Puritan societies are for some reason taken without much thought to be male-dominated, anti-female, misogynist and so on.

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But is this really so simple?

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Puritan societies are typically taken to mean societies that restrict human behavior, especially related to fun and sex, that require discipline from its members, and that foster deep religious commitment. They often look down on homosexuality and prohibit drugs and alcohol, although this varies from one society to another.

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Well, what exactly is "pro-male" and "anti-female" here???

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Let's go through the list:

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  1. Restriction of fun - is this worse for women? Do women love fun and partying more than men?

  2. Restriction of sexual enjoyment - this usually means probihition of non-committal sex, discouragement of sex for fun and strict monogamy (or limited polygamy as in Islam). What exactly is pro-male and anti-female? Do women love sex more than men? Do women love non-committal sex more than men? Do women suffer more if sex is limited to reproduction?

  3. Strict discipline - how does this help men? Are men naturally the more disciplined sex? Do men fall in line or do men rather prefer to push boundaries, do crazy shit and get in trouble with authorities?

  4. Deep religious commitment - is this pro-male? Maybe we can say that if a religion is male-dominated, strict religiousity may be in men's favor. But this is all very speculative. Women have been found to be at least as religious as men. Many atheists today are very embarrassed to find that very few women frequent their gatherings.

  5. Prohibition of homosexuality - is this pro-male? Well, both Islam today and Christianity in the old days punished MALE homosexuality far more than female homosexuality.

  6. Prohibition of alcohol and drugs - is this pro-male? Does this affect women more than men? Do women love drinking more than men do?