The most important feature of the Longhouse, and why it makes such a resonant (and controversial) symbol of our current circumstances, is the ubiquitous rule of the Den Mother.
More than anything, the Longhouse refers to the remarkable overcorrection of the last two generations toward social norms centering feminine needs and feminine methods for controlling, directing, and modeling behavior. Many from left, right, and center have made note of this shift. In 2010, Hanna Rosin announced "
The End of Men."
Hillary Clinton made it a slogan of her 2016 campaign: "The future is female." She was correct.
As of 2022, women held
52 percent of professional-managerial roles in the U.S. Women earn more than
57 percent of bachelor degrees, 61 percent of master's degrees, and 54 percent of doctoral degrees.
And because they are overrepresented in professions, such as human resource management (
73 percent) and compliance officers (57 percent), that determine workplace behavioral norms,
they have an outsized influence on professional culture, which itself has an outsized influence on American culture more generally.