The more typically male propensity
How the trick works.
“The more typically male propensity to defy illegitimate authority” – how sweetly self-flattering that is, and how indifferent to the realities.
Males in the abstract represent illegitimate authority. Males are the beneficiaries of that stupid mistake that goes “the bigger and stronger get to rule.” Decent males not in the abstract of course don’t endorse that social law, but I doubt that any of us can escape its influence entirely.
That stupid mistake pervades all of life and has for all of history, yet a man still flatters himself that his war against masking is thanks to a more typically male propensity to defy illegitimate authority as opposed to a more typically angry-conservative propensity to see public health measures as “illegitimate authority.”
Women have plenty of propensity to defy illegitimate authority, only in our case it may be the guy at the dinner table or the work meeting. We have plenty of propensity but we also know that many men are quick to resort to violence. Men don’t have that particular brake on their propensities, which probably frees them up to put their defiance on display, no matter how stupid and anti-social it is.
You could go further and say that men in the abstract represent authority, illegitimate or not. Hence referring to “The Man”. Likewise, the male-typical behavior is not defiance of illegitimate authority, but instead any authority that would restrict him, because might makes right, and it is right if his might can override such restriction.
It’s also behavior typical of children, adolescents, sociopaths, and anyone who’s feeling greedy, entitled, or selfish. How wonderful that our culture has embedded it in the notion of what it is to be a man.
Echoes of Sam Harris … lack of “estrogen vibe,” was it, that meant women weren’t into Gnu Atheism as much as men? And that was why it really was not concerning that more women didn’t attend conferences and such. Couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with sexual harassment or sexism in general, could it? Nah, men are just better thinkers than women when it comes to Being Rational.
Yep, that’s what Sam Harris said all right. See also Michael Shermer’s “it’s more of a guy thing.”
It occurs to me: is it a coincidence that the most “religious” of the Four Horsemen is the biggest jackass?
You can certainly construct a reasonable explanation for sex differences in Gnu Atheism participation based on gendered socialization, but there’s no reason the explanation has to be univariate.
Then there’s the problem of how authority is defined. If someone has expertise in some area, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have the power to command or control anyone. The reverse of this, power being bestowed on the incompetent or unqualified, is more often the case.