We Must Be More Mindful of the Fragile Male Ego
Are women getting blowback because they've sissyfied the workplace and made men miserable? The Zuck thinks so.
GOODNESS GRACIOUS. I HAD NO IDEA how horribly women have been treating men in the workplace. It’s true, women have been awfully uppity – constantly harping for pay parity, equal opportunities, recognition, respect, and whatnot. And because they haven’t reached those goals, they won’t shut up.
But what about the men who’ve patiently put up with these demands? What about their feelings? Put yourself in their shoes. They’ve already generously shared slivers of the pie, yet women seem to always want more. And how annoying women are always calling men out for bullying, harassing, or some other kind of egregious act when these behaviors are simple facts of corporate life. Honestly, how much can men take?
Ladies, we have been so insensitive to the male ego! Thankfully, Mark Zuckerberg is setting us straight.
After announcing that Meta would be trashing fact checkers, the Zuck dashed over to Joe Rogan’s studio to tell the world what truly ills corporate America: the suppression of masculinity. In a nearly three-hour podcast (sorry, I didn’t listen to the whole thing), the Meta CEO lamented: ”I think a lot of the corporate world is pretty culturally neutered.”
Make America Macho Again (MAMA). His solution: Make America Macho Again (MAMA). “Masculine energy is good, and obviously, society has plenty of that, but I think corporate culture was really trying to get away from it,” Zuckerberg told Rogan, adding, “I think having a culture that celebrates the aggression a bit more has its own merits that are really positive.”
And how does the Zuck personally celebrate aggression? Martial arts and getting together “with my guy friends” to “beat each other a bit.” He also waxed poetic about hunting wild pigs with bows and arrows (more challenging than a rifle) at his ranch in Hawaii, calling it much more satisfying “than, you know … sitting in product reviews or something for some, like, piece of software that we’re writing.”
Unbridled male aggression on the jiu-jitsu mat or in the confines of a beachfront ranch – go for it! But how does this translate to the workplace? Brawls in the hallways of Meta offices around the world? Food fights in the cafeteria? Squid Game competitions to determine promotions? Gladiator fights at the annual picnic? I, for one, am excited about the possibilities.
Alas, the most tangible display of Zuckerberg’s male aggression so far is ordering that tampon dispensers be ripped off the walls of men's washrooms at Meta. (That’ll show them: Real men don’t bleed!)
Eau de Dweeb. Of all the lame dudes now vying for the mantle of masculinity, Zuck might be the lamest. Forgive me for being so harsh, but I don’t think he’s a prime specimen of virility. He’s tentative, unsteady, ungenuine—the opposite of what’s considered masculine energy. If he were a scent, it’d be eau de dweeb.
He’s the third richest person and one of the most powerful forces in the world, yet he’s telling us that he too is a victim of female oppression in the workplace. Just to set the record straight, men make up 65% of Meta’s executives and 56% of its overall workforce, as of the end of 2023, according to seo.ai.
It would be news to women that they’re somehow taking over corporate America, since they only comprise 10.4% of CEOs in the Fortune 500. Consider, too, these findings from the 2024 McKinsey/Lean In study:
Women make up only 29% of C-suite positions. (Women of color represent 7% of C-suite positions.)
White men are the most represented at every level of leadership
Sexual harassment remains commonplace (40% of working women said they’ve experienced it.)
Now for the really fun findings: Men are twice as likely to say their gender will hurt their advancement chances. What’s more, younger men are the least devoted to the idea of gender equality. How’s that for male allyship?
You could say that Zuckerberg is onto something: tapping a strain of male resentment. He’s articulating what some male leaders, and perhaps men generally, think about the influence of women on workplace culture – that they’ve made it too accommodating, too touchy-feely, too girly-girl. Maybe that’s why there’s now a nostalgia for rigidity when everyone marched into the office five days a week, men had stay-at-home wives, and testosterone thickened the air.
When in doubt, throw her under the bus. It also seems fashionable to blame female professionals — which is what Zuckerberg is doing too. In a conversation with Trump loyalist and sexual matador Stephen Miller, recently reported by the New York Times, Zuckerberg blamed Sheryl Sandberg, his erstwhile chief corporate officer, for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion — a bugaboo of the new administration. In particular, he faulted her for a DEI initiative at Facebook (now Meta) that encouraged employees to “bring your whole self to work.”
It was a cheap shot. But it also seemed personal. You have to wonder if his ego is still bruised because Sandberg stole his thunder during her 14-year tenure at the company. Not only did she become a feminist icon (for a while) with her book Lean In and her TED talk exhorting women to be more assertive at work, but she was perceived as the far more sophisticated, polished, and attractive one of the duo. And the adult.
(After getting blowback for throwing Sandberg under the bus, he backpedaled — predictably. “Sheryl did amazing work at Meta and will forever be a legend in the industry,” Zuckerberg wrote on Threads.)
What a slimy worm. Indeed, some of my friends think I’m wrong to give him any airtime — as if he’d evaporate if we just ignored him. But let’s be real: He’s powerful and influential, and the policies he sets will have consequences beyond Meta.
Mr. and Mrs. Zuckerman. Still, I’m curious: Is Zuckerberg just riding the Trumpian macho wave or does he really believe in all this baloney?
Far be it for me to guess, but I can’t imagine he’s getting away with it at home. His wife Priscilla Chan, whom he met at Harvard College, is a pediatrician who seems pretty independent. In fact, Zuckerberg appears to be quite the doting hubby, commissioning a rather imposing (scary?) seven-foot statue of his wife.
In the end, he’s just an insecure soul, trying to join the “cool” bros in Trump’s orbit (e.g., Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — number one and two, respectively, on the world’s richest list). “He is a geek who was probably unpopular in high school,” sums up one of my friends. “He needs a Lauren Sanchez [Bezos’s main squeeze] to feel good about himself.” Or maybe a rocket ship.
Related post: Why Can’t Mark Zuckerberg Be a Better Man?
In other news:
Worth a read: David Lat’s personal account of the rise and fall of Tom Goldstein, the founder of the SCOTUSblog. Fascinating and sad.
Worth a peak: Gallup’s ethics rating on professions. Let’s just say I picked two professions not held in the highest esteem: journalism and lawyering.
Contact: chen.vivia@gmail.com
Spot on. He is a sad, sad little man.
Interesting times that we live in. I find it very confusing to navigate the current society - from gender roles, to (fe)male egos, to childrearing. I haven't quite been able to put my finger on who I want to follow and who inspires me. I need to do more reading and digging. What I do know is that what I see doesn't inspire me. Thanks for your article - it gets my creative juices flowing! :D