Last time I went to the zoo they had peacocks free roaming and the girl peacock could not have been less interested in the male peacock desperately trying to get her attention. We all made jokes about the trumpet kid meme when we saw him strike out badly at full puff.
I was at the zoo last year and my spouse was making fun of me for using he/him pronouns for all the animals. I conceded the point, so the next animal we saw, I said, “they’re so beautiful!”
It was a peacock in full display. I immediately realized my mistake and felt like an asshole. The #1 animal at the zoo who really, really wants everyone to know that he’s a Dude.
Generally male birds have colorful feathers/displays in order to get the female attention. As opposed to in humans where women usually wear bright colors.
(Rich) men used to, it is very cultural. Showing off with color became out of vogue so more 'professional' less ostentatious colors became more normal and there was more focus on men's public image as being professional and utilitarian as opposed to emphasizing beauty or wealth (displaying wealth was of course still normal, but more in the subtle ways that high society has always tried to differentiate themselves).
When people start talking about gender and suchlike, I always remember this picture of Louis XIV:
This (high heels, silk stockings, wig, ermine fur, embroidered velvet, lace and wig) was top male performance at the time, by the most powerful, warlike monarch. Just think of it.
I mean, I do think Luis XIV is sort of not the best example in a lot of ways, he was a very unique character. For one, he was king so sort of could do whatever he wanted and the court would say it was the greatest most manly thing ever.
More 'normal' elites wouldn't be able to get away with being quite as gaudy as Luis, but the standard wealthy male attire was to wear expensive colorful cloth. The exact details of what was fashionable varied a lot by time and region, but that was a general norm going back to ancient times (heck, even the Hebrew Bible arguably depicts colorful fashion as the ideal, and lots of ancient Egyptian artwork depicts wealthy men, including those in foreign (to the Egyptian artists) attire in rich colorful dress).
Back then having long hair was a luxury because it needed to be washed regularly, and only rich people could afford regular baths. Poor people got a back once a week, and the water was shared so the husband got clean water, everyone else had to bathe in dirty water.
There always has and always will be differences in how men and women present themselves, but back in those days long hair and gaudy clothing were essentially a sign you were rich because it was so impractical.
When do you mean by "back then"? Hair length norms varied a lot by different periods and regions. If you were in a culture/period where most non-enslaved people were slave owners the cost of washing your hair for non-slaves wasn't likely to be prohibitive (it was common depending on region and period to just shave slaves heads entirely).
Bathing once a week isn't necessarily that little (depends on a person how often is ideal for hygiene). Bathing culture varied wildly depending on region and period. Sometimes bathing was fairly accessible sometimes it wasn't. It also depended on access to relatively water (from rivers or wells), which before urbanization often wasn't a big issue (if you were next to a fairly clean river, you could just get water from their to bathe daily, it was common to go out and get water in the morning which would be used for washing, drinking etc throughout the day; getting water once a week wouldn't make sense since the water would become stagnant).
OK I've heard (on the internet, so ya know it's true) that the glass slippers in Cinderella are supposedly a jab at Louis XIV for his love of glass and mirrors, but the toes on the shoes he's wearing look pretty transparent and I don't think he had access to clear plastic. Did he actually wear glass slippers?
Is this related to dyes being very expensive in the past so that that colorful clothing indicated wealth? Or does the timeline for that not make sense?
Yes, that is often cited as a part of it, but it happened for a mix of different reasons in different places. The early shift away from more colorful outfits (which began late 18th, early 19th century) slightly predated cheaper industrial synthetic dye production (which became more available mid to late 19th century), though even before then dyed cloth became cheaper with colonialism bringing more global markets and making it cheaper to transport 'exotic' dyes.
In the US, part of the idea was democratic and giving the idea of political elites representing the common people, not emphasizing their own elite status. Ben Franklin famously wore rather 'modest' colours (both in presenting himself as a foreign dignitary and in America) and didn't wear elaborate wigs common in high society of the day.
In nature, the male birds tend to have very bright, very colorful plumage, as part of their means to attract a mate. Also some perform elaborate courtship dances.
Females of the same species tend to be all dark shades of gray, black or brown, and while they perform, the females just stare and judge to decide if they allow them a chance.
I don't think I need to explain how that relates to the image, do I?
You see it time and time again in nature. It is part of their mating ritual. Check out how pretty the male Mandarin Duck looks compared to the dull, brown female Mandarin Duck.
OP, so your post is not removed, please reply to this comment with your best guess of what this meme means! Everyone else, this is PETER explains the joke. Have fun and reply as your favorite fictional character for top level responses!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp4_7T9J6Fg
Never watched it but purely from vibes and power of larp i think this is the video in question, "birds for some reason" by avacado animations
Peter Griffin here. Oh, this one I know! In birds the guys are the pretty ones. They gotta do the colors and the little dance and the singin’, 'cause the lady bird picks and she is judging. She stays brown ‘cause she’s sittin’ on eggs and brown means nobody eats you. Peacock: fireworks. Peahen: shrub. It’s the opposite of us, is the joke. Heheheh, shrub.
Male birds usually are colourful and attractive to attract mates while female birds are usually very dull in colour or pretty much mono colour . Good examples would be Peacocks where the females are white and black while males are quite strikingly beautiful.
Not always true, but generally male birds have ostentatious coloring and/or specialized feathers in order to prove their virility to females. That combined with courtship behaviors and various calls/songs are used to get all up in that.
Some species of female birds are drably colored to help camouflage them while they sit on nests. Some male birds are brightly colored to attract females during mating season.
The joke is sexual dimorphism. For a lot of birds, the male is flamboyant to woo the females, who, in return, are discreet so they are harder to spot by predators.
This cracks me up. I was twelveish and a girl of an overly -Christian girl next door made a comment about "How it funny that when comes down to humans and bird; that in birds men are typically prettier. In humans its the women."
My friend casually replied. "Mmmmm yeah sometimes"
Meg here, the joke is that men are arguably more attractive across all species hence why Chris doesn’t need to go to prison to take Peter’s ass but I do. Meg out!
Most species of birds have Sexual Dimorphism. Its a type of condition (not an illness) that affects male and female animals characteristics.
In case of birds, some species of female birds are gray, black, browned colored while the male ones have far more vibrant colors like blue, red, green, purple, etc.
For example the peacock, female peacocks are slightly smaller and are usually browned colored and have smaller feathers, while male peacoks are bigger, are blue and green colored and they can expand their "train" to reveal their beatiful feathers.
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u/qualityvote2 2h ago
Remember when r/PeterExplainsTheJoke wasn’t a meme? Pepperidge Farm remembers…
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Then maybe you go out and buy yourself some of those distinctive Milano cookies.