FEAR OF FEMINIZATION (AND WOMEN)
By Norm R. Allen Jr.
Many conservative, reactionary, authoritarian, and fascist thinkers and activists have long bemoaned the real and imagined feminization of society. Men are supposedly becoming softer and less masculine. Many men wear long or braided hair, earrings, make-up, etc. Many are entering traditionally feminine professions such as nursing. Some boys are playing with dolls.
On the other hand, fearmongers have long feared that women have become too much like men. Women had taken up smoking, wearing pants, going into professions traditionally dominated by men, wearing short hair styles, getting tattoos, building muscle, and so forth.
The fact of the matter is that the feminization of society has been a boon for the world. It has made us safer, less violent, happier, wealthier and more democratic. Indeed in his books, ENLIGHTENMENT NOW: THE CASE FOR REASON, SCIENCE, HUMANISM AND PROGRESS, THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE: WHY VIOLENCE HAS DECLINED, and RATIONALITY: WHAT IT IS, WHY IT SEEMS SCARCE, WHY IT MATTERS, scholar Steven Pinker brilliantly demonstrates how the world has improved over the years, due largely to the widespread acceptance of traditional feminine values.
For example, in centuries past, men were motivated to engage in violence by the idea of honor. They would engage in duels, acts of vengeance, and so on in defense of their honor. However, emphasis on honor has mostly given way to reliance upon the rule of law and seeking justice in courts.
What would happen to the world if men and women became even more alike or even switched roles? What if cis-gender men decided to wear dresses, paint their fingernails, wear barrettes in their hair. prefer pink to blue, use feminine hand gestures, and so on? Should we assume that the world would go to hell in a handbasket?
Regarding the masculinization of women, what should we do? Should we follow the example of nations with extremist Muslim leadership and prevent women from playing sports? Should we segregate the sexes? Should we force women to wear certain kinds of clothing and force men to wear long beards?
Speaking of religion, some patriarchal Black Christians have maintained that many Black men have left the churches because they cannot relate to a feminine Christ advocating nonviolence. However, do they really believe men (and women) would be better off focusing on the angry warrior image of Christ?
Is society better off when men share in the housework, change diapers, and so on? Are marriages stronger and happier when couples break away from traditional roles that usually shortchange women?
In popular culture many boys and men wear sagging pants with their boxers exposed. Many older people fear that this style will eventually lead to widespread homosexuality, considering its roots in U.S. prisons. However, ironically, this look is popularized by hardcore, hyper-masculine rappers, many of whom have sex with large numbers of women.
I wish that women would take the lead in popular music, popular culture and other areas. Instead, most of them prefer to follow the leads of vulgar men who have become rich by proudly wallowing in the gutter. It is understandable that women want to proudly claim and even flaunt their sexuality. But can they not do this tastefully and with class? Must they brag about their W.A.P.? They seem to be proudly claiming, “we can be just as crass, ignorant, and even sexist as the men.”
The fear of feminization is always rooted in a desire for patriarchy, and it is always accompanied by homophobia. It is consistently backed by authoritarian, reactionary and fascist individuals and organizations.
But do we really have anything to fear from alleged toxic femininity? Rest assured, we need not stay up late at night worrying that, because of feminization, people will go on mass shootings and the like. On the contrary, the feminization of society seems to bring about no major damage to society. Yet its benefits are empirically verifiable.