Let a hen be a hen; and a rooster a rooster

                        

From the superb autobiography of Rev. Ralph David Abernathy (d. 1990), top lieutenant of M. L. King:

"The third occasion when we would have chicken was when my father would hear one of the hens attempting to crow.  A devout Christian who knew the Old Testament, chapter and verse, as well as the New Testament, he believed that men should behave like men and women should behave like women.  And he extended that law to include chickens.  If he heard a hen trying to behave like a rooster on our farm, she would be in the pot before the sun went down.  But her wicked pride was our good fortune, and we were always happy when one of the hens got out of line."