Natural books are colorful sissy is also common.

It is the first season of the year, but a TV program specially prepared for "the beginning of school" has caused a lot of controversy. Some of the audience aimed at the "fresh flesh" in the "first lesson"-the actors who sang and danced were criticized as "sissy" and were not "masculine", thus rising to the height of the temperament and survival of the nation-state.

Leaving aside the problems caused by the marketization of entertainment, how does the word "sissy", which is opposed to "masculinity", be given meaning? Does it make sense for us to tie some positive qualities to appearance and to specific gender?

When talking about "masculinity" and "masculinity", the descriptions we often see are "fortitude", "masculinity", "courage" and so on. "be strong", "competitive" and "competitive" seem to be the monopoly of men. it also often reminds us of male animals full of "masculinity"-aggressive cocks, impulsive bulls, majestic lions and so on.

Wait! Did you know that in a lion herd, hunting tasks are mainly done by female lions?

What did the lion do? Picture: Eric Kilby / wikmedia

It is the difference and the division of labor.

Male and female differences are not uncommon. In nature, differences in appearance and behavior between the sexes are called sexual dimorphism, and there are many examples in molluscs, arthropods and various vertebrates.

Interestingly, sexual dimorphism is not as simple as "male = strong and aggressive". In evolution, its form and degree vary from species to species. For example, male mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) have gorgeous metallic green plumage, while females have plain yellowish brown, while North American spotted ducks (A. fulvigula), also belonging to the duck family, are almost "two ducks swimming near the water, Ann can tell whether I am male or female."

Male and female mallard duck (left) and male and female North American spotted duck (right). Picture: Richard Bartz & DickDaniels / wikmedia

Among the species with sexual dimorphism, the roles of both sexes are also colorful and indefinite. The group hunting of African lions is distinctive among mostly lone cats and is usually done by females, while males, apart from occasionally hunting alone, spend most of their time protecting lions from invaders-larger and stronger than females and majestic bristles, as well as to protect their harem and deter and show off to competitors.

Four female lions work together to kill African bison. Picture: Caelio / wikmedia

Male lions spend most of their time resting and guarding the territory. Picture: Suzi Eszterhas

The Special Strategy of sissy

The male bull-headed dung beetle (Onthophagus taurus), which, as its name suggests, has two big horns that females do not have, are also used to deter competitors with size and appearance. When confronted with other competitors in the underground tunnel of Jinwu Zangjiao, the male bull-headed buzzing dung beetle tries to push each other out of the hole and get a chance to mate with the female in order to guard the female in the cave. The length and shape of the horn are the decisive factors in the outcome of the duel. Interestingly, however, there is also a "sissy" male who does not have horns.

The bull-headed buzzing dung beetle (top) and the males of the same species, O. nigriventris (lower), have different forms of hornless / hornless. Picture: Teiya Kijimotoet al./Developmental Biology (2012)

The "sissy" male's strategy is not to duel, but to take advantage of competitors to enter the female's boudoir when they go out or fight. Compared with aggressive males who consume energy to develop giant horns, the offspring of "sissy" have a higher success rate of development and more sperm for "competition" after mating. Whether it is the hornless "sissy" or the horned "samurai", it will be accepted by the female and remain in the population as an alternative evolutionary strategy.

Male fringed snipe showing off its plumage in a courtship field. Photo: M. Watson / ardea.com

Similarly, the Australian giant squid (Sepia apama) is proficient in "feminization" with its discoloration talent. The smaller male squid will pretend that the female "passes" by the strong competitor to avoid being attacked, and then show the male "true character" after seeing the female. When both males and females are present at the same time, the "pseudo-Niang" can even "feminize" one side of the body, while the other side keeps the male body color unchanged, camouflage and flirting with girls. The female squid also accepted it gladly.

Male Australian giant squid show off each other. Picture: John Lewis / Auscape International

Australia's Crinia georgiana will adjust its strategy according to the situation of the struggle. Males usually wrestle with each other with their strong forelegs during the breeding season, fighting for territory and girls. However, when there are too many male frogs in a habitat, males secretly reduce the energy input of "muscle growth" and instead keep a low profile and increase sperm count.

