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Post by beetlehorn on Sept 5, 2016 7:51:18 GMT -8
Some time ago I was at work and was sharing a few pictures on my phone. When one of the guys noticed I had a photo of a butterfly nectaring (Eurytides marcellus) he asked me why I had this photo on my phone. He said there was something just wrong about a grown man having a butterfly photo on his phone. I explained to him that I have an appreciation for all natural beauty, no matter if it is a tree, deer, fish, bird or insect. His response was "Yeah...but it's a butterfly!" I think to him it say's something about a man's masculinity. Personally I also think his response says something about intelligence, and it is a sign of sexual insecurity on a deeper level, as if he needed to prove his masculinity over a guy who has a butterfly photo. On a socail level, I think most people would generally accept a woman having an appreciation for butterflies over a man's. This seems ironic to me, because throughout history most of the great naturalists that collected, documented and appreciated butterflies were indeed men. What a strange world we live in.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2016 10:04:55 GMT -8
It's just science. It doesn't matter if you are collecting insects or rocks. To me it's a added bonus if you can appreciate the beauty in the specimens that you collect and not just view them as objects. Anytime my coworkers or anyone else even starts to try to give me any crap over my insect collection I remind them that I also keep their nightmares as pets (snakes) and that usually shuts them up.
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Post by rayrard on Sept 6, 2016 8:02:56 GMT -8
It is odd because the collecting hobby is dominated by men. But it is still awkward to tell a stranger in the field that you are "collecting butterflies" as opposed to "catching bugs". One sounds more feminine and one sounds more masculine. It brings to mind prancing through meadows looking at pretty little things with colorful wings. Not the same as digging through dirt looking for scarabs or carrying a gun hunting game in the eyes of the public. Some nowadays equate a net with a gun and they make it even harder to enjoy the hobby. Normally I don't care about "butterfly collection" versus any other label, but in the past I was not a fan of having a net anywhere in public. Depends on the age groups that are around.
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Post by exoticimports on Sept 6, 2016 9:47:10 GMT -8
Some time ago I was at work and was sharing a few pictures on my phone. When one of the guys ... I don't suppose this is one of those TV sports watching buffoons? Most outdoors types (hunters, etc.) are not likely to ridicule anyone who tramps through fields and swamps, since they have, at one time or another, sustained injury from wild insects. Chuck
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Post by beetlehorn on Sept 6, 2016 20:17:08 GMT -8
Well....I know for sure he used to be much more active in outdoor activities like hunting in particular. I tend to think that sometimes he does it just to try and get a response from me. Picking on something that could potentially annoy me is one of his "pet peaves" so to speak. There are people that make themselves feel better by doing just that. Perhaps it is a self esteem issue, which goes hand-in-hand with the insecurity I mentioned above. This still doesn't explain why society in general has a hard time accepting our activities revolving around Lepidoptera, but I tend to think he knows about this and uses it for his amusement. I have analized this behavior by other people, and can see it for what it is....immaturity! So it doesn't bother me quite as much anymore now that I have stepped back and took an objective look at it.
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Post by nomad on Sept 7, 2016 1:35:56 GMT -8
All I can say is that men such as Alfred Russel Wallace, Henry Water Bates, Alfred Stewart Meek, Antwerp Edgar Pratt collected butterflies and people such as Laurie Wills and John Tennent still collect butterflies, so you should not worry about your masculinity. To a man they were or are tough as old boots and hard as nails. ... and all very brave men.
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Post by Paul K on Sept 7, 2016 2:25:10 GMT -8
I agree with Nomad. Collecting butterflies it is as tough as it can get specially in the tropics, remote places and high in the mountains. No city man will understand that so let them be.
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Sept 7, 2016 4:21:44 GMT -8
Last spring I was a judge at the Scott County School Science Fair, grade 4 to 6.you can tell who does the work, parent or child. During the award ceremony I was introduced as one of the Judges. My back ground was mentioned and the I design, make and market the equipment that entomologist use to collect insects.
After the ceremony a parent ask me if I design nets. I should no. The parents response. What else do you use besides a net. Or do you design something to shoot them with.
And we wonder where dumb kids come from.
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Post by joee30 on Sept 7, 2016 10:32:41 GMT -8
I have to deal with that a lot. I find it funny when a grown man tries to assume another grown man's masculinity because of a hobby. Growing up in L.A., this was particularly bad in the Hispanic community. I always had guy's asking me if I was gay or something when I was on a bus with a Schmidt box with Morphos or swallowtails. Then the clueless look if I had beetles and grasshoppers. I always asked when they question my masculinity what they envisioned me doing in order for them to think the way they did. Many thought butterfly collectors were sissy's gaily prancing around a field catching butterflies. When I told them how difficult it is to collect certain butterflies, like some of the Indra swallowtails or satyrs, how many times I have gone through poison oak or ivy, many mosquitos, biting gnats, ticks, leeches, and all manner of bloodsucking bugs, and not to mention the many times I've run into snakes, and broken something, then they'd think twice about calling a bug collector a sissy.
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Post by joee30 on Sept 7, 2016 10:36:05 GMT -8
Tom, that is the main reason why there are bullies in the world. You gotta have a jackass who is so insecure about his "manliness" that he has to pick and make fun of others to feel better. In reality, he is the real sissy. lol
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Post by joee30 on Sept 7, 2016 10:39:14 GMT -8
It's just science. It doesn't matter if you are collecting insects or rocks. To me it's a added bonus if you can appreciate the beauty in the specimens that you collect and not just view them as objects. Anytime my coworkers or anyone else even starts to try to give me any crap over my insect collection I remind them that I also keep their nightmares as pets (snakes) and that usually shuts them up. Ha!!! I do one better. I have a tarantula at home and that is enough to shut anyone up about making fun of my hobbies. Spiders are awesome. lol
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 13:30:02 GMT -8
At the pinnacle of my OCD with tarantulas I had 30 different species and a couple scorpions thrown in for good measure. Nobody wants to come over and visit. Can't figure out why.
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Post by beetlehorn on Sept 7, 2016 14:30:46 GMT -8
I see it the way you do Jose. The places we went tree tapping for Catocalas would be off limits for most people, especially the guys I work with. There are too many bugs, and the chances of encountering snakes are much too likely. I failed to mention, by the way, the same guy that wants to ridicule me for collecting butterflies is so terrified of snakes that he can't even see one on a TV screen. He actually starts to have a panic attack in the presence of any kind of snake, poisonous or not. He is 6 foot three, and weighs 240, but you could run him out of the county with a garter snake....no kidding!!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 16:04:21 GMT -8
Beetlehorn,
There is always going to be some smart ass that is going to try to make themselves feel better by trying to put someone else down. A look at the contents of my phone would reveal photos of everything from lepidoptera to geodes to snakes to wildflowers. Does that make me less than a man? I think not! It's the people that ridicule people like us that I truly feel sorry for. They never stop and marvel at any of the natural beauty around them. They don't seem to appreciate or want to understand anything beyond the scope of their narrow vision. They will never make a scientific discovery or contribute anything to our understanding of the natural world. Don't let people like that get you down or upset you because when you do they are in control of your life not you.
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Post by beetlehorn on Sept 7, 2016 18:47:06 GMT -8
Yes Jtaylor, the term "smart ass" has come up from time to time, and not just in regards to my collecting activities. An interesting twist to the story comes to mind as well....some years ago the oldest daughter of the guy I was referring to had a science project to do. It was collecting six orders of insects, and identifying them with labels. He asked if I would help, and of course I did because I wanted her to do well. She spent a weekend with us and I took her out for some field collecting, and blacklighting. I gave her a display case and helped her create a well organized collection with identifying labels and field collecting data displayed with each specimen. She made the highest grade in her class (thank you). Sometimes even now I get occasional "smart ass" remarks, but like you and Jose said above, I have learned to just ignore it. The best way to snuff it out is by not even acknowledging them or any derogatory comments they spew out. The first sentence in your thread regarding making themselves feel better by putting someone else down, is a symptom of low self esteem and insecurity on their part as I stated before. I started this thread just to see if other collectors have observed this kind of response regarding their hobby , and the reactions they have received from their social surroundings. I can see I'm not alone.
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