I think that the amount of opportunities to display masculinity (in a useful way) has shrunk. That has been true ever since we moved off of family farms (where

I think that the amount of opportunities to display masculinity (in a useful way) has shrunk. That has been true ever since we moved off of family farms (where the man did visibly useful work by working on the farm - work that the woman could not do). I think that's what started the re-negotiation of the balance of the sexes, and we're still digesting through that (~150 years later). The other opportunities for masculinity: war, times of conflict, times when people are afraid, etc. The more that people feel "safe", the more the male identity as a protector is diminished.