draliceevans

Existential threats (like war and disease) motivate social cohesion, normative policing and authoritarianism. Only with security and diversity do communities become more liberal - argues Gelfand.

This week I was interviewed by the Economist, on whether there’s a crisis of masculinity. Since media time was short, I want to share my answer unabridged. Donald Trump's and Andrew Tate's sexism may go viral, but such views are vanishing. Although algorithms turbo-charge hate, Europeans and Americans increasingly endorse gender equality. In patrilineal Asia, meanwhile, modernisation has created a real crisis of incels.

People wed due to social enforcement, loving devotion or economic security. In their absence, marriages plummet. This decline may be sustained by a multitude of single ladies.

East Asians typically prefer social cohesion and harmony, rather than self-expression and individualism. They are ‘culturally tight’. While Latin Americans believe it’s fine to pick and choose your friends, East Asians tend to expect group loyalty. Why might this be? Let’s explore 4 hypotheses:

Wealthy societies are struggling with twin crises: depression and low fertility. Is this a coincidence?The Great Gender Divergence is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The overwhelming majority of American women endorse gender equality, but don’t necessarily call themselves ‘feminists’. What drives this antipathy? What’s so objectionable about public safety and equal pay? Neoclassical economists would emphasise financial interests. Stay-at-home mothers may see feminists as threatening their husband’s earnings. But this is too materialist. It fails to explain

He's much more popular than I anticipated.

I was just asked to define patriarchy in two sentences. Let me try! A Definition of Patriarchy In patriarchal societies, prestigious positions are dominated by men; this reinforces beliefs that men are more competent in socially valued domains, deserving of deference, and speak with authority. Feeling entitled to higher status, men may react aggressively if given insufficient respect.

Does economic insecurity generate an intrinsic or instrumental desire for conformity? And does this relationship hold universally?

Status inequalities persist if they are normalised and culturally celebrated, while critics are shamed, disparaged and ostracised. Culture only changes when masses of people speak out in solidarity, embolden each other with righteous resistance, and collectively establish expectations of equality. I call these “Reverse Dominance Coalitions”.

Should we rethink conventional wisdom?

Academia may be impartial, rewarding productivity, but that is not sufficient for gender equality when mothers bear the lion’s share of childcare.

Americans used to farm a rich variety of crops. Some were very labour intensive, requiring neighbourly cooperation. In these counties, parents were more likely to give their children names that were common. This may indicate a desire for conformity. By contrast, in areas where farmers could be more self-sufficient, they chose names that were more individualistic. And when exogenous shifts propelled farmers into economic autonomy, they became even more self-expressive.

Economic development promotes gender equality. But why? Does industrialisation enable women to liberate themselves from patriarchal control? Or is prosperity paramount for men’s egalitarianism? In this piece, I’ll try to persuade you of both. When upward mobility is thwarted, men are more likely to lash out at women and demand patriarchal controls. This holds across America, North Africa and possibly more broadly.

Why do women feel insecure in bikinis, cover their faces in make-up and force their rectangular feet into triangular heels? Feminists have often blamed the fashion, beauty and advertising industries for projecting unrealistic ideals, which make regular women feel inadequate. But who’s really to blame? Are algorithms making it worse?

Women’s share of senior management has soared in East Asia, the Americas and Europe. But there’s still considerable variation, even among countries with similar wealth and culture. Germany’s management is still over 70% male, whereas the USA is far closer to gender parity. Why might this be?

In 2007, the Spanish government introduced 2 weeks of paternity leave. A fantastic new paper by Lídia Farré, Christina Felfe, Libertad González and Patrick Schneider finds that children of eligible fathers are now much more gender equal. Why might this be?

Top jobs are universally male-dominated. In response, feminists push for state-subsidised childcare, more involved fathers, and greater support for gender equality. But Canada has already embraced these initiatives, women work at very high rates, yet its senior management remains 64% male. So what’s propping up patriarchy?

As a social scientist, I see myself as constructing a four-dimensional jigsaw, piecing together little bits of data, identifying patterns and iteratively recalibrating. No methodology is perfect, each has its strengths and limitations. Public opinion polls and time-use surveys are susceptible to social desirability bias. Individuals may strive to present themselves in a positive light. For instance, 41% of US fathers say that childcare is

“Violent Intimacy” - a new book by Tiantian Zhen - highlights how the Chinese state perpetuates extreme cruelty.

Dr. Alice Evans: We are living in an age of incredible technological innovation, but is it really benefiting humanity? MIT Professors, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson have a tremendous new book on this exact question, “Power and Progress: our thousand Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity”. Professor Daron joins me today. Welcome.

This is just a hypothesis, which someone clever might test.

Why is fertility declining? Both conservatives and progressives typically presume that falling fertility is due to a shift in women’s preferences. Conservatives often lay blame on “over-educated women”, privileging their careers. Progressives, meanwhile, emphasise women’s burdens. Since men and the state provide so little support, motherhood is an unbearable hit (Doepke et al 2022).

Has lead poisoning worsened gender-based violence?

The future is up for grabs. Nothing is pre-determined. We are all ships navigating through oceans of technological innovations, corporate monopolies, charismatic leaders and reverse dominance coalitions. Automation could be designed in a way to raise

Norms matter, but how exactly? What are the precise mechanisms of cultural persistence? Drawing on my qualitative research in India, Mexico, Morocco, Zambia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Italy and Turkey, I suggest 8 ways in which culture perpetuates gender inequalities:

Why have gender gaps in education and employment closed rapidly, while intimate partner violence and unequal divisions of housework remain so persistent?

Does bullying affect our brains? When rodents, pigs and macaques are dominated and defeated, they exhibit hormonal and behavioural changes. These include impaired corticosterone response, less testosterone, more plasma epinephrine, and even self-administration of cocaine.

There is a fantastic new book on the kingdoms of Ancient Africa, including Egypt, Nubia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yoruba, Asante, Kongo, Buganda and Zulu. “Great Kingdoms of Africa” begins with a very important premise. States were often coercive, so should not be celebrated as more ‘advanced civilisations’. I think this is a really important mentality. While grandiose palaces are aesthetically impressive, surplus was usually extracted from labourers who lived in squalor. This is a useful corrective to narratives that dismiss or denigrate small-scale societies, as well as to those who defensively hype-up small kingdoms.

Is it just sexist disregard of hilarious women? But why is it usually boys who play the 'joker' in class and why does everyone seem to laugh more readily at men's ‘humour’, especially if they're senior? Some of this is obviously cultural. In countries where sexist discrimination has decreased, there are now more female comics. Social media may have also enabled talented women to shine, leapfrogging misogynist gatekeepers. But is this gender gap entirely malleable?

Why has the world become more gender equal? Why are some societies more gender equal than others? Why are men more likely to compete for top jobs? Why are US Evangelicals so patriarchal? What explains the rise of feminist activism across Latin America? Why is there so much sexual aggression in Polynesia?

Male coalitions tend to denigrate and exclude effeminate men because they perceive them as physically weak liabilities - argue Bo Winegard, Tania Reynolds, Roy Baumeister, and E. Ashby Plant. Homophobia does not stem from sexual disgust, but low value in armed combat. The authors begin by noting four key trends:

For the past 48 hours, my brain has been on fire, transfixed by a ground-breaking new theory. Professor Richard Wrangham argues that councils of elder males enforced patriarchy in the Middle Pleistocene, over 300,000 years ago. Is he right? If you would rather listen, check out my podcast (