So, like Sengoku Basara, with the men being the mooks and the women being the generals?
Real-world hyenas already have this going.
The females are much fiercer than their submissive male counterparts, and their social structure is very matriarchal. Basically, the typical mammal gender roles are inverted with them. The webcomic Digger features anthropomorphic hyenas and explores this quite well. I'd recommend it for inspiration and research on the topic.
edited 21st Feb '11 7:09:41 AM by Takwin
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)![]()
Like so?
In Drowtales, the gender roles are reversed for elves
, with the surnames passing through the female line. However males can still hold important jobs, but only if they work for it or their mothers put them there. However, goblins are not this way
.
I have personally observed Latrodectus hesperus
, an arachnid species where the males are less than half the weight of the females. Unlike their close relative, the Black Widow, they form communnal nests, and the males wander in search of a mate. In the nest I observed, there was a large matriarch (with a body diameter over 1/2" (1.3 cm)), a sub - adult female, two adult males, and about 20 plump, white babies.
edited 21st Feb '11 7:32:43 AM by FrodoGoofballCoTV
the way I see it, the men would try to make up for their small stature by being ambitious while the women would be better known for the heavy lifting. Also, during wars, the armies would probably be split fairly well in the gender department but with men on the frontlines while the women handle the heavy artillery.
edited 22nd Feb '11 9:57:34 AM by SandJosieph
There are societies that exist today in which women are stronger than men. It mostly occurs in agrarian societies in which technology is limited. In this case, the women are the primary breadwinners (through farming) and men are mostly for the more exotic foods (meat via hunting). Humanity in this case is much stronger because of the physical labour involved. I think the existence of these societies should break the mentality that "women are weaker", and in any case, in those societies, it is a commonly held belief that "women are stronger" and it would be ridiculous to suggest otherwise.
If you're merely switching the roles of men/women in modern tech-advanced western societies (or tech-advanced eastern societies) then the difference would be basically nothing.
EDIT: I would suggest trying to look up some anthropology resources online. I found those societies inside of an anthro textbook, so I personally don't remember their names.
edited 22nd Feb '11 11:21:35 AM by breadloaf

How much would this change culture, history, and other stuff if the women stayed the same average size and strength yet the men are significantly shorter and weaker?
Discuss.