundred pair, easily!
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Odd that
had a friend in the 80's that had one earring from the 60's as a meditation guru/hippie. Said it was a gift from a friend and had a pic of his hippie days with only the one earring /shrug
the closest thing to "a" cause
Would be George 'Beau' Brummell, victorian style icon and his utterly grey preferred colour pallet
It is more complicated, than just him (eg. it does tie in with other "empire is making luxuries affordable to the plebs, better come up with shit to stop them enjoying them" routines like the "unadulterated foods are better for you" and "spicing food is to cover rotten meat" shite that so viscously damaged british cuisine) but he serves as a useful socio-temporal anchor to hang discussion of the quite severe shift in fashion off of
The reason the males get the
The reason the males get the plumage and colours, is that they only need to fertilize the females then in many species, job done.
The colours attract mates and predators. The dull colours of the females let them blend in and not be noticed. They need to stay safe and in some cases look after their offspring.
Clownfish are sequential hermaphrodites, born one sex but able to switch to the other if necessary. In this case, the about-face, which is called protandry, runs from male to female.
Here’s how it works: Clownfish live in groups where only two members are sexually mature, a large male and an even larger female. The rest are smaller, sexually immature males. If something happens to the female in the breeding pair, her male mate transforms into a female and selects the next biggest male in the group to become her new partner.
So if your wife dies you take over
Leeanna
Turning male? Yuk! What kind of fairy are you?
I prefer the transvestite fish, but I will need to ask those of you who are ichthyologists to remind me of the species.
The males of this fish make a nest and invite in females to lay their eggs for him to fertilize, but then along sashays a slightly more evolved male of the species who is not chased off like a normal male because he looks like a girl. While the nest builder is chasing off other males, he moseys on in with the girls, fertilizes the eggs, and swims off.
Ain't nature marvellous?
Maryanne