The Generation X Files

In nature, several female animals practice sexual cannibalism. (LOL….how’s that for an opener! Take that, zombie-creating wasps!)

After mating (sometimes during!), they kill and consume their mate.

This behaviour is primarily found in predatory invertebrates and various insects, with over 1,500 species (!) known to exhibit some form of cannibalism.

So, why did these animals, from praying mantises (manti?¹) to (on rare occasions) green anacondas, become the ultimate boss b*tches?

Did they always exhibit this behaviour or did it develop over time?

It seems, there’s no definitive answer but, there are a few hypotheses. (You can click on the Wikipedia page I linked at the start of this post if you’d like to know what they are in detail)

It is generally interpreted as an extreme form of sexual conflict, where the reproductive interests of males and females diverge.

Put simply, it’s a never-ending “battle of the sexes”….on a biological level.

Because males and females have different goals when it comes to reproduction, what’s good for one can be bad for the other.

If males evolve a new way to get an advantage, it often hurts the females. To survive and keep their own strategy going, the females have to evolve a “counter-measure.”

As soon as they do, the males evolve something else to get ahead again.

It’s a continuous, back-and-forth process of adaptation, where every shift is met with a counter.

A bit like a complex biological negotiation between two organisms with different agendas…..whether those agendas are about eggs….or just about who has to do the dishes…… 

Oh no! I’m doing it again, aren’t I?

Taking the wild, complex and ‘other’ and forcing it into a human box. It’s anthropomorphism at its finest…..or perhaps its most problematic.

Still…..it makes you wonder…. If I can project human social dynamics onto a predatory invertebrate, how often do we apply these same faulty, biased labels to each other?

Maybe that’s why I don’t like to categorise myself in any way.

I’m not a feminist for example. But, nor am I a……ermm….a…..masculinist? (What is the male equivalent? Even the trusty search engines don’t seem to know for sure! I had a whole philosophical discussion with Google AI about it and everything!)

To be perfectly honest, I don’t really want to adopt any of the limiting “-ist” labels.

For me, that three-letter suffix suggests a narrowing of thinking.

It’s another self-identifying shortcut devoid of any nuance.

Why do we insist on championing individual expression, while simultaneously forcing people into increasingly narrow boxes?

Instead of helping us understand, these labels can act like mental blinders that make us less open-minded. And – too often nowadays – create unnecessary fighting.

Aren’t we all sick of that?

Wouldn’t you rather be defined by your actions and beliefs as an individual, rather than a pre-packaged label?

I would.

But, that feels like outdated thinking. It’s not fashionable anymore….

Like a pair of flares that were all the rage. Now they’re hanging, wrapped in plastic at the back of the spare wardrobe.

But, I can’t let them go because in another 20 years they might be back in style….even if they don’t quite fit me the same….

I mean, I’m not that far off with that analogy. Like a lot of things on this planet, fashion does go through cycles.

Almost everything – from nature to our own bodies – follows repeating patterns. But, not everything repeats exactly.

Life is a mix of repetition (cycles) and progress (a straight line). 

Cycles bring stability. But, they can also lead to stagnation, where we just repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Linear progress, on the other hand, drives us forward.

The real power lies somewhere in the middle.

As humans, we have the unique ability to bridge the two. We can recognise those old, predictable patterns. And – more importantly – we can consciously choose to change them.

A bicycle needs to move to keep balance. A society needs collective effort to break out of a cycle and move toward progress. 

But, personal balance is one thing. Moving a mountain of societal baggage is another!

You can’t do that on two wheels. You need something with a lot more torque! A bulldozer, perhaps….

Even then, there would still have to be enough of us “onboard” to affect any societal change.

For that to happen, we might need to start dropping some of the labels. To throw them out (along with that old pair of flares!).

But we’re always going to need each other. I’ll happily swap my bike for the heavy machinery. But, I can’t do it on my own. I’m going to need your help.

To build some momentum and start moving forward. To find a way back to each other again…

To stop the constant fighting.

I’m tired of riding alone round in circles…..how about we drive the bulldozer forward together instead?!

It’s still possible to change our future….let’s try to evolve again.

But, for the better…..not like our cannibalistic counterparts!

Citizen Jane x ✌️

1. I know it’s not this! It popped into my head and made me laugh….so it stays. My blog, my rules lol ↩︎

p.s. What do you think? Do you agree that we over-use labels nowadays? Or do we not use enough? Maybe you just want to tell me to stop talking about insect sex! Let’s chat in the comments box below 👇