Conservative essay blames women for Western decline — and NYT pushes back

NYT columnist David French responded to Helen Andrews’ viral speech claiming women have “destroyed Western civilization.” Andrews argued that the growing presence of women in leadership, academia, and law has “feminized” culture, replacing rationality and competition with empathy and safety.

Source The New York Times

French counters that empathy is not a weakness but a vital component of moral reasoning. He notes that history’s bloodiest wars and oppressive systems were driven by male aggression, not female compassion. The so-called “feminization of society,” he writes, reflects progress toward inclusion, not decline.

Ultimately, French concludes that the West’s strength lies in balance — reason and emotion, masculinity and femininity. He warns that right-wing nostalgia for a “lost masculine world” is rooted not in truth but in fear of equality and change.