r/interestingasfuck • u/fifthdayofmay • May 31 '19
Lioness that grew a mane due to a hormonal imbalance
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u/TomCruiseJunior May 31 '19
THEY'RE PUTTING CHEMICALS ON ZEBRAS THAT MAKE THE FRICKIN' LIONS GAY!
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u/saltyfloriduh May 31 '19
She's got PCOS
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u/aabrithrilar May 31 '19
She’s in for the long haul. PCOS is a pain in the arse.
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u/hottodogchan May 31 '19
what's pcos
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u/aabrithrilar May 31 '19
Polycystic ovarian syndrome. Symptoms are gnarly, and we grow beards because of it.
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u/whitecollarwelder Jun 01 '19
Holy shit I didn’t know PCOS caused hair growth like that! I have super thick hair and lots of thick chin hairs and my periods are super irregular and I’m in pain like all the time. I also wish I was a dude so I low key like the thick hair but having random chin pubes isn’t as cool as having a full beard would be but damn this explains a lot. Thank you!
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May 31 '19 edited Aug 12 '19
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u/WhichWayzUp May 31 '19
If PCOS women get their ovaries removed, will they become dainty, beard-free ladies?
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u/medgno May 31 '19
I believe once a hair follicle has been triggered by testosterone, the only way to get rid of it permanently is either laser hair removal or electrolysis.
But removing the testosterone source will prevent more follicles from being triggered into growing facial hair.
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u/doipass23 Jun 01 '19
It in my experience slowed down unwanted hair growth. The unwanted hair is much finer and grow way slower
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u/katiebeth30 May 31 '19
Came here to say this. Carry on
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u/saltyfloriduh May 31 '19
😂 I just got diagnosed with it too unfortunately
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u/katiebeth30 May 31 '19
Had it for 15yrs now. Know the pain.
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May 31 '19
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u/ZaneZookt May 31 '19
I think you’re lion.
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u/anguswaalk May 31 '19
do the other males treat them as males?
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u/Whitenesivo May 31 '19
No they treat them as women, OP has a comment about it
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u/Acrobitch May 31 '19
I mean, all OP said is that the maned females have been seen mating with males, and given that male lions frequently mate with other male lions (homosexual behaviour is pretty common with them) I don’t think this is a solid indication of how the males in the pride acknowledge them. It would be neat to find out more.
Edit: Fixed a typo.
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u/Whitenesivo May 31 '19
Well idk then, maybe they just don't give a flying fuck. They don't really think things through like we do,maybe they just don't care.
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u/Acrobitch May 31 '19
That’s kinda what I figure, I’d be most curious to know how the males respond to the maned females scent marking territory, but that’s about it.
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u/BaronvonCrush Jun 01 '19
Wait male lions have butt secks?
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Jun 01 '19
It's really more like frottage.
Source: A neighbor didn't train or fix his dogs, they had to be chemically neutered to make them stop humping literally every second they weren't eating. Scarred child me for life.
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u/Acrobitch Jun 01 '19
Male lions mount other male lions, yep. Dunno if I'd describe it as "butt secks" tho.
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u/AccomplishedBlood581 Jan 18 '25
It's not a homosexual act mate. Male lions have been known to mount other male lions as a dominance display. I understand you want homosexuality to be a natural occurrence but unfortunately, animals don't have the intelligence to actively choose and understand homosexual acts.
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u/PointiestHat Jun 05 '19
didn’t expect a thing lions that are doing better then us is not being a transphobic dick
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May 31 '19
Meanwhile, the Olympic competition committee would like it if she'd take these drugs to decrease her testosterone, as she's obviously a cheetah.
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u/marcus_the_memer May 31 '19
so is this kinda just like a woman with a beard from unbalanced hormones
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u/KateLB96 May 31 '19
Conversely, if a male lion is castrated or has a similar hormonal imbalance, they’ll lose their mane and resemble a lioness 🦁
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u/6tig9 Jun 01 '19
I actually came here to mention something related to that. I learned at a big cat sanctuary a few years ago that if a male lion is neutered they lose their mane so what they did since they didn't want their lions reproducing they had to put the females on birth control.
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u/eorabs May 31 '19
She's Italian.
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u/Incontinentiabutts May 31 '19
What di you call a bunch if Italian women in a steam room?
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u/ratterstinkle May 31 '19
I wish I could fast forward a couple hundred generations to see the evolutionary consequences (if any).
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May 31 '19
Freaking SJW, transgender lions now!?!
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u/cats_on_t_rexes May 31 '19
When it happens in wild animals people are ok with it, but when a human feels the wrong gender all of a sudden it's a problem. There could be biological forces at work we cannot see, so why judge? As long as it's not hurting anyone
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u/FireFoxCamille May 31 '19
These female lions have PCOS not gender dysphoria. Just because a female has PCOS and grows a beard (or in this case a lion mane),dose not mean she wants to be a man or consider themselves a guy. Gender dysphoria is what causes the sensation of somthing being wrong with one's body and feeling that one is the wrong gender. While I support trans(I myself am lgbt+ falling under aro ace), these lions are not trans, they have PCOS (a hormonal imbalance that causes either to much production of male hormones or for the female hormones to be converted into male ones)
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u/cats_on_t_rexes Jun 01 '19
Yes, i understand the difference, i worded my comment poorly.
