@Hugh Johnson here's a comforting cyber hug and back patting for the limitations of your childhood.
I have Montague's book; that's a 1950s oldie.
He showed how
woman's physical makeup made her not only man's equal, but his superior. Also a humanist, Montagu points to the emotional and social qualities typically ascribed to and devalued in women as being key to just social life and relationships.
YOU SAID:
I think high adaptability and low aggressiveness are characteristic human and primate traits, which are typical of infants, and are likely to represent our species' future.
I'm not so sure of that. In the past women tended to balance men out. We were the peace keepers, comforters ( here we have some social/emotional qualities). If one would observe the general aggressiveness of many of today's young girls and women, one might fear for the future of the human race. Alot of teachers tell me the girl's are worse than the boys....so it's not just me noticing it.
Is it from hormones or culture? Or both?
And yes, I think feminists can throw the baby out w/ the bathwater. I grew up a tomboy w/ 5 brothers, very athletic and comfortable hangin' with the guys. My first major job, I climbed smoke stacks and tested the effluent, used tools and built/repaired equipment with ease....I'm 60 and women just didn't do those jobs then.
But I still enjoyed my femininity and its perks from the dance betw/ men and women.
Are guys becoming more effeminate, on the other hand? If you talk with many, they would say yes.
A balance of typical gender qualities is a good thing in both sexes but I believe something else is going on that's not natural.
Any ideas?
I would say youre on the nose with your assesments :)
I think (speaking as a man of 29yrs old with parents in their 60s) that the societal demasculinization of men and masculinization of women (in their behaviors) is more about my generations loss of actionable capability or willingness. We're more of a generation of armchair quarterbacks and vicarious thrill seekers. We can openly criticize anyone we like from the comfort of our own home and it's loud enough for the whole world to hear with the advent of the internet without ever having to risk people knowing who spoke the critisicm. We have made up digital worlds that the youth spend most of their young developmental lives in, we have marketing and advertisement bombardments telling us we're not worthy of good things until we buy and obtain good things that are materialistic and vain to prove we are better than others without.
I wish I could remember the forum users name who wrote "Testosterone is a phenomena seeking hormone" because no statement I have ever seen or heard has ever resonated more truth about the masculine hormone than this. This hormone is secreted most once a risk is rewarded, once a goal is accomplished, once effort is exerted, and once confidence is established.
If you think of it this way, no wonder people are more estrogen dominant than ever! There was a time in the world where the only way to experience something was to go OUT and live it! The generations before us were doers because they really had no choice but to be if they wanted to see and experience the world and meet people and make connections. It's not surprising then that generations prior to present had generally better health; men had more testosterone, and women's bodies weren't trying to downregulate their own production of estrogen. Are these things that were catalyzed by endocrine disruption through toxic food sources and unconducive lifestyles? Yes most likely, but is it the only cause? HELL NO!
I recently told another member of the forum that I adopted the mindset of a man that has high androgen output before I actually changed my health for the better. I feel that this paved the way and nudged my body towards health for the better, and I've realized that mindset is truly the foundation of good health, and the beauty of it is that your mindset can be the product of choice, not the byproduct of its environment both exogenous and endogenous. Most in this generation are not taught that happiness and a healthy mindset is a choice, just like any other action we humans are capable of.
I feel that if people chose to practice Patience, Confidence, and Fortitude we would see a healthier society of adaptive human beings; man and woman alike. But we're not taught that any part of our lives are a choice for the most part.