Is There Anything Good About Men? is an article by Roy Baumeister, arguing that culture is not a patriarchy designed to privilege men, but a competitive system that exploits male expendability and risk-taking to build large social structures, often sacrificing men to ensure the survival of women.
Reproductive Asymmetry
AI Summary
- Baumeister highlights a massive historical disparity in reproductive success, noting that today’s population is descended from twice as many women as men.
- This implies that throughout human history, roughly 80% of women reproduced, while only 40% of men did.
- This gap incentivized men to take extreme risks for the chance to reproduce, whereas women biologically benefited from risk aversion.
Manhood as an Earned Status
AI Summary
- Unlike womanhood, which is largely biological, manhood is viewed as a social status that must be earned by producing more than one consumes.
- This cultural pressure exploits male insecurity to motivate productivity and the accumulation of resources for the wider group
See also: Proof of manhood
Links
- Article:
- Hacker News discussions: