Mom Whales Have To Sacrifice To Support Sons: Raja Beta Syndrome?

Did you know that killer whale moms too have to support their adult sons? It's a researched fact that adult son whales are so dependent on their mom whales that they die within a year after their respective mom whales die. If we apply this to humanity, it is quite clear that mothers are expected to sacrifice their lives to bring up their sons. That sons are indeed totally dependent on their mothers. But are mothers valued enough?

According to a study, some male whales are not equipped to survive independently. They need their mothers to catch fish and even cut them into pieces so that the male whale can eat them. Published n the journal Current Biology, the researchers observed, “Killer whale mothers pay a really huge cost to take care of their sons... And they do this throughout their son's life and never really stop paying that cost to keep their sons alive.”

'Mom whales sacrifice to support sons' is something unheard of but it's true. And why the huge cost? According to the research, female whales are not able to reproduce as much as they could have because of giving their time in sustaining a male whale. A mom whale with daughters or no offspring is half as likely to reproduce than a whale with sons.

Doesn’t this study shock you? Doesn’t this show a reflection of how humans in our society live?

In our society, mothers are considered sacrificial beings who give up their careers, aims and even lives to sustain their sons. Especially sons because daughters are taught since childhood to take care of themselves and their families on their own. Sons on the other hand are not taught to perform household chores and require to be spoon-fed everything- from food to daily requirements.

Mom Whales Sacrifice To Support Sons: Raja Beta Syndrome?

The Raja Beta Syndrome is common in our society. Sons are raised like kings who demand to be taken care of by female members of the family just because of the gender-based privilege invested in them.

In fact, mothers too give in to the syndrome and are ready to spoon-feed their sons. They make them so dependent that even after marriage, raja betas look for their mothers in their wives.

In fact, it will not be wrong to say that women are better than men because they can not only take care of the family and themselves but also earn money. While men can only earn money and the rest is done by women.

But even if mothers willingly sacrifice so much for their sons, are their sacrifices valued? Do mothers gain recognition and love as much as they give out to their sons? Don’t sons consider it a mother’s duty to provide for their sons?

Recently, I watched Maja Ma and the movie clearly shows how Raja Betas devalue their mothers. In the movie, Madhuri Dixit’s character’s son values his mother only as a sacrificial being who has done a lot to bring him up. But when it comes to his mother’s personal choices, he retorts and ignores her individuality.

Similarly, in real life too, sons take their mothers for granted. They care for them but only as mothers and not as individuals. And this is the reason why they demand sacrifice without thinking about the individuality of the mothers that is put on the cost.

If whale moms too have to give up their individuality, what is the difference between whales and mothers? If whale sons are so ill-equipped that they can’ sustain on their own, then what is the difference between male whales and Raja Betas?

So, dear society! Please stop putting mothers at stake to let sons flourish. Mothers too have personal lives and desires and have the right to fulfil them. If daughters are taught to survive on their own, then why not sons? If daughters can both earn and do the household chores, then why not sons?

Views expressed are the author's own.