Ok. So I created my blog a while ago and I did not want to write about anything random because I did not want my first post to be forced. I wanted to write when I really wanted to write about something, when something interesting came to mind.
And something interesting has come from my visit to The Republic (a "club" in New Orleans) last Saturday night. First, I would like to say that I am not bashing The Republic what so ever here because as I am sure this thought that I wanted to write about could have occured at any popular place where young people congregate. Anyway, last Saturday I went to The Republic for one of my friend's 21st birthday, and as I was standing inside observing everything happening I began to realize how similiar the atmosphere was to a show I was watching on Animal Planet the other day. A show featuring a type of mountain goat/ram during it's mating season. I know, I have random thoughts lol. The behavior of the people inside the club were so similiar to most animals during mating times! I know that it may not be a surprise because, duh, we are animals and we have instincts too, but I honostly think that some people wouldnt realize this. First, Let me just breifly explain the behavior of these ram/goat type animals. The males were so on edge constantly. They were all focused on all of the other males at first and were trying to fight all the other males, aka they were trying to assert their dominance and they were also trying to prove to the females who was the best mate choice for them. They were just so violent and kept ramming their horns at each other and sometimes were even severely injuring another males. After the males had asserted their dominance and hierachy ladder, they then began to try and mate with the females. The rams/goats would pick the female and try to hard to impress her and also trying so hard to actually mate with her, but what did the female do? She just kept trying to run away. Lol sound familiar?
So now back to The Republic, the behavior of the people inside were almost exactly like that! and I am sure the intentions of most were the same as the animals too lol! I just watched how the guys treated each other first. Mainly there were 3 things I noticed. One, the vibe I was feeling from most of these guys: angry, determined, confident, and a sense of violence. Any time I go to a place where there are alot of males around, I always feel like everyone is so on edge! Just one little wrong look from someone they dont know, and bam, the fighting and arguing begin. Secondly, how they moved about the crowd: stiff and always bumping into any guy that they may pass (I know the place was crowded and bumping is sometimes hard to avoid, and while these "bumps" were not intentional, they were definately not avoided). And while I was there, I also witnessed, twice, some guys yelling into each other's faces and about to start fighting, but thankfully for the security at the club, these confrontations were broken up. Thirdly, watching the guys trying so hard to talk to girls. And then this now brings me to the female behavior. Just as the female goats/rams were running away from the males trying to get them to go away, the same happened at the club. I always hear girls whispering things like "oh my god, that guy over there will not leave me alone!" and most of them are trying to get away from the guy (lol! this is so amusing to me!). And at The Republic, this even happned to one of my friends: A girls walks by, he says "hey baby" (and I know that is not a very flattering way to try and get a girl's attention and depending on the type of girl she may be, you may be asking for an attack) but then what does she do? She charges at him, flicking him off inches from his face, and yelling "Fuck You!" about 50 times. I mean, JEEZ! It was so violent! Scared me... lol but...it was just like the females on Animal Plant trying to run away from the males and even sometimes trying to physically attack them to get them away!
hahahaha ok I know there is not a 100% similarity between the animals and the young people, but it was similair enough to amuse me and to make connections! I know that these situations, attitudes, and behaviors do not apply to every single person inside the club, and there also could have been personal "beef" between those guys that were mad at each other, that I was not aware of, but I just wanted to write about what I was thinking! Good Day to you all!
let's do it like they do on the discovery channel, here we go now!
ReplyDeletethis post is so simple yet generally true... males in just about all(if not all) animal societies have different ways of courting females and the trend for social animals (especially mammals, just watch giraffes, gorillas, rams, etc battle it out) tend to involve some sort fighting or show of dominance
i always think it's fascinating to think about why is this so... the old nature vs. nurture debate... how did these form of courting rituals become so pervasive throughout the animal kingdom (especially mammals and even more specifically humans)???
i guess the interesting/cool/frustrating thing about being an anthropologist is trying to figure out what's biologically determined and what is not... this is a tough one for me to figure out, obviously i dont have a time machine but im willing to bet this same basic courting ritual you discussed (without the club setting) was playing out millions of years ago in our first ancient ancestors and it has been shown to work in some cases...
we all know of girls who fall for guys who have macho attitudes, bad habits, and/or confrontational/manipulative behavior.. it's no secret really, but we all also know this isnt "always" or even necessarily the majority of cases (i guess it would also depend on how you define courting success cases... one night stands?, casual dating?, or long-term relationships?)
on the other hand, we all know some women are very selective and don't necessarily buy into those previously mentioned dominant rituals... although i would tend to argue for a male dominance in another form... i think some women can be attracted to the imaginary world a guy can set up
this means that guys with an above average intelligence, charisma, strange talent, etc. may be able to win out in some cases (eg. malcolm sutton)
this is another interesting thing to think about because we all know human behavior, etc. is really complicated as well as one hundred percent crucial to our survival as living organisms
one more thing to consider though... the way we tend to classify "success" in the animal world can also be a very strange and/or misleading way to judge upon humans... of course, we are animals too but we definitely don't place the same value judgments upon ourselves as we do other animal
good example, if you watch a discovery channel episode of animals duking it out... one wins and gets to mate with the females.. we say the other is a loser... but he may very good and well, win the next day.. and hey, depending on his species there may be enough for everyone anyway (fair argument for the human species... if we were to do that kind of value judgment to ourselves... there are a good half a billion more women than men on this world), or maybe he's an especially charismatic or intelligent animal who knows other ways to the females' hearts (or... genetalia... once again... can other "animals" have feelings for each other??? i think you watch albatrosses or penguins you may be convinced they do)
boo yoo ka sha!