Sam Trenholme’s blog
Feminization is not bad
October 18, 2025
It doesn’t look like it’s women which has caused toxic cancel culture.What is causing toxic cancel culture?
Where there is a tremendous correlation between toxic cancel culture and the feminization of universities and other places in society1 correlation is not necessarily causation. The toxic cancel culture we are seeing could be caused by other factors, such as people interacting online more and in person less: I have observed that getting behind a screen makes people ruder and less pleasant.
Toxic cancel culture is one response to what I call the “troll bait” issue: Certain ideas, which are unpopular with mainstream society, get a certain loud minority all worked up. For example, Super Audio CDs had a small but fanatic userbase who were convinced conventional CDs sounded harsh and digital, but didn’t have any real scientific evidence to back up their assertions.
The correct response to bad troll bait ideas is not to shame people for having opinions we don’t like, but to present more facts showing that they are wrong. This is how we kept the SACD article under control, since the evidence shows that people cannot distinguish CD quality audio from a wire.
What about the 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter
One issue the linked article brings up is the 2011 Dear Colleague letter.
To summarize, in 2011 Joe Biden wrote a letter telling universities that they need to take away due process rights for men accused of rape. To wit, this letter which is considered an example of “feminization” was written by a man.
My boots on the ground experience is that shaming behavior is something both men and women do, and, if anything, women will be more forgiving, understanding, and empathetic when someone has done something socially unacceptable than a man would be.
Footnote
1: This article and the speech it’s based on is currently viral in conservative circles, as can be seen here, here, or here.