I know I've only been here since November but I've never seen anyone say "all men are rapists"

[Squinch]

78. Women are subject to the same stresses and variety as men.

Sadly, if I had to guess, I would say there are as many anti-feminist women as there are anti-feminist men. There will always be a part of the culture which thinks that that is what God intended. And I'll bet that Ted Nugent's wife, and more importantly the woman who raised Ted Nugent's wife, are militantly anti-feminist.

Historically -and up until very recently in historic terms - the most aggressive man in town was often also the best provider and the best protector. When women didn't have options, it was simply sensible for women to choose those men. It was especially sensible for mothers to push their daughters toward men like that, so that they would be sure their daughters were protected from the world at large. And, in the days when a woman could not financially survive without a man, and was considered sexual fair game if she didn't "act like a lady", the world at large could easily squash a woman like a bug.

That was not that long ago. My mother was raised in a time and place where those forces predominated. Thankfully, my father was a wonderful man. But the most important thing a girl wanted from her mate, whether she admitted it or not, was financial and bodily security.

In that atmosphere, the prettiest and most culturally compliant girl was usually the winner. Which meant she got the man who could give her the most security, which generally meant the most aggressive and powerful man.

I think there are still some women who are - again, consciously or not - operating under those same assumptions. The poor things. (I mean that sincerely. I can't imagine how difficult it must be, and destructive to the psyche, to feel this way.)

But, happily, I think the information age is inevitably changing that. It is no longer aggression that creates success, it is access to information. Women and men can both do that equally. Physically weak men can do that as well as physically strong men. (I think it is very interesting, though, that the recent ado about sexism in the tech world is a conflict between the haves and have-nots in the arena of access to information. Old structures are trying to impose themselves on new paradigms.)

We are much more free, and much more likely, to choose "nice guys." We don't need physical protectors, so we can choose the ones who make us laugh and feel happy. We don't need to be married to survive, so we can go into our relationships with much more leverage. Though that threatens many men, it is actually of benefit to everyone.

The troglodites are still out there, male and female. And, especially among the young, they may predominate. But the world is changing, and I think will continue to change till the situation you describe is no longer common.