Odd question, female twileks and ears

Hopefully, this is the correct place for this question.

I am confused. From RotJ to AotC we've seen that male twileks have normal human style ears, even when they're covered in folds of fat! Female Twileks always seem to have some kind of leather head harness, with bony looking growths the same color as their skin holding the headpieces in place. However, the new Galaxies game has female twileks with normal looking ears. I'm so confused. Do female Twileks have ears or bony knobs? Since all of the female Twileks that we've seen are (Oola) or have been (Aayla Secura)in service to another is that a modification to them done via surgery or what have you to signify their status? Are the games simply wrong? Am I just missing something?

Like I said, I'm confused.

Matt

 

Yes, they're actually Tharalek bought from Klingon slavers, with their ears surgically removed to prevent them hearing anything important...

Seriously, though - I have no idea. Except IIRC, Koyi Komad had ears...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

It might be important to point out that twileks vary much more than just where their ears are located, there is one twilek senator(name escapes me at the moment) in the prequel times, that has 4 head tails.

 

Orn Free Taa is the Twi'lek senator you're searching for.

 

I've always wondered that myself!

I wonder if it's just part of the headdress they're wearing, because most of the female twileks look to be wearing a harness of sorts over her lekku.

 

Check Redemption.

 

"Do female Twileks have ears or bony knobs?"

While Twi'lek males do have human-style ears, Twi'lek females have those knobs (which are in fact their ears).

It's quite possible that the Twi'lek female ear style in "Star Wars: Galaxies" is incorrect. Originally in the first screenshots and models for "Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy", the selectable Twi'lek female character also had normal human ears. This however was corrected by the time of release of "Jedi Academy" to the accurate knob-like ears.

 

"Like I said, I'm confused. "
it doesn't matter, matt. when it cums to female twiLex, the last thing u're gonna be focusing on are the ears/knobs...

 

I'm not sure it matters, since Oola & Aayla were never good at listening anyway...

 

considering that there is substantial variation in the Twilek species (in skin color, number and shape of lekku, etc), there may also be some variation in ear shape, or that possibly there is a cultural standard of beauty or oppression that has cosmetic alteration of the ears.... wouldn't be the first culture to mutilate ears as a sign of beauty.

 

Perhaps they cover their ears with cones that are the same tone as their skin?

 

I always just assumed that the headgear was simply covering their ears ...

 

I agree. From the pictures I've seen of Twi'lek females, it seems that for the most part those "bony growths" match skin tone, but not all. So I think that would leave one to assume that the growths simply serve cosmetic purposes.

But that doesn't prove anything at all. But I think it would be a safer assumption to say that Twi'lek females "bony growths" are cosmetic additions to their head-tail headdresses rather than actual biological appendage.

 

"I agree. From the pictures I've seen of Twi'lek females, it seems that for the most part those "bony growths" match skin tone, but not all."

Personally I think that may just be due to oversight or -for movie props- budget reasons. As far as I've always seen and understood it, those knobs are simply their ears ... not even convinced they're simply just bone.
In fact it fits biologically with the specific trait of an expert sense of direction associated to Twi'leks. (Such an enhanced sense of direction -necessary to travel the maze of caves on Ryloth- would logically be marked by a well developped inner ear organ. That in turn might be visibly in a more prominent and protruding ear, which for Twi'lek females seems to be that cone.)

 

But evolutionary speaking (from what we know of the Twi'leks), it really doesn't make much sense why the females would be so "blessed" with this heightened hearing.

From what I know and have read about the Twi'leks, in terms of gender there is no reason for so much sexual dimorphism. As I understand it, the relationship between males and females in their society/culture is no different from that of humans.

Such dimorphism in the ear, would lead one to believe that they evolved from two different species, which would be very very weird.

 

Anyone have a straight source to point that says that the horn thing is their ear? It would be more useful than going by just hearsay...

 

^^^I don't know, but I'll hazard a guess and say you probably could go by hearsay when the topic is the aural anatomy of a fictional exotic alien species.

 

I didn't imply Twi'lek females had heightened hearing, I meant and said they had an enhanced sense of direction and orientation.

Also, the general social relation between Twi'lek males and females is rather extreme. Twi'lek females are not considered as people by the males, but as mere objects, playthings, ... and slavery is very common amongst Twi'leks. The males -who control the entire society- often sell the females into slavery, even their close relatives.

 

and it could be that the ear shapes that look like bony knobs are the result not of genetics but of culture. outer ear mutilation for females may be a common cultural practice for twileks, in the guise of making one more attractive.

comparing humans and twileks... many human (earth) cultures have done similar things at different points in history to make women "more attractive" while enforcing their societal norms of control -- footbinding in imperial china, genital mutilation in western africa, etc.


it could also be that since we might only see the bony knobs when they wear headdresses, that most of the ear is simply folded up on the inside

 

Regarding the "knobbies" - I always thought they were a form of jewelery or decoration. We never see males with headgear on - and they have exposed ears. The females we've seen (in the movies) have all had head gear and knobbies.

Didn't the Twi'leks in "Redemption" have ears? I know the pink Twi'lek mechanic from the "X-Wing Rogue Sqaudron" comic (whose name escapes me) had ears...but she lacked total head gear. The other Twi'lek dancer at Jabba's palace had headgear that totally covered her ears/knobbies. But clearly, knobbies would have protruded from her black leather...

I think it might be a cultural thing...just like women here wear make up, or have pierced ears.

But I'd love an official explaination.

 

The female leader of the diversity alliance had ears.

Ya, I'm still waiting for the source that says that side horns are ears? Please post proof...

Lyn Me, had no protrusions on her head gear.

 

I?m pretty positive that those cones are a part of the head-gear, not their ears.

 

Has anyone asked Jan Duursema over in the A/A thread this question?

Considering she is the definitive Twilek artist, she would probably have access to the offical info, or at least offer effective insight...