Beliefs that childbirth pain awakens maternal instinct express male resistance to easing women’s burdens

Evidence

The woman’s relationship with her child’s father is no less important. An already mature and independent woman can desire a child belonging wholly to herself: I knew one whose eyes lit up at the sight of a handsome male, not out of sensual desire, but because she judged his stud-like capacities; there are maternal Amazons who enthusiastically welcome the miracle of artificial insemination. Even if the child’s father shares their life, they deny him any right over their offspring; they try—like Paul’s mother in Sons and Lovers—to form a closed couple with their child. But in most cases, a woman needs masculine support to accept her new responsibilities; she will only devote herself joyously to a newborn if a man devotes himself to her. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1442 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

In 1975, Dobson took it upon himself to articulate the “critical difference” between men and women. “Males and females differ biochemically, anatomically, and emotionally,” he asserted. “In truth, they are unique in every cell of their bodies.” He portrayed the distinction in stark terms: Men liked to “hunt and fish and hike in the wilderness” while women preferred to “stay at home and wait for them.” Men played sports as women watched, “yawning on the sidelines.” But perhaps the most profound difference between men and women, according to Dobson, was their source of self-esteem: “Men derive self-esteem by being respected; women feel worthy when they are loved.” Five years later, in his book Straight Talk to Men and Their Wives, he expanded on this theme. Echoing Marabel Morgan, he explained that because of a man’s fragile ego and “enormous need to be respected,” together with a woman’s vulnerability and need to be loved, it was “a mistake to tamper with the time-honored relationship of husband as loving protector and wife as recipient of that protection.” — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 192 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

In patriarchal societies, male resistance to contraception and the idea that offspring are symbols of virility add to the family count. … Another Mexican serial drama promoted family planning to help break the cycle of poverty, which is heightened by a high rate of unplanned childbearing. The story focused on the lives of married sisters. The benefits that one sister gained by having a small family were contrasted with the experiences of the other sister, who was burdened with a huge family that lived in poverty and despair. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2853 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Most women need masculine support to joyfully accept motherhood — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1442; Male status concerns and machismo drive resistance to contraception — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2853; Dobson’s gendered psychology framed male fragility as requiring female submission — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 192 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Most women need masculine support to joyfully accept motherhood #contradicts (0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1442
• Male status concerns and machismo drive resistance to contraception #exemplifies (0.80) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2853
• Dobson’s gendered psychology framed male fragility as requiring female submission #exemplifies (0.80) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 192
• Implicit but not explicit beliefs reveal two benevolent barriers to gender equity. #exemplifies (0.75)