Determining Mimiga gender, and the consequences thereof

Mkay, apart from the, obvious answer, I believe I have identified a number of key secondary sex characteristics that would allow you to determine a Mimiga's gender based upon it's outward appearance.

::Head Shape::

Typically, male Mimigas have narrow heads with a longer snout, whilst female Mimigas have more boxy heads with flatter faces.

::Ear Length::

Male Mimigas have longer, more slender ears than females.

::Whiskers::

Female Mimigas are never seen with whiskers. Whether this is because they do not grow them, or because they trim them remains to be seen.

::Eyes::

In males, the eyebrows are thicker or the eyes themselves are more recessed, leading to a more defined brow area

::Nose::

Male mimigas have much more pronounced noses than females. This, coupled with their longer snout, probably gives them a heightened sense of smell over the females.

------------------------------------------------------------

When they are young, as with the colons/korons, it can be difficult to determine a Mimiga's gender on appearance alone. The lack of these traits suggest that Mimigas do not reach sexual maturity until at least after the age of 10, possibly as late as 13-16. (This suggests they have a similar lifespan to humans, as well)

Of course, as with anything, these rules are not concrete, and certain individuals may display more effeminate/masculine traits than others of the same gender.

------------------------------------------------------------

These traits are of particular interest because they can tell us alot about historical gender roles in Mimiga society. Differences in the ears, eyes and nose as well as other features can tell us what was important for each gender to survive and reproduce, based upon the different activities they participated in. What do you think these roles were?

EDIT: Orite, I made a pic too.

tl;dr - this thread is about sciency stuff. Sorry if you were looking for otherwise.

 

Very Intresting Noxid

Pic was coool

*Goes back on Akantares*

 

NEAT TOPIC. What's the horizontal axis in your chart for? Also, I'd like to point out that, even though we know Mahin is male, according to your analysis he looks like a female with heavy eyebrows.
...
...
AAAAAAAAAAAAA CANNOT UNSEE.

O hey, you forgot Chie and Megane in your chart.

 

The workers/farmers (plantation mimigas/ general mimigas) on the right of your chart, under the male category, are not necessarily male. They could be male, but I don't believe that there is a determinant way to confirm that.

 

Okay, I fixed the chart. The x axis now represents the degree of representation of corresponding gender traits, whereas before it meant nothing. Those above the horizontal line we know the gender of, those below we do not, with the exception of Igor.

Why?

because I forgot to move him, and I don't want to. Anyways, don't think of it as Igor. Think of it as ravil/rabil.

Anyways, does anyone have any thoughts on the question I snuck in there?

EDIT: oh yeah, and about mahin. That's basically it. I mean, you know how fat guys and fat chicks are sometimes hard to tell apart? Same general idea.

 

Hmm, interesting observations, and they seem true in most cases. the only exception I see is Mahin, but yeah, obesity.

I shall use this as a guideline if I ever get around to making OC's for mods.

 

So Mahin's a girl?

 

So Mahin's a girl?

No, he's just really big. And fat. And maybe slightly effeminate to begin with, and he eats to hide his shame but it only makes it worse. But mostly he's fat.

 

Rule 63 of Mahin GO.
Ahem...
We already know that everyone in the Mimiga Village but Sue and Toroko is male, someone in the game said so. So Jack is definitely male, even if we ignore his name (Jackie? No).
So, about the Shovel Brigade. Pixel just used a generic sprite for them, and since there must females, he probably used a sprite that looked gender-neutral. This might require you to rethink your original post, and you should certainly put them in the middle of your graph (if you have room). The only other explanations are: The Doctor did something else with all the females (no comment) or Mimiga Island is 95% male.

 

We already know that everyone in the Mimiga Village but Sue and Toroko is male, someone in the game said so. So Jack is definitely male, even if we ignore his name (Jackie? No).

That's a personal caveat of mine, but I'll oblige you.

So, about the Shovel Brigade. Pixel just used a generic sprite for them, and since there must females, he probably used a sprite that looked gender-neutral. This might require you to rethink your original post, and you should certainly put them in the middle of your graph (if you have room). The only other explanations are: The Doctor did something else with all the females (no comment) or Mimiga Island is 95% male.

I was thinking along these lines, and that's why I put them below the red line. I can't say for sure they're male, but they do bear more resemblance to the male characters like Santa, Megane, and Kanpachi than they do the females.

As for why there appear to be more males than females, well,
Theories?
We got that.

Exhibit A: The soldier Mimiga.

Based upon the conclusions drawn above, the soldier mimiga appears to be female. Let us cast aside our preconceived notions of gender roles, and consider that perhaps, during the red flower war, it was the females that were the frontline troops. Males would be left behind to guard the young, because they had better hearing and smell, and thus could detect danger and escape more readily.

