#struggling against masculine gender role expectations with a carnivore flavor (ha)

[agnesandhilda]

while I stand by my assertion that species in beastars operates as its own demographic category that overlaps with but does not directly equal any real world identities one of the easiest parallels to draw is one of gender. itaparu's insistence on pairing off her characters into couples that are uniformly heterosexual but still forbidden because they're interspecies (specifically carnivore/herbivore, which is stated to be a much bigger deal than even different-species pairs that are still carnivore/carnivore or herbivore/herbivore) contributes to the sense that beastars is a world with a distinct social binary based on diet as well as gender. legosi is admonished by other carnivores for being too meek---embarrassing, ashamed of his nature and easily cowed by herbivores---and is at the same time criticized by herbivores for failing to take advantage of the strength (both physical and in his perceived societal safety from predation) that they lack and wish to have. does that remind you of anything in particular?