a rift

Nov 21

Together Alone: Sportive Lemurs Stay Individualists in Relationships
During a one-year field study in Southern Madagascar the two researchers discovered that nocturnal white-footed sportive lemurs (Lepilemur leucopus) share a common territory with a pair partner of the opposite sex. This result clarified conflicting earlier reports on the social organization of this species.
The study of the DPZ researchers also revealed a specific type of relationship model that has not yet been described for other pair-living species. Although males and females live together also outside the brief annual mating season and defend a common territory together, they were never observed to huddle or to groom each other during the more than 1,500 hours of observation. “This species is characterized by an active avoidance of pair partners,” says Iris Dröscher, first author and PhD student at the Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit of the DPZ.
For their research the scientists observed a population of white-footed sportive lemurs at the Berenty Reserve and followed their movements via radio collars. They found that social interaction between couples are limited to mating once a year. “For primates, grooming is an important social interaction that strengthens the relationship between individuals. But it does not exist in white-footed sportive lemur couples,” explains Iris Dröscher. “Even for sleeping, the partners choose separate trees and never spend any time together.” The most elaborate social interactions of white-footed sportive lemur pair partners consist of just sitting next to each other at a small distance.
As interactions with many individuals in different contexts create cognitive challenges for animals, social complexity is regarded as an essential motor for the evolution of intelligence in primates. “White-footed sportive lemurs are characterized by a minimum of social complexity; they really define the baseline among primates,” says principle investigator Peter Kappeler.
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“Labeling women as “crazy” is a way of controlling them. It may not be something planned or pre-meditated, but the ease with which men call women “crazy” says a lot about them. Calling a woman “crazy” is a quick and easy shut-down to any discussion. Once the “crazy” card has been pulled out, women are now put on the defensive: the onus is no longer on the man to address her concerns or her issue, it’s on her to justify her behavior, to prove that she is not, in fact, crazy or irrational. Men don’t even have to provide any sort of argument back – it’s a classic catch-22; “the fact that you don’t even see that you’re acting crazy is just proof that it’s crazy.”” —

On Labeling Women “Crazy” | Paging Dr. NerdLove - Part 2 (via umajanelaaberta)

also god forbid an ornery dude finds out you’re actually dealing with mental illness good luck getting listened to ever again

(via inkys)

(Source: doctornerdlove.com, via perceptur)

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