Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history • Hacker News Board

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#21

Post by billytetrud » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC

graderjs wrote: post #9

This is awesome. To get the top job, she: beat up her own mother; then took on the existing alpha 4x her age, and probably larger; then in the next 'peanut session' he had to backdown and let her eat first; and now she walks with an erect tail and goes and shakes trees for fun--It expresses her power. How cool is that! It just goes to show, it's never about gender, just about choices, ambition and how brave you choos…

It's interesting, but brutal. I wouldn't call this "awesome". Beating up your mother isn't "brave". This is literally a monkey dictatorship. That alpha is probably really shitty to be around.

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#22

Post by tjpnz » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC

I've been there a few times but always referred to it as "Monkey Mountain", never knew it was called Takasakiyama. If you're in Beppu it's well worth a visit.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4703.html

Bear in mind that these are wild animals and that there are days where the park's closed due to no monkeys.

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#23

Post by prvc » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:57 PM UTC

graderjs wrote: post #9

This is awesome. To get the top job, she: beat up her own mother; then took on the existing alpha 4x her age, and probably larger; then in the next 'peanut session' he had to backdown and let her eat first; and now she walks with an erect tail and goes and shakes trees for fun--It expresses her power. How cool is that! It just goes to show, it's never about gender, just about choices, ambition and how brave you choos…

Undoubtedly, the writers at the Guardian were thinking the same. However, one would do well to doubt whether the above described behaviors would be good were they to be performed by humans.

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#24

Post by DonHopkins » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:57 PM UTC

lm28469 wrote: post #12

graderjs wrote: post #9

This is awesome. To get the top job, she: beat up her own mother; then took on the existing alpha 4x her age, and probably larger; then in the next 'peanut session' he had to backdown and let her eat first; and now she walks with an erect tail and goes and shakes trees for fun--It expresses her power. How cool is that! It just goes to show, it's never about gender, just about choices, ambition and how brave you choos…

> beat up her own mother > just about choices and how brave you choose to be Reminds me of Hollywood directors who think "alpha" women characters have to be regular women with all the traits of "toxic masculinity"

That's why I love Chrisjen Avasarala, in The Expanse! But does her potty mouth count as "toxic masculinity"?

https://expanse.fandom.com/wiki/Chrisjen_Avasarala_(TV)

>A master politician and maneuverer, she achieved one of the highest ranks in UN government without ever standing for election. She manipulates those in the highest seats of power through careful cultivation of relationships with their spouses, friends, and staff nearest to them. [...]

>Avasarala's personality is often one of clashing traits. She is erudite and elegant, always properly and beautifully dressed, but is also notorious for her use of foul language and profanity, and was described by Bobbie as cursing "like a trucker". She has been shown to be cold and ruthless one moment, as she tortures a prisoner for information or manipulates her close friend DeGraaf into ruining his career for her political gain, while she is warm and maternal the next, playing with her grandson or giving Errinwright a chance to redeem himself. She is shrewd and intelligent, knows her way around people, and is also an astute and remorseless deceiver, often lying to advance her goals, such as when she pretended to know Captain Yvgeny to convince Sorrento-Gillis to do what she wanted, or attributed fake quotes to the deceased Admiral Souther and called him her friend, while in truth they barely spoke to each other.

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#25

Post by turing_complete » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:58 PM UTC

graderjs wrote: post #9

This is awesome. To get the top job, she: beat up her own mother; then took on the existing alpha 4x her age, and probably larger; then in the next 'peanut session' he had to backdown and let her eat first; and now she walks with an erect tail and goes and shakes trees for fun--It expresses her power. How cool is that! It just goes to show, it's never about gender, just about choices, ambition and how brave you choos…

I am really not sure if this comment is ironic or not. It reads like it has to be, but today you never know.

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#26

Post by serverholic » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 3:01 PM UTC

graderjs wrote: post #18

serverholic wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We just going to ignore that this was the first one in 70 years? > It just goes to show, it's never about gender, just about choices, ambition and how brave you choose to be. Then why is this newsworthy?

Because, I suppose, people seem to have forgotten that.

Forgotten what? If gender doesn't matter then why is this newsworthy? And if people forgot something then why did they forget it in the first place?

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#27

Post by mikepurvis » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 3:02 PM UTC

runawaybottle wrote: post #20

lm28469 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> beat up her own mother > just about choices and how brave you choose to be Reminds me of Hollywood directors who think "alpha" women characters have to be regular women with all the traits of "toxic masculinity"

Bill Burr always had a good joke about inclusivity in politics, where the gist of it is - just because you have a woman, or a minority as your leader, doesn’t also mean that a woman or minority won’t be a corrupt piece of shit. You’ll just have diversity in corruption, nothing will truly change, so don’t just blindly support these current ideologies.

Maybe, but be careful that this argument is circulated in good faith and not just as a cover for getting another dude over the line into the job. Especially if it's a job that has never been done by a woman, so you really don't know how they might do it better.

For example, it's been widely observed that on the whole, countries with female leadership understood and managed COVID better than the rest— acting sooner, more decisively, and in a way that both started and stayed aligned to the evolving scientific understanding. A sprinkling of articles across varying dates:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2020/04/13/...

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-31/women-...

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2021-03-...

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#28

Post by vnchr » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 3:07 PM UTC

hypertele-Xii wrote: post #19

fooperdupes wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True progress is the freedom for everyone to be an asshole.

Assholes are so underappreciated they're used for slander. It's an anatomical device that controls defecation; Keeping poop at bay while you go about your business. Stop calling evil "asshole" and you might find your pooping becomes a little easier, as that part of your body is no longer equivocated with malice.

There’s an advocate for everything these days.

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#29

Post by yomly » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 3:24 PM UTC

graderjs wrote: post #9

This is awesome. To get the top job, she: beat up her own mother; then took on the existing alpha 4x her age, and probably larger; then in the next 'peanut session' he had to backdown and let her eat first; and now she walks with an erect tail and goes and shakes trees for fun--It expresses her power. How cool is that! It just goes to show, it's never about gender, just about choices, ambition and how brave you choos…

I mean we had the Amazonians, Boudica, Cleopatra, Jean D'Arc, Mulan, Wu Zetian...

It's not like if you have a large enough sample size you won't discover alpha females in even the human world when it was dominated by physical violence prior to the invention of the gun.

Re: Macaques at Japan reserve get first alpha female in 70-year history

#30

Post by greyfox » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 3:27 PM UTC

i wonder what implications this has on mating? will she find a mate? Presumably the male would need to dominate her in order to procreate, that does not appear to be the case, currently.

Will she attempt to assume the male role in the mating process?

Lots of questions here around this issue.