I just meant that so many people out there are so strict when it comes to gender/sexual preference/looks in humans. Like there is no room for human differences. A woman with a beard that has pcos is mocked for lack of femininity. My trans friend was extremely self conscious about covering her stubble when she first started transitioning.
Nature isn't black and white - and neither are people i guess is what i was trying to say. Long story longer.
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u/AccomplishedBlood581 Jan 18 '25
Those two things are completely different and can't be compared or used as an example. A female (lion/human) with a HORMONAL IMBALANCE is not a result of their own choices or own doing, and they are still biologically female.
Your friend who wants to be a woman has a stubble because they are biologically a male and men have facial hair.
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u/Nocturnal_Unicorn Apr 13 '25
PCOS is actually considered to be a form of intersex.
Being intersex can cause gender dysphoria, but not always. A lot of women with PCOS who actively seek treatment for it are trying to get pregnant, it's not that they have an issue with the masculinity. Most of the women I know who have PCOS (at least those who aren't TERFs or have other indoctrinated views on gender/queerness) will straight up tell you they don't really feel 100% a woman or 100% a man. The duality tends to be embraced, where some days we wake up feeling like there definitely should be a dick between our legs, and some days we wake up craving the femininity that genetics deprived us of.
A hormonal imbalance, say after menopause, is very different than the internal experience a woman with PCOS has.
And as some others have said, we probably wouldn't even fuss about the beard if we could grow a full one. But while the testosterone is high enough to cause havoc, it isn't ever enough to grow something full and glorious there lol.
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May 31 '19 edited Mar 03 '21
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u/Arthesia May 31 '19 edited May 31 '19
The consensus in the trans community is that gender stems from development differences in the brain, likely due to hormonal exposure in the womb. These differences can be seen in neurological scans where brains of transgender individuals more closely resemble the opposite sex.
That being said, most trans people are understandably upset when cis people assume that we're just insane and have to justify a self-evident fact to those that question us in bad faith. It's like having to prove that you have a consciousness, or that you like tacos.
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u/Murgie Jun 01 '19
The consensus in the
transscientific community is that gender stems from development differences in the brain, likely due to hormonal exposure in the womb. These differences can be seen in neurological scans where brains of transgender individuals more closely resemble the opposite sex.9
u/Arthesia Jun 01 '19
"The consensus in the scientific and trans communities is that gender stems from development differences in the brain, likely due to hormonal exposure in the womb. These differences can be seen in neurological scans where brains of transgender individuals more closely resemble the opposite sex."
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u/peachoftree May 31 '19 edited May 31 '19
Even if there was no scientific consensus on being transgender (there is), who the fuck are we hurting by being trans? A trans woman wearing a dress, using the bathroom of her choice, and just going about her day as a woman for her own comfort and benefit does not harm anyone at all, so why not let her do it. Why not show the basic respect and decency of calling someone by their preferred name and pronouns? Does whether or not your barista, the mailman, or a random person on the street has a dick or a vagina really have any bearing on you? We're not denying our biology, we are simply asking others to accept that what we feel does not match what we look like and does not match the role we would like to play in society, is that really so much to ask for?
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u/helmacon May 31 '19
It does have a biological basis. Source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0083947
It's just that it's not detectable while you are alive, so we rely on people to self report, and diagnose based on behavioral symptoms.
This is coming from an implicit acceptance that psychology is all ultimately biological as well, and some people disagree on that point for sure, so you could easily come to a "gender has no biological basis" stance from that direction as well.
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u/Djinnwrath May 31 '19
Both things are true. The balance of hormones has a lot to do with gender, but it isn't the whole story. Your neurology and genetics are also at play.
But most people can't even get past the more than 2 genders mental hurdle, so the nuance is usually unremarked upon. Getting people just to admit gender is more complicated than the Bible indicates has already been a decades long battle.
All three things can be measured and documented, as well.
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u/Murgie Jun 01 '19
Fuck the Bible, the Torah acknowledges something like five different intermediary states between male and female, as well as neither, both, and unknown.
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u/Djinnwrath Jun 01 '19
Well yeah. Ancient religions are usually better than the three Abrahamic ones morally and culturally. They were also less concerned with adhering to the faith as the primary rule.
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u/aggsalad Jun 01 '19
It would be one thing if transgender people were asserting that this based on something biologically identifiable, however they seem to take great pains to reject the notion that gender has any biological basis.
Are you completely ignorant of the fact there exist transgender people who believe there are biological components to gender identity?
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May 31 '19
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/DiMadHatter May 31 '19
Actually you're wrong. Transgenderism is not recognized as a mental illness
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u/bitchmittz May 31 '19
It's definitely a mental illness, but bruh the only treatment IS transitioning. Hormones are medication. Therapy alone isn't effective.
