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Jurassic macho attitudes.

Posted by Smokey Stover on August 29, 2004

In Reply to: Jurassic macho attitudes. posted by R. Berg on August 29, 2004

: : : : : : hI,
: : : : : : Could anyone tell me what is "Jurassic macho attitudes"?

: : : : : My guess. Outdated male attitudes towards life in general and women in particular.

: : : : : From Merriam-Webster:

: : : : : Main Entry: Ju·ras·sic
: : : : : Pronunciation: ju-'ra-sik
: : : : : Function: adjective
: : : : : Etymology: French jurassique, from Jura mountain range
: : : : : : of, relating to, or being the period of the Mesozoic era between the Triassic and the Cretaceous or the corresponding system of rocks marked by the presence of dinosaurs and the first appearance of birds -- see GEOLOGIC TIME table
: : : : : - Jurassic noun

: : : : Thank you so much

: : : I have more than one cavil concerning this expression. First, there were no men to be macho during the Jurassic. Can we speak of dinosaurs being macho? Even if we could, how much do we know about specifically masculine dinosaur behavior? My second cavil is that even when we come to cavemen, or our primitive ancestors, we don't know how men treated women, although we can presume that the men got together to kill mastodons and other big game, while the women captured snails and bugs in case the big game refused to be killed. Most of what we believe about "macho" attitudes among cavemen is by analogy with ourselves. "Me big athlete" ("Me big hunter"), "me get women because of big muscles and lots of testosterone. Me drag women around by the hair because real men think it's lots of fun." Possibly. But real cavemen often had their hands full just staying alive and raising the kids. They needed women to help them do either, and presumably were smart enough to know it. SS

: : All that's probably true. But it is colorful speech to say that someone is so behind the times that what he is doing is Neanderthal, caveman or Jurassic behavior.

: Smokey, your objections vanish if you construe "Jurassic" less literally, as the equivalent of "antique" or "quaint."

How does a male dinosaur show off his machismo? Why, by throwing his weight around, of course! SS

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