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Consider every broad claim about men and women in this post to contain the qualifier, “in general.” Obviously, “Not All Women/Men Are Like That.” That’s why these are generalities. I’m sure you’re the exception to these general rules/statements, dear reader. —TPP
Women in the modern West have it hard, maybe even harder than men.
No, I haven’t suddenly become a cuck or a simp or whipped or anything like that. Regular readers know that I believe men in the modern West have it pretty hard, too. There’s a widening gulf between men and women that is demoralizing and sad, and threatens our very civilization. After all, if we don’t get together, we’re not going to have children, and the future belongs to those who show up for it.
But as much as women do (and probably should) catch the blame for our present ills, they are themselves victims of those ills. The systemic and social forces that have dominated the West since at least the First World War place tremendous strain on women.
Consider: women are hardwired to crave social unity. If every piece of media, every piece of pop culture, every piece of advertising, every piece of celebrity news, every piece of mommy blog “wisdom” is shouting the same messages, it’s incredible hard to resist, even for men. For women, it requires a truly herculean effort to overcome, and they are (in general) not programmed to handle it.
Living in the American South, the counterexample is true: in a social and cultural environment that encourages a more traditional and a more (at least nominally) Protestant Christian viewpoint, women are (overall) more traditionally, Protestant Christian. Unfortunately, even down here we’re seeing the influence of the broader American culture, which is implicitly progressive and transgressive in its social mores. Women might be more reluctant to “shout their abortion” because there’s a strong social and religious stigma against infanticide (as their should be), but they’re still happening, albeit illegally.
Obviously, the Truth is the Truth, and that comes from Christ. For men, it’s easier to follow through the logical consequences of one’s actions, both because we’re wired this way and because we have to face real consequences for our actions. We also reason more linearly, and are (generally) better at compartmentalizing. Our brains are organized in boxes. Getting to the Truth is a spiritual experience, yes, and it is full of emotion, but it’s also often a matter of following the breadcrumbs in a logical sequence.
Women’s minds, on the other hand, are piles of rational and irrational thoughts blobbing about in an amorphous stew. I suspect the reason women like their homes and work spaces so tidy and so decorated is because it allows them to exercise some external order and control (and similarly why men can tolerate disorganization or messiness a bit better). Women’s judgments are often based on intuition and “vibes” more than following a sequential trail of logic. Further, their judgments are socially reinforced by other women—and women do so viciously. Having worked in education—a female-dominated field—for so long, believe me, women are incredibly vindictive with each other.
To be clear, I’m not denouncing this way of thinking, or implying (intentionally or otherwise) that it’s inferior to the way men think. It’s merely different. And, of course, the obvious disclaimers: women can think rationally; women can control their emotions; women can understand moral concepts like “right” and “wrong.” However, it’s easy to see why women depend so much on the external validation of social uniformity and cohesion relative to men.
In that context, women have it very hard compared to men, and it likely accounts for the wild drift to the Left among women, while men move further to the Right. Leftism runs on emotions and collectivism; the Right runs on protection (against physical and moral threats) and reason. Women allocate the resources that men (traditionally) earn; in the absence of healthy marriages, women reallocate government resources (which are really taxes it has stripped from its citizens) to fulfill the nurturing role. Thus we see the bizarre, misplaced toxic empathy of the Left.
The advantages of being a man in any system or society are clear: you’re not as worried about agreeableness, so you don’t mind challenging the system as much; you’re more able to put aside your emotions to look at the second, third, and fourth order consequences of a decision; and you’re better equipped to buck trends that are wicked or, at best, ill-advised.
To be clear, as a conservative Christian man who possesses some of these qualities, I struggle mightily to stay on the straight and narrow. Indeed, my mind certainly possesses feminine elements (like the bleeding together of my compartments into a more chaotic-but-vibrant slurry). Being an elder Millennial who came of age during the high point of “Nice Guy, Be Yourself” social programming, and having dated many women before finally marrying Dr. Wife, I experienced a taste of the female mind first-hand.
How much harder, then, is it for women who lack a religious foundation and a social network to reinforce it to stay the course?
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