The Things We Do For Love
Did guys really stay home from the war just for Joan Baez? I'm aware of the old Aristophanes play and am amused to see it playing out out, as it were.
Will such a strike be effective? I don't think it will make much difference over the long haul. But evolutionary psychologists seem to tie much of human behavior to sexual selection -- in this case, males subconsciously believe that fighting battles and accumulating power will impress women and increase their chances of passing on their genes. (This serves as a motivator even once they're married or old.) You could argue that everything men do is an effort to attract women.
If women begin to indicate that they're not impressed by boys behaving badly, guys may need to rethink their strategy. But human behavior seems to involve a basic tribalism in which men and women both tend to feel threatened by rival tribes and parties; and for that reason, I'm going to guess that the strikes of 2009 will soon be forgotten.
Leave a comment