March Essay Competition

March 9 — March 22, 2026,

Prompt

The average man, regardless of creed, family background, religion, personal convictions, or social, economic, or marital status, will always feel threatened or intimidated by a successful, strong, independent woman.

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Creases In The Blueprint: Crisis of The Average Man

By Keziah Anyanwu

March 15, 2026 · 973 words · 5 min read

For centuries, the subjugation of women through religion and culture has been normalized. Comfortable on the hierarchy, the average man is desensitized, and has dehumanized women in his worldview. This means that when a woman takes back her personhood, that worldview is shaken. Afterall, that is what those adjectives denote[1]. A taking-back of personhood. “A successful, strong, independent” woman is just a woman with rights, and choice, existing without the sphere of a man’s imposed authority, within her autonomy.The average man, due to this pervasive worldview he was born into, suffers from a sense of entitlement; an entitlement that has (d)evolved into something dangerous, often deadly[2]. This manifests in the belief that he is only useful in the provider-protector role, and as such, an automatic leader in every situation. So, when he meets a woman who does not need to rely–solely–on him for these things, he begins to have a sort of identity crisis. Ironically, however, the average man would be vehement in his disagreement with the notion that he has been conditioned to be, and is in fact, intimidated by a woman in charge of herself, much less in charge of anything else. This intimidation coupled with its denial culminates in a specific type of hatred–misogyny. Social conditioning[3] is indeed so powerful, considering it has been on for millennia, that anything differing from the norm will be looked upon as a threat; a threat to the very sense of self, and to the fabric of the world. With the patriachy being the blueprint, a woman is expected to be a man’s, and when a woman deviates from this, by choosing herself, she becomes a crease on the blueprint, a bad role model [4].One can see this in every facet where women had to wrest the rights to from their oppressors: politics, education, sports, science, career, health. Take the case of Kathrine Switzer[6], viciously harassed by officials. Take a look at the current world power. This is the reason why they would rather vote for a literal criminal over a woman. Opinions on social media[5] revealed something similar back home in Nigeria. Can one not interpret this curious behaviour as being threatened? As far as nipping success in the bud goes, take the crime scene of Afghanistan[7]. Throughout history are men blatantly stealing and taking credit for women’s work[8]. Among these are Rosalind Franklin’s discovery of the double helix DNA, Ada Lovelace’s computer genius, Alice Ball’s cure for leprosy and Zelda Fitzgerald’s literary prowess [9]. In contemporary times, men, as a social class, are as blind as they are privileged; blind to a reality where a woman has choice, and ability. They view this reality, this other worldview, as an anomaly. They despise women in leadership positions, because it is “unnatural”, belittle degrees gotten by women, and try to “slow a woman down”[10] by getting her pregnant. They seem to feel emasculated by a woman’s exploits. This pivots into an inquiry into the etymology[11] of that word, and how this connects to the identity crisis theory.Conveniently, religions favour the average man, further securing his place in an oppressive hierarchy. It was shockingly recent that the writer found that the concept of submission in marriage was strictly religious, more specifically Christian. Men want it to mean a complete overturn of a woman’s will (name and personhood) to her husband, and despite this being meant to be taken only in the context of marriage, seem to also want to have this extended over all the other women in their lives. Why this desperation for control? This is a systemic cancer, and the writer wonders how many more centuries before the unlearning and relearning can do anything to heal it, or if, at all, it can be healed. The average man is like a selfish child. He enjoys his privilege, and is unwilling to give it up–without understanding that letting a woman into her wings does not mean giving up his own privilege. 1. A man does not need these adjectives because he is, by default, viewed as such. If he bemoans his “responsibility” to be, he should understand that these are expectations placed on him by a society in which he is inherently more privileged. 2. The case of Radhika Yadav who was killed by her own father. <a href="https://www.espn.ph/tennis/story/_/id/45714551/indian-tennis-player-radhika-yadav-shot-dead-father" target="_self">https://www.espn.ph/tennis/story/_/id/45714551/indian-tennis-player-radhika-yadav-shot-dead-father</a>3. The average person is less perceptive of this sociological process. (Read more on the Wikipedia article, including Herd Instinct and how much stronger than Socialization this concept is: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_conditioning" target="_self">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_conditioning</a>).4. Traditionally, a woman is meant to proffer to her husband’s will, hence whatever society considers “modern” is seen as an unlawful bargain. Furthermore, an unmarried woman, existing outside of a man’s sphere of influence (neither father nor husband), is a pariah. This alienation can very well be interpreted as a response to a threat to a certain worldview. 5. Social media is an excellent trove for anthropological studies. Take the replies and quotes on this tweet: <a href="https://x.com/PDPRepublic/status/2026004757672870241" target="_self">https://x.com/PDPRepublic/status/2026004757672870241</a>6. <a href="https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/athletics/news/29175/12475824/kathrine-switzer-first-woman-to-officially-run-boston-marathon-on-the-iconic-moment-she-was-attacked-by-the-race-organiser" target="_self">https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/athletics/news/29175/12475824/kathrine-switzer-first-woman-to-officially-run-boston-marathon-on-the-iconic-moment-she-was-attacked-by-the-race-organiser</a>7. Horrifying, and important, to note that the nefarious ban on education and stampede on the rights of the girl child in that country increases child marriage rates. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/new-school-year-starts-afghanistan-almost-400000-more-girls-deprived-their-right" target="_self">https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/new-school-year-starts-afghanistan-almost-400000-more-girls-deprived-their-right</a>8. This phenomenon is known as The Matilda effect: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_effect" target="_self">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_effect</a>Some of these men acknowledged the injustice, if briefly, but were ultimately comfortable with receiving accolades ahead of these women. Can this pervasive bias not find its root in intimidation – and its denial? 9. <a href="https://historycollection.com/women-who-had-their-work-stolen-from-them-by-men" target="_self">https://historycollection.com/women-who-had-their-work-stolen-from-them-by-men</a>10. This can be linked with a form of domestic violence known as Reproductive Coercion, often observed when it comes to married career women. Take this anonymous post: <a href="https://x.com/Jemeelahh_/status/1992518942179672539" target="_self">https://x.com/Jemeelahh_/status/1992518942179672539</a>11. Originating from the Latin verb form emasculatus, e means “out of”, and masculus means “male”. Used in a figurative sense (here), the word “emasculate” describes a symbolic reduction of a man’s power, confidence or traditional masculinity. When a man whose worth is tied to the assigned provider-protector role meets a self-sufficient woman, an eroding of that worth occurs. (Read more: <a href="https://www.strikemagazines.com/blog-2-1/are-men-afraid-of-independent-women#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20principal%20reasons,for%20her%20this%20way" target="_self">https://www.strikemagazines.com/blog-2-1/are-men-afraid-of-independent-women#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20principal%20reasons,for%20her%20this%20way</a>.)