Season 5 Episode 4: Ken the Naked Mole Rat

 

In this episode Sarah, Mark, and James continue their coverage Bitch by Lucy Cooke. We discussed systems where female aggression was common and the subjugation of other females and males was done by "alpha" females.  We were surprised to learn how murderous and violent naked mole rats and sweet little meercats could be. 

Photo from Akron Zoo

Naked mole rats are eusocial mammals where a dominant female is the sole reproducer in the colony and others help rear the young. Here is a photo of a queen rat with her newborn pubs and other females assisting in their care. Do not be fooled by the serene nature of this image, those helper females are violently coerced into their roles.

Photo from https://lsc.org/news-and-social/news/our-naked-mole-rats-had-babiesagain

Meercats are also a fossorial social mammal that is ruled ruthlessly by the dominant female. The play of meercats often mimics fighting, which is always a constant possibility in their tight knit clan.

The second half of the discussion focused on female dominant systems that rely more on alliances and social bonding to create group coherence. Ring tailed lemurs and bonobo chimpanzees were the classic system we discussed. At the end we tried to make sense of how ecology, physiology, and culture might be influencing a social system being matriarchal or patriarchal. Sarah noted that the males in these female dominant social systems reminded her of Ken in the movie Barbie. 

Opening and closing music is "May" by Jared C. Balogh.

Interlude music My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas