Can We Please Just Enjoy T-Rex? · 12:21am Aug 7th, 2022

I'm a little late commenting on this, but a few months back an article was written that said T-Rex is a symbol of toxic masculinity. (https://slate.com/technology/2022/04/tyrannosaurus-rex-popularity-tired-paleontology.html#:~:text=In%20a%20sense%2C%20T.,meant%20to%20be%20a%20dinosaur.)

The main reason for connecting Tyrannosaurus to toxic masculinity is the behavior of mostly men to anything that challenges their preconception of T-Rex. Such as how the paleontological community reacted when 3 species were proposed in the Tyrannosaurus genus. Because this behavior is done mostly by men, it's been argued that T-Rex symbolizes toxic masculinity. This, personally, is something I don't agree with.

I'm not saying those shouldn't act the way they do, they shouldn't. But the reason this is mostly done by men is that for years, men have simply had more interest in becoming paleontologists. Think about it, when you were growing up, which gender do you remember typically having more interest in dinosaurs? Boys. Granted, plenty of girls love prehistoric life as well. And of course, like the author went over, people love T-Rex. And when people have more interest in something, the higher the odds of pretty intense arguments happening is higher as well. Just look at very political people for example. So in truth, T-Rex shouldn't be looked at as a symbol of toxic masculinity, but rather as a celebrity with fans who get out of line. Especially since if more women went into paleontology over the years, I think it's safe to say you'd have women acting the same way many of these guys do. Remember, crazy fangirls are a thing too.

The other point they bring up is that T-Rex basically gets way too much attention and the attention given to the animal would be better spent on other extinct animals. I'm not sure how this argues for it being a symbol of toxic masculinity, but I can see where they're coming from. But on the other hand, does it really matter that much? Non-avian dinosaurs are extinct, not endangered, nobody is trying to save them from the brink of extinction, so does it really matter if one dinosaur gets much more attention than other dinosaurs? I'm not saying other dinosaurs shouldn't be looked at more, nothing wrong with that obviously but at the end of the day, it's hardly the worst thing in the world.

And this brings me to my last point. The messaging surrounding T-Rex as of late. The animal always gets defeated by another giant theropod without assistance from another dinosaur in the Jurassic franchise, the idea of T-Rex being feathered is called woke by people, and now people are attaching T-Rex to toxic masculinity. Really the message being told to people here is that we shouldn't enjoy the T-Rex as much as we are. And I think that's a big reason people get mad from this article, that and of course political terms are being put on an extinct animal. And quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

I'm sick and tired of people saying I shouldn't enjoy the T-Rex as much as I do when I just want to enjoy the animal. If you're a paleontologist, and you hate the hype T-Rex gets, here's my suggestion: Do research on lesser-known dinosaurs and do what you can to make people aware of them, and let the rest of us enjoy the Tyrant Lizard King.

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