Get This Look: Cannibals

by Rebecca Jane Stokes

The Praying Mantis

Did you know that when talking about the Praying Mantis, you can also saying “Preying” Mantis? Both are technically correct, but in America we tend to opt for “Praying” because of how their little hands/pincers seem to come together in prayer, while in other parts of the world they prefer “Preying” because of how these dudes eat the hell out of everything and each other, and thus it’s probably more realistic to characterize them by their hunger than it is to anthropormize them into tiny little church-goers. It’s essentially common knowledge that the female mantis will bite off and eat the head of the male mantis after they’ve mated (WOMEN, amirite?), but they also have zero issue eating birds! And their own siblings! They capture their prey using their spike-covered forelegs, which they also use to tap you on the shoulder before asking “Are you going to finish that?” while pointing at your mom.
Get the Look:

The Pra(e)ying Mantis by Rebecca Jane Stokes, featuring green pants
Forever Unique sleeveless shirt, $130 / Balmain green pants, $3,455 / Christian Louboutin high heel sandals / Statement necklace / Persol , $370 / Vintage glove, $29

The Wendigo

According to Algonquin legend, the Wendigo is a spirit that possesses a human being if the human in question has become too greedy. The Wendigo usually takes hold while its victim is asleep and dreaming, so that when they awake they find themselves overtaken by an insatiable hunger for human flesh, making this an ideal story to tell while babysitting young children. Among the Algonquin, who regularly battled through harsh, bitterly cold winters, the story was told to further the taboo of eating human flesh, something they were so staunchly opposed to that starvation was deemed the better choice. Other tribes have their own versions of the Wendigo, and in times of smaller harvests would perform costumed dances to keep it at bay. So, when the kids you’re babysitting can’t sleep, you guys can make macaroni Wendigo masks, ensuring that when their parents come home and are quietly furious at you for keeping them up crying until midnight, at least you will have also done crafts.
Get the Look:

The Wendigo by Rebecca Jane Stokes, featuring blue tights
mint&berry Shorts khaki, $52 / Blue tight, $4.65 / Isabel Marant booties / Made to Order Queen of Hearts red and white hand painted mask

The Chicken

While chickens have been thought of since time immemorial as sources of comedic relief, existential conundrum, and delicious eggs, their darker, more sinister nature is something to which we have long turned a blind eye. While none of us would be shocked to learned that cannibalism among turkeys is common, due to November’s child’s tendency towards total idiocy, cannibalism among domestic hens farmed for egg production is a rampant, shocking epidemic. They don’t mean to murder and consume their contemporaries, however: As omnivores, when placed in overcrowded conditions and pecking for food, they don’t discriminate seed from friend. Among the chicken community, the stunning expose filmed by hen auteur Lydia McBock, Guess Who’s Coming For Dinner,* drew much-needed attention to the issue. Farmers have taken several different modes of action to prevent further needless chicken deaths, including making them wearing tiny, rose-colored glasses. This is absolutely, wonderfully true.**

*Not an actual film.

**In its way.

Get the Look:

The Chicken by Rebecca Jane Stokes featuring high heel pumps
Oscar de la Renta ruffle dress, $2,445 / Sergio Rossi high heel pumps / Bridal hair accessory / Illesteva

Next Week: Lawyers, or Meteorological Events

Previously: Ghosts.

Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn. She’s an editor at Fempop, and spends a large amount of her time pretending to be a mildly evil cat on the internet.