FET #69: David Maywald explains how the war on masculinity affects health, education, and families
Sun Feb 01 2026
Has the cultural and political pendulum swung too far in favour of women?
That’s the argument made by David Maywald in his new book, The Relentless War on Masculinity.
He doesn’t argue that women have done this. But even men in power are still fighting the battles of many decades ago. David looks at education and health outcomes, noting that women became the majority of university students four decades ago.
There are four ways in which the cultural and political bias is expressed, called the Four Horsewomen. Once you understand them, they are hard to miss.
* Misandry — the hatred of men, as well as the systemic contempt for men.
* Gamma bias — the psychological tendency to interpret male and female behaviour through different lenses. A man who asserts himself is labelled aggressive, while a woman doing the same is praised as confident. A mother who works long hours is celebrated for her ambition, while a father who does so is criticised for neglecting his family.
* Gynocentrism — societies that focus on women, are primarily concerned with female perspectives and interests, and take a feminine point of view.
* Gaslighting — convincing men that their concerns are imaginary. Speak up about family law bias, and you’re told you must hate women. Question the “gender pay gap” narrative, and you’re accused of being sexist.
David explains how to perceive these biases by whether the same judgment would be made regardless of the gender of the person being observed.
As a father with two sons reaching adulthood, the most interesting data point was that young men (aged 15-24) only sit behind men over 65 in the strength of their views about traditional gender roles. Perhaps the pendulum is swinging back.
Here’s a chart showing these trends, courtesy of analysis by e61 Institute.
Finally, an excerpt from the book is in the article below at David’s Substack.
As always, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. Thanks for your support. You can find Fresh Economic Thinking on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Theme: Happy Swing by Serge Quadrado Music—Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC 4.0
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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fresheconomicthinking.com/subscribe
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Has the cultural and political pendulum swung too far in favour of women? That’s the argument made by David Maywald in his new book, The Relentless War on Masculinity. He doesn’t argue that women have done this. But even men in power are still fighting the battles of many decades ago. David looks at education and health outcomes, noting that women became the majority of university students four decades ago. There are four ways in which the cultural and political bias is expressed, called the Four Horsewomen. Once you understand them, they are hard to miss. * Misandry — the hatred of men, as well as the systemic contempt for men. * Gamma bias — the psychological tendency to interpret male and female behaviour through different lenses. A man who asserts himself is labelled aggressive, while a woman doing the same is praised as confident. A mother who works long hours is celebrated for her ambition, while a father who does so is criticised for neglecting his family. * Gynocentrism — societies that focus on women, are primarily concerned with female perspectives and interests, and take a feminine point of view. * Gaslighting — convincing men that their concerns are imaginary. Speak up about family law bias, and you’re told you must hate women. Question the “gender pay gap” narrative, and you’re accused of being sexist. David explains how to perceive these biases by whether the same judgment would be made regardless of the gender of the person being observed. As a father with two sons reaching adulthood, the most interesting data point was that young men (aged 15-24) only sit behind men over 65 in the strength of their views about traditional gender roles. Perhaps the pendulum is swinging back. Here’s a chart showing these trends, courtesy of analysis by e61 Institute. Finally, an excerpt from the book is in the article below at David’s Substack. As always, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. Thanks for your support. You can find Fresh Economic Thinking on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Theme: Happy Swing by Serge Quadrado Music—Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC 4.0 Interested in learning more? Fresh Economic Thinking runs in-person and online workshops to help your organisation dig into the economic issues you face and learn powerful insights. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fresheconomicthinking.com/subscribe