Masculinity vs. Femininity Dimensions
📌 Masculine and feminine are terms derived from Latin, describing "manlike" and "womanlike," respectively; a man can be called feminine and a woman masculine.
👩‍🏫 In anthropology, gender role divisions across societies have been studied since the 1930s, notably by Margaret Mead.
📊 This dimension is unique because data collection from women versus men yields different positions on the dimension, unlike others where perspectives converge.

Definition and Societal Roles
💡 A masculine society is defined by distinct emotional gender roles, where boys should be assertive and focused on material success, and women on quality of life.
⚖️ A feminine society lacks this strong separation, expecting men to occasionally be modest and tender, focusing on quality of life alongside work.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 In masculine societies, work clearly prevails over family, and fathers handle facts while mothers handle feelings; in feminine societies, both parents deal with both facts and feelings.
💖 Masculine societies admire the strong, while feminine societies are jealous of high flyers, citing the "Law of Jante" (Jantelagen) common in Nordic countries.

Societal Values and Behaviors
😠 Masculine societies value fighting (boys shouldn't cry), whereas feminine societies allow crying (neither boys nor girls should fight) and show sympathy for the weak.
⛪ Religious focus in masculine societies is often on a powerful God (God the Father), while feminine societies focus on fellow human beings.
👩‍❤️‍👨 In sexual relationships, feminine societies view sex as a way for a couple to relate, while masculine societies treat it as a performance where the man is the subject and the woman the object.

Measuring Masculinity and Cross-Cultural Data
📊 The Masculinity Index (MAS) measures these values relative to other societies, scaled from 0 (most feminine) to 100 (most masculine).
🇯🇵 Japan currently holds the highest masculinity score, followed by countries like Italy, Mexico, and China, while Arab countries, France, Russia, Denmark, and the Netherlands score lower (more feminine).
💰 There is no relationship between a country's wealth and its masculinity or femininity score; both rich and poor countries exist on both ends of the spectrum.

Correlations with Societal Facts
📉 Masculine societies correlate with a higher percentage of functional illiterates and more people living below the poverty level.
💸 Masculine societies spend a lesser portion of their budget on aid to poor countries compared to feminine societies, which spend a higher percentage.
😥 In masculine societies, poverty is often blamed on laziness, while in feminine societies, it is blamed on bad luck.
👔 In employer-employee negotiations, salary is clearly more important than leisure in masculine societies, whereas leisure is at least as important as salary in feminine societies.
📱 Users in masculine societies use social media for fact gathering, while users in feminine societies use it more for rapport building and relationship development.

Stability and Historical Context
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Societal masculinity/femininity scores are transferred to children via parental role models and tend to be rooted in history.
🇬🇧 The historical comparison between Britain (masculine) and the Netherlands (feminine) maritime powers from the 16th century remains relevant today.
🤫 The word "femininity" is taboo in the USA, which is considered a very masculine country, suggesting that the word's avoidance reflects a very strong underlying value.
✅ Societal masculinity and femininity dimensions are considered stable over time, similar to other measured dimensions.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Societal roles are distinct: Masculine societies prioritize work over family and associate poverty with individual laziness.
➡️ Feminine societies prioritize life quality, sympathy for the weak, and view salary and leisure as equally important negotiation factors.
➡️ Use the MAS score to understand national tendencies: e.g., use fact-gathering approaches in social media when dealing with highly masculine cultures (like Japan).
➡️ Recognize that core values, like the taboo against the word "femininity" in the USA, indicate deeply ingrained societal beliefs.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Jan 15, 2026, 12:47 UTC