What about the children, you ask? Well, my only hypothesis is that most of them must have died. In the end, the situation became so dire that even the males had to resort to the red flowers. Maybe female mimigas are susceptible to the red flowers at a younger age? (i.e. Toroko, & perhaps king was given one but he was too young for it to take full effect)

With none/few left to tend to the children, the youngest probably wouldn't have survived (with the exception of those that had an elder Mimiga [or robot] to care for them) especially considering most of their land and food probably got destroyed in the war. What we have left are the young-ish boys that can fend for themselves.

Does that stand?

 

I dunno about the observations, I'll have to think about it... but interesting!

Personally I rely on the cuteness factor to determine if they are female. If they are huggable then they are probably female, male is usually not so...

What about the children, you ask? Well, my only hypothesis is that most of them must have died.

I don't agree with that theory... I think most of the Mimiga survivors left were all children, 10 years ago. Just the young ones mostly. Nearly all the older Mimiga or adults probably ingested the red flower to fight (or were forced). Except the children...

Not sure about the ratio of Male to Female left in Cave Story... Or how many are really left. I get the impression that there are MANY more Mimigas left, unless the humans are dellusional about how just a couple 50-100 Mimigas could start up the war again... I'm certain that the Plantation is supposed to be much larger than represented; many more workers... Probably many more females... I doubt Mimiga Village is the only settlement for the Mimigas left too...

Plus the fact that NOBODY seems to recall the dangers of the red flower or even the robots very well... [except the old guy, but I wonder why he doesn't say anything about the flowers danger? Perhaps if he thinks the robot invasion will happen again, there probably isn't a choice... I doubt the Mimigas know much about the Demon Crown controlling them when they eat it...]

Well that's just what I'm thinking anyways

 

Oh, when I said children, I meant like, the little children. Any mimigas say, around 7-8 and up probably would have survived, and those would be the ones you see today. As to why they don't mention/recall the robot wars, it could be either repressed memory, or they were sheltered.

And yes, you are probably right about the representation. It makes sense..
I think I might have overstepped my bounds just a smidge with that last one >.>

Well, I made my initial observations based on what evidence I had, and I stand by them. The generic sprites just looked more like the males, so I put them towards the right a bit.

--who would have thought... that chart was just a silly tagon--

 

Great addition to the theories ~ I don't think I ever thought about this one before...

 

@Noxid: Yes your observations are logical. Mimigas are like humans: In humans male anabolic hormones (among others) are responsible for more muscle mass, more robust body in general (that`s why these hormones are given to female sportists), sharper body angles (e.g. jaw, pelvic, femur`s angle- you`ve noticed the nose at mimigas), whiskers (mimiga whiskers, thicker eyebrows) , longer extremities... Women have more chubby (wider mimiga face in comparison to male) and round forms in general which was made so by evolutionary process emphasiaze capability for pregnancy and a more round and wider pelvis makes birth possible.

The signs you noticed are in line with the above text.

One question remains...why don`t Mimagas wear pants?

 

@Noxid: Yes your observations are logical. Mimigas are like humans: In humans male anabolic hormones (among others) are responsible for more muscle mass, more robust body in general (that`s why these hormones are given to female sportists), sharper body angles (e.g. jaw, pelvic, femur`s angle- you`ve noticed the nose at mimigas), whiskers (mimiga whiskers, thicker eyebrows) , longer extremities... Women have more chubby (wider mimiga face in comparison to male) and round forms in general which was made so by evolutionary process emphasiaze capability for pregnancy and a more round and wider pelvis makes birth possible.

The signs you noticed are in line with the above text.

One question remains...why don`t Mimagas wear pants?

Hurray, Dr. trickybilly approves!

And, oh, I am pretty sure we have a whole thread on that gem of a topic. I believe it's called "On the subject of why Mimigas wear sweaters and also their attire". It's locked.

I side with the "Haunches do not facilitate pantswearing", although some actually do wear pants (Santa, for one). Custom made, perhaps. Expensive too, I bet.

 

One question remains...why don`t Mimagas wear pants?

1. Mimiga culture likely has no lower body nudity taboos (upper body is debatable). Nudity taboos are pretty unique to humans, so why assume that other intelligent races would follow suit? The Gaudi are an intelligent race too and they are stark naked 24/7.

2. Pants would not work too well with Mimigas due to how their legs are structured, as Noxid had already pointed out.

3. Mimagas?

 

I believe you meant to say "Migmas".

I can't say for sure they're male, but they do bear more resemblance to the male characters like Santa, Megane, and Kanpachi than they do the females.

Kanpachi and the Shovel Brigade share the same generic template. Pixel just copypasted, deleted the fishing pole and added a tunic.
And X-Calibar, KANPACHI IS ALSO HUGGABLE. In theory. In practice he kicks you into the Pit of Death if you try to hug him.

 

"Migmas"

O_O

*head explodes*

 

poor andwhy...

Just look at some native races on earth.
They don't care about fucking clothes.
Why should the Mimiga do?

 

Then why do they wear sweaters?
It also seems wearing pants is just... optional. beacause the Korons/Colons wear pants, and i'm not sure, but i think Sandaime wears pants too. the Wii sprite version of Kanpachi looks like pants-wearing. possibly Zett, too, but that could be a long robe.