The Price of Progress? Examining the Costs and Benefits for women in the modern world…

I wrote this after the death of Irish Feminist Nell McCafferty, but then I thought that a man writing about feminism was not a good look. Then, I thought not writing about feminism was a form of sexism. At this point, I tied myself in so many knots that I just gave up. But I don’t like to see a good post wasted, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and publish it now. Rather than being accused of ‘mansplaining,’ take this post as a signpost to the various feminist writers I mention who explain the issues and their views better than I ever could.

Our neoliberal capitalist system has embraced women’s productivity potential. They have been brought into the fold as valuable ‘units of production’ for the rampageous economic engine of growth. Girls do better than boys in exams; consequently, most university students are now female, and in many occupations, new recruits are now majority female. Medical students are now 60% female.

Mission accomplished for feminism, you might think.

But there are downsides. Fertility is declining rapidly across the Western World. Many women are missing out on motherhood, which, of course, if it’s by choice, there is nothing wrong with that. But many women feel they have sacrificed children for a capitalist system. While capitalism may provide a wide selection of fast fashion, it does not do much for love and purpose. It is hard to have it all – the job, the perfect relationship, a family. The pressure on modern women to do so much can be exhausting. In her book Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, Anne Helen Petersen chronicles the pressures of the modern world, particularly on women. Having to go out to work, then come home for the ‘second shift’ of house work, caring for children, elderly family members, etc. People are burning out in every greater numbers.

Locally, one of the more astonishing figures I have come across highlights how dysfunctional our society is. Nearly 40% of women aged 45-64 in Northern Ireland are on antidepressants. Being told that the genuine issues you are facing could be all in your head, or worse a discredited theory of chemical imbalance seems to me gaslighting on a societal level. In her new book ‘Women Are Angry‘ psychotherapist Jennifer Cox gives a view that many of the modern health issues women face are suppressed emotions and anger. Frankly, who would blame them? Many men are in the same boat. Now, it should be noted that antidepressants can also be prescribed to help with other conditions, but still, it is a hell of a lot of people chugging the pills.

Interesting facts on anti-depressants in NI, from today's prescribing statistics report 📰

1 in 5 people in NI had an anti-depressant prescription in 2022/23

25% of women
14.8% of men

Highest in 45-64 age group

⚠️38.6% of women aged 45-64 years⚠️ pic.twitter.com/RnTInPPTQ7

— Siobhán O'Neill (she/her) (@profsiobhanon) June 29, 2023

Another contentious issue in modern feminism is the debate over language and identity, particularly regarding terms used to describe biological functions. Some argue that inclusive language like ‘people who menstruate’ is necessary for transgender and non-binary inclusion, while others feel it erases women’s identities. This linguistic shift has sparked intense discussions about gender, biology, and the nature of womanhood itself.

A new wave of feminists is providing a valuable counter-narrative by pointing out that the modern world is not the liberated paradise for women it’s made out to be. Mary Harrington titles her blog Feminism Against Progress. In Reactionary Feminism, she writes:

I also learned that membership in the feminist club comes with small print. You cannot pursue feminist goals without signing up to a larger bundle of commitments under the banner of “progress,” such as climate justice, ­racial- and gender-minority rights, wealth redistribution, and so on. Reject those, and you will be excommunicated from the coalition of the righteous.

I set about living my adult life as far as possible according to those ideals, pursuing low-carbon life, non-hierarchical social forms, and maximum sexual freedom. But by the end of my twenties, I had concluded that sexual freedom brings alienation, that economic “progress” inflicts (and conceals) its own injuries, and that not too much but too little interdependence is precipitating a collapse of social life.

Louise Perry, in her book The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, gives an excellent critique of the modern world. Here is the book overview:

Ditching the stuffy hang-ups and benighted sexual traditionalism of the past is an unambiguously positive thing. The sexual revolution has liberated us to enjoy a heady mixture of erotic freedom and personal autonomy. Right?

Wrong, argues Louise Perry in her provocative new book. Although it would be neither possible nor desirable to turn the clock back to a world of pre-60s sexual mores, she argues that the amoral libertinism and callous disenchantment of liberal feminism and our contemporary hypersexualised culture represent more loss than gain. The main winners from a world of rough sex, hook-up culture and ubiquitous porn – where anything goes and only consent matters – are a tiny minority of high-status men, not the women forced to accommodate the excesses of male lust. While dispensing sage advice to the generations paying the price for these excesses, she makes a passionate case for a new sexual culture built around dignity, virtue and restraint.

As a man, my views may count for little on this subject, but being husbands, fathers, sons, etc, we have our part to play.

The first generation of feminism could be seen as very anti-men. Modern feminism is more nuanced and understands the real enemy is not each other but a system that hurts both sexes.

I think that is the crucial point to make. The various culture wars are not only incredibly divisive but also unproductive. Someone’s gain should not be seen as someone else’s loss. Many men feel incredibly lost in the modern world, and these feelings should never be dismissed. But that’s a topic for another post…

Brian O'Neill

I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.