Saturday, February 02, 2019

Detoxing "toxic masculinity"

With all the talk of toxic masculinity, I have a few anecdotal sociological observations. It's often said that men are naturally competitive, while women are generally less so. But there's a twist. Take fiercely competitive fields like the pro sports and the entertainment industry. In my random observation over the years, despite the fact that some men are in direct competition with each other, male rivals can be friends. They form and maintain lifelong friendships despite the rivalry. By contrast, female rivals are more likely to hate each other. There are exceptions, but ambitious women seem to be more territorial than men in that regard. 

I've also noticed that women can be more fault-finding of other women than men are. For instance, I've read comments on an aging opera diva in which the women were more critical than the men. Again, I don't know how representative that is. I haven't conducted a systematic survey. But I seem to see a pattern. A gender disparity. 

If true, that's logical in the sense that it's natural for women to measure themselves by other women. So they have an eye for things that men don't notice or care about. I'm reminded of Pauline Kael's reviews of Mommie Dearest and Autumn Sonata

2 comments:

  1. Jordan Peterson says he's something of an "expert" on the topic of antisocial behavior including female bullying vs. male bullying, and he has similar observations:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDWJdsfocVE

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