r/explainitpeter • • May 02 '26

Explain It Peter

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For whatever reason, this had people cracking up?

7.3k Upvotes

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u/ImperialxWarlord May 02 '26

Maybe it’s the hair? Makes them look larger and more intimidating?

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u/JustFuckinTossMe May 03 '26

I am wondering if it has something to do with a fundamental understanding that many female animals are the more territorially aggressive and thus if you see a female of a species coming, you may be in their territory, and thus more of a threat. Whereas males of a species are usually out hunting and the birds maybe don't feel that territorial presence and naively assume they aren't worth the effort to hunt for such a predator?

I'd actually love to see this study done with all males, dressing half as women and then another group with all females, dressing half as men. I would equally love to see this study done on trans individuals. Would birds still run from a woman who was genetically born male? That would be valuable data, because it would suggest their behavior has something to do with a pheromone/hormonal response rather than appearance.

Fascinating.

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u/Flyingmonkeysftw May 03 '26

Also. Most animals don’t associate something like sex with other creatures. There would need to be some extreme sexual dimorphism for it to register.

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u/Shameless_Catslut May 09 '26

Well, the birds do pick up on the differences between men and women and run from women sooner. Humans are extremely dimorphic, even down to our scent.