Alice Evans

in hindsight,

one could have imagined that COVID would only lead to a temporary downturn in demand for labour

but a coordinated and sustained rise in technologies and entertainment that increase the appeal of solitude.

Pre-state societies were never feminist utopias, overflowing with milk and gender harmony.

They were often violent and coercive.

State control and pacification are crucial precursors to gender equality.

My essay, www.ggd.world/p/male-viole...

we may have cultures that are matrilocal, or matrilineal, or that celebrate female freedom, or sexual agency, or have lots of little goddess-statues...

but we must also ask "what about the violence." is violence or the threat of violence used to extract reproductive labor from women.

This is a historical quirk. We also used to pronounce the K in knave or knife.

But things change...

Britain achieved significant economic and cultural progress until about 20 years ago, when the Spice Girls stopped touring....

I saw your new colleague Hahrie Han this weekend, she heads up Agora. A brilliant mind!

Trykker lidt på nogle etableret forestillinger

"Economists may suggest that property ownership raises women’s bargaining power, but this surely breaks down if one can be captured and enslaved. Likewise, sexual permissiveness does not mean female agency when women may be abducted by male predators."

Stories about 'kick-ass' women from the past are often fun and exciting!

One little problem:

They neglect a wider context of male violence, aggressive and rape.

www.ggd.world/p/male-viole...

Our conventional indicators of gender equality for pre-state societies are grossly misleading.

By focusing on whether women could choose their own partners or own property, scholars have omitted a wider context of pervasive violence

www.ggd.world/p/male-viole...

how do we "measure" patriarchy? this is especially thorny because of how much people are invested in mystifying and defending it--so e.g. "this culture LOVED women! therefore it can't be patriarchal!" evans, like myself, circles back to what we can measure:

violence.

thank you pal!!

Congratulations MC!!! BRAVO!

Male Violence and the Myth of Female Freedom

www.ggd.world/p/male-viole...

If Turkey’s young women continue to culturally leapfrog, but men remain more conservative, then this will have major implications for coupling and fertility

www.ggd.world/p/cultural-l...

‘Gaslighting’, ‘love-bombing’ and ‘toxic relationships’ have surged in online searches across Turkey.

I call this "CULTURAL LEAPFROGGING"

www.ggd.world/p/cultural-l...

Sexual abuse persists because humans repeatedly prioritise institutional self-preservation.

Children - the most vulnerable members of our society - are then dismissed, disregarded and violated.

www.ggd.world/p/what-do-ep...

What do Epstein's Emails, the Catholic Church & Grooming Gangs have in Common? Billionaires, bishops, and progressives may seem worlds apart. But when confronted with evidence of sexual abuse, they have often made the same choice: protect the institution rather than the victims.

Child sexual abuse persists because humans repeatedly prioritise institutional self-protection - whether that's elite networks, catholics cardinals, or progressives.

P.s. you may not like this message, but nevertheless recognise it to be true.

www.ggd.world/p/what-do-ep...

What do Epstein's Emails, the Catholic Church & Grooming Gangs have in Common? Billionaires, bishops, and progressives may seem worlds apart. But when confronted with evidence of sexual abuse, they have often made the same choice: protect the institution rather than the victims.

How can we prevent sexual abuse in the 21st century?

My new blog

open.substack.com/pub/dralicee...

What do Epstein's Emails, the Catholic Church & Grooming Gangs have in Common? Billionaires, bishops, and progressives may seem worlds apart. But when confronted with evidence of sexual abuse, they have often made the same choice: protect the institution rather than the victims.

What do Epstein's Emails, the Catholic Church & Grooming Gangs have in Common?

www.ggd.world/p/what-do-ep...

What do Epstein's Emails, the Catholic Church & Grooming Gangs have in Common? Billionaires, bishops, and progressives may seem worlds apart. But when confronted with evidence of sexual abuse, they have often made the same choice: protect the institution rather than the victims.

What do Epstein's Emails, the Catholic Church & Grooming Gangs have in Common?

www.ggd.world/p/what-do-ep...

Hopefully it will look something like this,

But obviously LESS elegant

Gang, I have an adventurous idea!

Wish me luck! 🤟

In Putin's Russia, the courts have become feminised

If one ran a cross-country regression, one might interpret this as an egalitarian triumph.

But, if we understand country context, we realise that judges have been emasculated and disempowered..

Not much of a win.

By @juliaioffe.bsky.social

Socialists may cheer for the USSR, citing high FLFP

Sociologists say 'women worked a double shift'

But perhaps the most visual example of patriarchy is near-absence of sanitary pads?

(Male) planners disregarded women's health, no patent existed till 1985, forcing use of rags.

Crudely, there are two kinds of extreme patriarchies.

1) those who regard women as workhorses, whose welfare has zero value.

2) those who want to keep women in seclusion.

The USSR was (1).

Possible to do both, ofc.

The average Soviet woman had 3-7 abortions.

This wasn't 'female emancipation',

This was a result of men dominating power and the command economy,

Then effectively saying 'nah, why bother with women's health'?

It's such a good example of men's dominance of political power, their control of the command economy, and women's total inability to express, let alone organise for, their priorities.

Socialists may cheer for the USSR, citing high FLFP

Sociologists say 'women worked a double shift'

But perhaps the most visual example of patriarchy is near-absence of sanitary pads?

(Male) planners disregarded women's health, no patent existed till 1985, forcing use of rags.

Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia" by @juliaioffe.bsky.social is FANTASTIC.

Best book on gender for 2025.

Some gender books on Russia have been ideologically narrow, but this is superbly researched and extremely readable. Bravo!

“Marie-Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) came from a lower-class background. Her father was a servant.

This self-portrait is quite remarkable. Staring right at the viewer, this woman is making her own selfie, effectively saying:

"I'm here, I matter, I'm a painter"

“Ils ne vouloient que notre bien,”

(They only wanted what was best for us - satirising clergy & nobility).