THE BIRDS, THE BEES, AND FINDING NEMO’S SEXUAL IDENTITY As a species, we are only starting to scratch the surface of our understanding of gender, sex, and identity. Humans often think of themselves as apart from the animal kingdom, but many aspects of our exploration of sexuality and gender identity are reflected in the other species of animals with which we share the planet. SHIVAN PARUSNATH
REVERSING STEREOTYPICAL GENDER ROLES
The term “fathering instinct” does not have quite the same ring as “mothering instinct” because of our antiquated notion of women as primary caregivers. In contemporary human society, these stereotypical gender roles are falling away. After the birth of a child (and perhaps with the exception of breastfeeding) there is no reason that a father cannot be the primary carer. The African Jacana – a bird well known for its large feet that allow it to walk on lily pads and live a waterborne life, epitomises a successful gender role-reversal. “Female African Jacanas are 60% larger than males and have a harem of up to five different males that they mate with each season,” explains Wits ornithologist Dr Chevonne Reynolds from the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences (APES). “The males then go on to incubate the eggs and care
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for the chicks after hatching, while the female moves on to mate with the next male in her harem. The males of the species even have special adaptations to their wings that allow them to carry their chicks around with them.” This strategy of the philandering female and the hard-working father teaches us that the labels and the roles that we assign to males and females may be just that – labels. Evolution simply favours what works.
THE REAL REASON WHY NEMO’S DAD WAS SO DESPERATE TO FIND HIM
While humans, the self-proclaimed highest form of intelligence on planet Earth, struggle to accept the notion of gender fluidity, many animals such as frogs and fish have been successfully doing so for ages, and without any notable transphobia to boot.
