Thursday, January 11, 2024

Would It Really Be Any Better If Women Were In Charge?

It's not infrequent to hear someone argue that the world would be better if women were in charge. Its become a common trope in movies and television that men are stupid and would somehow starve to death if women didn't show them how to chew their food. So I wasn't too surprised to come across this article, "It’s time for women to lead the world to peace." It's written by a man, sort of. The author, Michael Dru Kelly, is "a cofounder and a principal LGBTQ+ shareholder ofequalpride [sic]". He begins:

If you have gotten this far, you now realize that the headline and the author line may appear incongruous. Some may think that calling for women to lead in peace coming from a man is already suspect. And I can understand it, given the level of patriarchy and continued misogyny and inequality in almost every aspect of our global society. Rather, I hope you read this as the point of view of one man who is absolutely fed up with men being the primary perpetrators of war, death, and destruction as far back as history records. Also, there are several Israeli, Palestinian, and American women who have recently distinguished themselves for stronger statements than those of men on condemning the violence and in fact, developing some very promising solutions for lasting peace.

Kelly apparently is unfamiliar with the female of his species. Here is a reminder (note: most, but not all, of these headlines are from the past two weeks):

    Danielle Fewings, 38, a digital marketing specialist from Philadelphia, went viral on TikTok after venting about her fruitless consultation with the unnamed dating expert.

    'When we met, I told her what I was looking for and told her a lot about me,' she explained as she did her makeup in the video. 

    'I tried to highlight some of my core qualities, including the fact that I am very, very Type A, organized, [and] I like to be the leader.

* * *

    Fewings said she wanted a partner who was at or above her income level, driven, ambitious, and ready to get married. 

* * *

    When asked what she didn't like in a man, she told the expert that she 'could never really be with a beta type.' 

    'I specifically used the word "doormat." I said I would chew them up and spit them out,' she recalled.

    Based on the latest data available, an estimated 7 percent of women were affected by a serious mental illness in 2020, compared with 4 percent of men in the U.S. When considering any and all mental illnesses, including those that have not caused serious functional impairment, the disproportion still exists: 26 percent of women struggled with any mental illness in 2020, versus 16 percent of men. This pattern holds true for adolescents, as well. The lifetime prevalence of mental disorders was higher among females (51 percent) than males (48 percent). 

    Additionally, research shows that the pandemic has worsened mental health among women. ....

Of course, part of this disparity might be because young women are much more likely to identify as liberal than young men, and, as we know, liberals have poorer mental health than conservatives (see also here).

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