Zuckerberg, Polarity and Feminist Outrage

I am an executive-level female leader and I agree with Mark Zuckerberg’s comments on masculine energy in the workplace. In this episode, I explain why!

A few weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg went on Joe Rogan’s podcast and in the course of their long conversation, Zuckerberg made some comments about how workplaces have become “culturally neutered” and argued that we need more masculine energy and specifically more aggression in the workplace.

Cue feminist outrage.

The response to Zuckerberg’s comments was swift and brutal, ranging from earnest academic concern about the rise of toxic masculinity, to outright derision and contempt.

I was left scratching my head and wondering if the (mostly female) journalists writing these scathing articles had actually bothered to listen to the whole conversation, or just taken soundbites out of context?

In this episode, I explain the context behind Zuckerberg’s comments. The parts where he acknowledges the historical suppression of women, and argues for both masculine and feminine energies to be more honoured in the workplace. In fact, he’s talking about polarity, which is central to my leadership teachings.

There is a spiky and somewhat confrontational aspect to this conversation, which is that if you as a woman are triggered by strident expressions of masculinity - if you are offended by traits such as competitiveness and wanting to win - then chances are, you are probably not fully embodied in your own feminine power. If you are fully empowered as a woman, then healthy, archetypal masculinity doesn’t feel threatening.

We unpack why the outrage is unhelpful and reframe the rise of the “brosphere” from a perspective of curiosity. Asking, how did we arrive in this place where men like Donald Trump and Elon Musk are ruling our society? How can we better understand the appeal of these leaders particularly to men? How did we as feminists create the space for this current cultural moment?

If you are a woman interested in leadership, I believe these are very empowering and impactful questions to be asking.

If you’re interested in polarity teachings, I have recorded a number of other podcast episodes in Season 1 unpacking similar themes. You might also like to check out my free 3 part training series, the De-Armoured Leader which introduces 3 pillars of next-gen feminine leadership: Vulnerability, Polarity and Embodiment. It’s available at www.madeleineeliza.com/leader

And, you can also find me on Instagram @bhakti.lab

Thanks for listening and if this resonates, please remember to rate and review the show and share the episode with a friend who might enjoy it!