Sex Battle
How boys and girls play raises some interesting thoughts in the context of modern society. The modern tendency to be more protective of children would seem to work against the natural inclinations of boys in many ways. The idea of Stranger Danger might fit well with boys’ tendencies to be on the lookout for the Enemy. But when supervising adults are so alarmed by the threat that they prevent boys from wandering farther afield as part of play, it would seem to restrict their natural development.
Meanwhile, the proliferation of handheld devices with social media apps as a way for adults to connect at all times would seem to feed into girls’ innate inclinations to be concerned with working on interpersonal relationships. In that context, social media on smartphones could be even more inherently addictive for girls than for boys. It does appear that boys use devices for games involving play fighting and perpetual war against the Enemy, whereas girls use the devices as an extended means for working on social relationships at all hours.
Of course, natural inclinations are not everything. Much of raising children involves suppressing some natural inclinations and fostering others. We also call them tendencies and inclinations to indicate that they are not universally felt by everyone in all situations, but rather a general direction many of us feel ourselves drawn towards absent intervening external social pressures.
It was Arnold Kling’s blog where I first read about Joyce Benenson’s Warriors and Worriers. He found it made him think about the medium- to long-term effects of several industries and academic fields switching from male to female dominance. Viewed through the lens of Benenson’s research, workplace competitiveness should be expected to change from systems that feel natural to men to systems that feel more natural to women.
This would mean a shift to more hidden competition, less self-aggrandizement from achievers, and a more egalitarian feel to the workplace. It would also mean rules of the game that are less clearly defined. This is what we might assume, but it doesn’t have to be that way, of course, if employees and management prefer to do things differently. Because something is an innate tendency doesn’t mean it is a tendency that cannot be overcome.
At any rate, the roots of all this behavior are practiced innocently enough in children’s play. We are still struggling to learn what the absence of opportunities for free play mean for developing women and men soon enough. Maybe. If we can set aside our digital distractions for long enough to notice.
The Art of Manliness podcast interviewed Dr. Benenson way back in 2016 about her research and her book when it was new. She explained similarities between human and chimp behavior and the evolutionary reasons behind them.
I have many observations and opinions on the topic of the sexes, but, as others have observed, the most relevant comment on each item is, "Of course. Obviously."
Considering ways to engage male nature productively, one thing that comes to mind is freeing up the business environment to make it easier to start a business. The "enemy" is your competitors. Change the schooling expectations so that young men can more easily learn marketable skills, especially craft skills, and go into business with mentors in their field.
Or, if one wanted to approach the issue from an economically left-wing point of view, what about something like a kibbutz movement?
TSAF breaks the striking writers' picket line with all new content! On your feet children, and then down on your bellies to do the Nightcrawler, the latest TikTok dance craze!
Today’s special animal friend is the nightcrawler, Lumbricus terrestris. Also known as the common earthworm, it is part of the Annelid (segmented worms) phylum, not the Nematoda (roundworm) phylum. A phylum is a high taxonomic level, just below Kingdom (ours and worms’ is Animalia). Our phylum is Chordata, everything with any kind of spinal cord.
Earthworms are cylindrical, slightly flattened at the rear end. Their bodies can be brown, reddish brown, or gray. They can be up to ten inches long, but most are considerably shorter. Each has an enlarged, smooth band called the “clitellum” about two inches from its front end. The clitellum is an organ which secretes a viscous fluid, forming a sac in which eggs are held.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvYM_TEE2Y4
Nightcrawlers dig deep, vertical burrows from which they emerge to feed. This pattern is called “anecic” by worm scientists, while munching through the soil, as some other worms do, is called “endogeic.” Nightcrawlers are detritovores, eating decomposing vegetable matter, animal droppings, and some dead animals. They prefer leaves that are high in calcium and nitrogen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3TZ9hcgCvM
Each earthworm has both male and female reproductive organs. Any two adults can mate, and they do, usually on or near the surface at night. Each one deposits a cocoon, generated by its clitellum, in the soil; four eggs is the usual number. The eggs hatch in two to three weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjpo6OkuYy0
Common earthworms have not been evaluated by IUCN. It is native to Europe and an introduced species in the United States. In some habitats, it is considered invasive. Its burrowing can affect the growth of some species of plants as well as creating lumps in turf. Predators of earthworms include ants, centipedes, birds, snakes, toads, carabid beetles, and nematode worms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4zhogVAuqc
In some U.S. environments, earthworms out-compete native species of worms. Meanwhile, on the Atlantic coast of Europe, the New Zealand and Australian flatworms, predatory species, have drastically reduced the earthworm population.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6a4AFbQ5Q4
Nightcrawlers are a popular fish bait:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3iSvWPusB0