The feminization of society

Modern western society has become more "feminized" over time. By this I
don't mean to imply something derogatory, although in the past it might have
been taken that way. Consider the following, in primitive societies the
strongest men ruled and women were kept subjugated. In developed modern
society on the contrary, women have been liberated from the kitchen and the
nursery and from societal constraints, and are free to make contributions to
society at large and to develop their own talents in particular.
I do not mean that in our society women are completely equal to men, and
there are distinct differences in male and female roles based on biology.
But the range of roles of women in society have increased tremendously in
number and power, and to that extent society has become more civilized.
While conflicts used to be resolved by force (and some still are) now we
resort to courts and compromises.
A friend of mine who should know, argues that the layer of civilization is
very thin, as shown recently by the breakdown of law and order in New
Orleans due to the hurricane Katrina. But, given a sufficient supply of
food, water and other necessities of life, as most western societies can
readily supply, then the civilized veneer remains intact. There is no doubt
an economic aspect of this development too, but feminists would no doubt
prefer that it be considered a matter of principle.
One can track this evolution of society by the expansion of civil and human
rights. First, rights were extended to women, then to minorities, then the
handicapped, gays and even children. And these rights are not merely
abstractions, but are now enshrined in law. Spousal abuse, rape, child
abuse and racial discrimination are now outlawed. The idea that gays should
be allowed to live openly is a very new phenomenon, just think of how Oscar
Wilde was treated, and think of the many novels and plays about female
suppression (e.g. "The Seagulls" by Chekov, "A Doll's House" by Ibsen).
I was motivated to think about this topic by the brutal scenes of
Palestinian Arab men destroying the synagogues left in Gaza. It is very
easy to fall into the liberal thought pattern of finding excuses for them
("Oh, poor things, they have been cooped up in Gaza for so long...let them
work off steam"). But, the fact is that this pattern of behavior is (let's
call a spade a spade) "uncivilized." And it occurs mainly in societies
that are primitive and in which women have essentially no role. In WWII,
Poles, Germans and many others considered torching synagogues, with people
in them, as perfectly acceptable behavior. The fact is that the Nazis
glorified the use of force and western society deplores it. The wanton
destruction of other people's places of worship is now considered
unacceptable in civilized societies.
I don't think by any means that women are perfect, but their influence in
general has been to soften and civilize society. Compare Taliban dominated
Afghanistan, where women were beaten in the street and imprisoned if the
"modesty police" decided that they showed too much ankle or hair. The
subjugation of women is a massive crime that Muslim societies still have not
owned up to. There are no doubt many aspects of Islam that are civilized,
but any society that tolerates clitoral mutilation is definitely backward.
There are stark differences between the treatment of women and minorities in
Muslim and Western societies.
What is the goal, a more tolerant, liberal society with liberty and justice
for all, in which conflicts are resolved by compromise. Israel is such a
society and unfortunately the Palestinians are not.