Research Findings: Women Become More Feminine with Greater Political and Economic Freedom

The brilliant G. K. Chesterton correctly observed, “Feminism often means the refusal to be feminine.”

Progressives and certain feminists like to hold the belief that with greater political, educational and economic opportunity, women will finally free themselves from the patriarchal expectations of femininity. But as much of the world has happily realized these greater opportunities for women, thanks in no small part to the world-changing values of a historic Christian worldview, it turns out women are using those freedoms to … behave more distinctly feminine.

This fact has been long understood in the research literature and it even has a name: the gender-equality paradox.

A New York Times science writer wrote about it many years ago. He explains, “a series of [evolutionary psychologist] research teams have repeatedly analyzed personality tests taken by men and women in more than 60 countries around the world.” The Times asserted,

It looks as if personality differences between men and women are smaller in traditional cultures like India’s or Zimbabwe’s than in the Netherlands or the United States. A husband and a stay-at-home wife in a patriarchal Botswanan clan seem to be more alike than a working couple in Denmark or France. The more Venus and Mars have equal rights and similar jobs, the more their personalities seem to diverge.

But the masculine/feminine distinctions in economic/political/educational progressive nations grow even more stark beyond personality tests. Just look at the fashion industry in places like London, Paris and New York. There is a not a whole lot of androgyny going on over at Park Avenue and Rodeo Drive. Women’s fashion becomes dramatically more feminine and desirable to women as nations develop. Anyone can easily pick out a woman’s clothing store from a man’s in any high-fashion shopping district in the industrialized world.

The male and female differences in personal fashion and bodily adornment are dramatically stark driven by personal choice and the free market. But does this still remain true as our cultures get more liberal and gender confused?

Very sophisticated academic research published by Swedish scholars earlier this year says it certainly does.

A systematic review of 54 previously published research articles, as well as “new analysis of 27 meta-analyses and large-scale studies,” finds the gender-equality paradox still holds true. In fact, they say gender differences could become even “more pronounced with improvements in living conditions, such as economy, gender equality, and education.”

These scholars explain in full,

Taken together, results indicate that more sex differences are larger, rather than smaller, in countries with higher living conditions. It should therefore be expected that the magnitude of most psychological sex differences will remain unchanged or become more pronounced with improvements in living conditions, such as economy, gender equality, and education.

These scholars throw cold water on the progressive wish that greater advances in equality between the sexes will lessen the distinctions between male and female behavior, attitudes and life choices. They state bluntly,

Our results also show that there are little data to suggest that men and women will become more alike as the world develops. Instead, policymakers should expect sex differences to mostly remain unchanged or become larger as the world develops … (emphasis added)

These scholars do not buy the line that meaningful sex differences between men and women are merely socially constructed and patriarchally enforced. They confess, “The results of this systematic review and new analyses highlight various psychological sex differences and that the pattern of female and male strengths and weaknesses is the same in most countries examined.”

The earlier research reported on by The New York Times stressed the same point. Admitting, “these findings are so counterintuitive that some researchers have argued they must be because of cross-cultural problems with the personality tests,” the Grey Lady concludes, “but after crunching new data from 40,000 men and women on six continents, David P. Schmitt and his colleagues conclude that the trends are real.”

Professor Schmitt’s and other colleagues’ research on this conclusion is rich, diverse and just a few examples are found here, here, here, and here.

The differences in male and female humans are universal and make the world and human life itself work. Progressives are mistaken in trying to wish them away. The gender binary of boy and girl, man and woman are an essential gift and honest, non-ideological academic research continues to show us just how true this is.

Related articles and resources:

Advanced Stanford University Research Further Documents Fact of Male-Female Brain

What Are Male and Female in God’s Story?

Why Focus on the Family Cares About the Gender Issue?

Yes, Sexuality and Gender Are Undeniable Gospel Issues

Even Hard-Boiled Evolutionists are Standing Strong Against Gender Madness

How the “Trans” and Gender Redefinition Issue Attacks the Family

Addressing Gender Identity with Honesty and Compassion

Do Not Fall for the ‘Affirm Them or They Will Die’ Lie

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