Patrick, seeking treatment for his sexist attitudes. Image via usnews.nbcnews.com

Patrick, a 195 kilogram gorilla is being moved from his home at the Dallas Zoo because of his bad attitude toward women. Patrick will be getting treatment for his sexist behaviour at the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, South Carolina, which is known for rehabilitating difficult animals.

Patrick who has been accused of "sneering at" and "biting" other gorillas, but especially women, did not comment on his case but it is likely that he is seething with male privilege and suffering from abandonment issues.

According to staff at the zoo, Patrick was "more tolerant of other male gorillas."

Which makes sense given that Patrick has some emotional baggage, abandoned by his mother and hand reared by humans, it seems that Patrick too is a victim of the patriarchy that dictates that men (and, er gorillas) should be manly and strong and aggressive. When maybe what Patrick really needed was a safe place to talk about his feelings and allow himself to be vulnerable.


While Patrick's issues may run deeper than a belief that lady gorillas should get back to the kitchen and out of his way, the Dallas zoo is right in hollering back at sexism. According to the report, Patrick has been a menace for some time,

"It's not like we haven't tried, he's been here for 18 years," Dallas Zoo spokeswoman Laurie Holloway said. And everybody deserves to feel safe in their own home.

But that's not to say that all hope is not lost for Patrick. Remember how a certain politician once said "I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons."

Well, he's now the Prime Minister of Australia. And those women gorillas that bore the brunt of Patrick's sexism? Well, I expect they're starting up a conscious raising women's club, and we can expect big things.

Source: Reuters