> “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”
Margret Atwood
> The quote is usually presented as inherently true, capturing the asymmetrical nature of the neverending war between the sexes. And I think that aspect is basically correct. But, if you’ll forgive me for being a pedantic male, it’s incomplete. Yes, men are afraid women will laugh at them; yes, women are afraid men will kill them. But do you know what else men are afraid of?
> Men.
> Men are also afraid other men will kill them.
https://verydistantlands.substack.com/p/the-eraserhead-guide...
TFA fits the pattern. Men feel the need to quickly establish a hierarchy with a modest putdown.