It seems likely that every human culture has had some concept of gender and norms related to it. Those roles can be permissive or strictly enforced. They can match the expectations our culture gives us, or they can be surprising to us. Beside average size, and childbearing, there is unlimited flexibility in how a culture might define the roles and how they might enforce them.

While it is a tempting thought, it seems unlikely that we, here and now, have somehow managed to create the absolute worst human culture in the millions of years we have been at this. I agree that we should be watchful of that pitfall. Western self loathing, is in itself another way of assuming that we must be the main characters in the human story.

[–] bluGill@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

Many gender norms come from the fact that if your nonmodern society is to survive, all women need to be pregnant or nursing a baby from their late teens until they are 40. (Or more likely until she dies in childbirth). Pregnant and nursing a baby put some restrictions on what a woman can do, which in turn will influence culture .