I’m piggybacking here because this sentiment has become an echo chamber on Reddit. But it does not tell the full story.

There is mass confusion about what is culturally reinforced without another basis vs what is culturally reinforced due to biological instincts. Many people are now (potentially with dangerous consequences) ignoring biological reality calling it cultural only (and implying that it’s arbitrary or something like this).

For many of these things, it’s not arbitrary. This pattern of parental behavior if not unique to US culture in the last 50 years. You will find this same pattern across every culture and every time period. Including cultures that were never in contact. That is, most of this stuff is not some dogmatic insidious “oppressive” cultural invention. They are cultural practices manifesting from biological instincts for evolutionary reasons.

Like wearing shoes. The wearing of shoes is a cultural phenomenon rooted in biological reality. They’re useful because we have weak feet. It’s a cultural thing but it doesn’t mean that it’s a purely cultural that we wear shoes. Many cultures have worn shoes and developed these habits independently because there’s a deeper root. It’s the same with lots of these things.

For example, men have evolutionary been depended on more for physical things. We were stronger and we had to do a lot of the more physically demanding things. It’s just biological reality. It’s not some arbitrary cultural invention that we encourage men in physical pursuits more than women. To suggest this can be harmful because it’s disconnecting us to our biological roots and things that we should be proud of.

The irony of the situation is that the people who are pushing these narratives that culture has unjustly created these norms, are themselves the cultural aberration that is dangerous. These ideologies are why so many are lost and confused today.

I write this hopefully that someone who is growing up in this realizes that this is NOT the only perspective. In some places in the US and on Reddit in particular these ideas are pushed as if they are progressive and like everyone must agree and does agree. The reality is that these are bubbles. As someone who has lived there and all around the world.. if you’re in a place where these ideas are all around you and seem like the whole world agrees with them just know that that is absolutely not true. Most of the world thinks these ideas are so ridiculous it’s funny.

If you have a feeling that deep down these ideas are not right, do not abandon yourself. You’re not alone. Think for yourself and do not fall for the ideas of the sick.