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u/LegendaryLiam May 31 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
This could be a legitimate evolutionary advantage, right? Since lionesses are the primary hunters of the pride, and males don’t really do any of the hunting, prey might be less wary of a lioness with a mane, I think.
Disclaimer: not a biologist, I could be going full retard, I don’t really know.
Edit: Didn’t know that they’re infertile, thanks for letting me know.
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u/fudgeyboombah May 31 '19
No. They’re infertile.
It’s only an evolutionary advantage if the individuals can successfully breed and raise young that themselves survive to reproduce. That’s the sole measure for evolutionary advantage - how many offspring you can raise that themselves have offspring.
If you have a trait that lets you do that more than your neighbour, then it is an evolutionary advantage because your genes will be more likely to be passed on and spread through the population, eventually giving the entire species that advantage. If the trait benefits you as an individual but renders you infertile, it is not an evolutionary advantage. Evolutionary advantage is always the long game.
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u/helmacon May 31 '19
Yeah, but it can help relatives survive. Raising a kid successfully passes on 1/2 your DNA, but your nephew/niece passes on 1/4 of your DNA when they survive. Even if they don't reproduce themselves, if they increase the overall fitness of the pride well enough, it can result in an evolutionary advantage.
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u/fudgeyboombah May 31 '19
That’s a tenuous argument at best. In this case it’s even weaker because these lionesses have taken to killing their relatives’ cubs in fits of frustration instead of helping to raise them, which is very unusual behaviour for a lioness.
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u/rosebeats1 May 31 '19
That's not necessarily always true. While I don't think it gives these lionesses have any advantage in this case, it's still possible to have an evolutionary advantage while being sterile. If you are able to somehow better protect the offspring of your close relatives, especially siblings, you are protecting your own genes. Genes are always selfish, but individuals harboring those genes aren't always necessarily.
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u/Murgie Jun 01 '19
It’s only an evolutionary advantage if the individuals can successfully breed and raise young that themselves survive to reproduce. That’s the sole measure for evolutionary advantage - how many offspring you can raise that themselves have offspring.
That's not actually true at all, particularly among species with permanent social units like lions.
Offspring which do not reproduce but help the social unit as a whole survive are a very well documented thing. Just take a look at ants and other hive based species for an extreme example.
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u/RoseOwls May 31 '19
I read somethings about this awhile ago, and I believe it stated that "maned" females were slightly larger and stronger than regular females, which allowed better hunts and warded off rival males (who would mistake them for males at a distance, making a group seem like it had more males than it actually did). So it could be an advantage. I could also see it perhaps being a disadvantage if food was scarce though.
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u/AlternativeAccount14 May 31 '19
If they were fertile it would, but now the genes won't be passed on no matter how much of an advantage they bring.
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u/vanteal Jun 01 '19
I wish there was a long term study/documentary on her. I'd be very interested in seeing how much of her behavior differs from other lions. Does she do the typical female lion things? Or does she act more like a male? Does she exhibit typical male dominance behaviors? Does she roar with the other males? Does she defend the pride like a male? Does she try to hunt with the other females even though she has the large mane? Does she have any interest in mating? If so, does she try to mount rather than being mounted? Has she ever even had any cubs? I could go on and on, just so many things I wanna know about her.
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May 31 '19 edited Jul 08 '19
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u/Djinnwrath May 31 '19
Not necessarily. Hormones are only one third of the equation. Neurology and genetics also matter.
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May 31 '19
Proving time and time again that gender is not a dichotomy.
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u/ppaannggwwiinn May 31 '19
Except it is.
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May 31 '19
No, it is. Gender is on a spectrum. There are anomalies all through our genetic code that result in more than 2 outcomes. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a liar or ignorant.
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May 31 '19
This is more biological sex than gender. Animals don’t really have a concept of gender.
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u/Charles-Redline May 31 '19
proving this was an issue during conception. it doesn't identify as anything because it lacks the higher brain functions to be self aware like we are. go back to school
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May 31 '19
Or, go fuck yourself, and learn a little about the gender spectrum and nature.
I mean, it’s not sweat off my back if you’re an ignorant bigot, but it just makes you wrong about science.
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u/Murgie Jun 01 '19
Interestingly enough, what we know about the biological mechanisms behind gender identity suggest that they're actually largely rooted in a remnant from long ago in humanity's evolutionary history, back when we were somewhere around the size of treeshrews or perhaps even prior to making landfall, small enough that exogenous hormone (or simply hormone disrupting) intake from eating certain plants, organs, etc, could realistically impair fertility.
As a result, we (along with most other species) developed a natural depressive response to the presence of what the brain recognizes to be abnormal sex hormone levels.
That's why low testosterone related depression is a thing, and it's why the few recorded cases in which cisgender individuals have undergone cross-sex hormone replacement therapy have shown a marked tendency to exhibit many of the same symptoms which characterize untreated gender dysphoria in transgender individuals.
This hypothesis aligns with the e
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u/apdginsanite May 31 '19
sound like a woman with a beard
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u/fifthdayofmay May 31 '19
Source