A Note on Lobsters and Hierarchies

Dr. Jane Clare Jones on Twitter: "So, there’s a lot of talk atm about feminism and its relation to left/right politics. Politics that defends natural hierarchies isn’t compatible with politics which aims to end hierarchies. Feminism is anti-hierarchy. That’s why feminism is ‘of the left.’ https://t.co/xYcPE0xIhX" / Twitter

I see this model a lot and I fundamentally disagree with it. Being a doctor is an example of having a place in a legitimate, competence-based social power hierarchy. The problem, as I see it, is that women and girls are excluded from ascending the hierarchy on the basis of sex. By deferring to the male model of left-right politics in our definition of feminism, we are reinforcing male authority and male hierarchy. We shouldn't be afraid to superficially pattern match with men we do not like when deriving our politics. We aren't like them. We are women!

One of my biggest influences is the fact that I went to a primarily female grad program taught by mainly female professors who had an earned, specific place in the hierarchy due to their specific competence as well as their history. This radically changed my perspective on women. There is a right and a wrong way to do something and when you attack women's hierarchies, you attack efficient cultural transmission of knowledge, which undermines any women's movement, in my humble opinion. We must not be afraid to lead and be led. There's only so much time.

The consequence of a lack of hierarchical transmission of knowledge is that the lessons of the past get forgotten and preventable harm comes to the vulnerable. We women know what male sex-based hierarchies prioritize, and why, and how that harms us. But we can't flee hierarchy. One of my only criticisms of Jordan Peterson is the fact that he and I fully agree on the neurology of hierarchy,* but he seems unwilling to see that egalitarian patriarchies are still patriarchies and that this affects women because we are taught to see ourselves as beneath incompetent men.

*Neurology of hierarchy refers to your mental model of the social hierarchy and your place in it as it pertains to your serotonin system. Jordan Peterson brings up lobsters as an example a lot because antidepressants work on them and affect their social behavior for a reason as does their perception of status.