A male Georgia Assotoad who is wrestling philosophically. Picture: Jean-Marc Hero / wikmedia

Heterosexual screening and homosexual Game

In addition to some of the above examples of male "feminization", the gender role of the colored snipe is more characteristic. The colored snipe practices polyandry: during the courtship season, the female takes the initiative to make courtship calls to pursue the male, and then lays a nest of eggs for each male in her harem, and each male is responsible for hatching. After the little colored snipe breaks its shell, it is also the male bird that protects and nurtures its own children.

Similarly, in spotted hyenas, females have higher status than males and have external genitals as prominent as males, and it is up to females to decide whether to mate or not.

Diagram of the reproductive system of male (left) and female (right) spotted hyenas. Photo: Anatomische Gesellschaft / Anatomischer Anzeiger (1922)

Big Liu's science fiction epic "three-body" depicts the trend of feminization of male compatriots in human society in the future, and attributes this to long-term peace and rapid development, and the pressure of survival is increasingly eliminated. However, will the maintenance of masculinity be the natural selection of "survival of the fittest"?

In fact, in animals with sexual dimorphism, linking body size and behavior to gender is more often the result of sexual selection.

In birds, many males have bright feathers, while males compete for mating rights by comparing the length of their eyelids. These physical traits are hard to associate with "taller, faster and stronger", and in fact have nothing to do with specific gender-for example, colored snipes are brightly colored females, while males look like female mallard ducks, not to mention miserably eaten male mantis and spiders.

The female (right) of the colored snipe is more gorgeous than the male (left). Picture: Nick Garbutt / NPL / mindenpictures

A protruding eye fly that grows a long stalk of eyes as a result of sexual selection. Picture: Rob Knell / wikmedia

In evolution, the screening of the opposite sex and the game between the same sex eventually form stable and diverse gender roles and mating strategies in different species.

The "war" between males can even last from before mating to after mating. For the aforementioned bull-headed buzzing dung beetle, the amount of energy and resources obtained during development is an important factor in determining an individual's strategy-a well-nourished individual becomes a long-horned "brother" in an attempt to shut out competitors before mating, while developing individuals who lack nutrition to give up bicorns and produce more sperm can "drown" their opponents in the female after patting.

Sexual selection-induced sexual dimorphism may also be due to the preference of the opposite sex. Immune selection theory (immunocompetence) holds that masculinity comes from androgen (testosterone), which suppresses the function of the immune system, so strong masculinity vows that "I don't care about the decline of resistance."

What is the evaluation of a person?

Coming back to ourselves, sexual dimorphism does indicate the existence of sexual choice. Interestingly, the study found that the presence of a stress hormone (a glucocorticoid) makes androgens get half the result with twice the effort, weakening masculinity welcomed by the opposite sex. Other studies have suggested that women in developed areas prefer the faces of men with low stress levels to less androgen-related facial features than in less developed areas. It seems that the pursuit of "masculinity" will undoubtedly change with the progress of society.

In the final analysis, in the context of modern science and technology and civilization, there may be no fixed logical relationship among appearance, gender and positive quality. In a pluralistic society, there is absolutely no shortage of resolute and brave girls, and why do male compatriots with a sense of social responsibility and serious struggle need rough lines to contribute to the prosperity of the country and nation?

As a matter of fact, as early as two thousand years ago, the sages talked about the bravery of "the violent Tiger Fenghe", which is a far cry from the "Wen Wang Zhiyong" of "pacifying the people of the world". The qualities of "self-improvement" and "courage" have nothing to do with gender, body type and modality.

As the mainstream media commented: "appearance is not the crux of the problem, the connotation more profoundly determines people's evaluation of a person." As "sissy" is called, should you take a break?

This article is a special contribution to species Calendar, from @ Lupin, author of species Calendar.

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