Ah... Elle Beau, an intriguing Medium writer, I must say - and an orthodox feminist. Fiercely admired by fellow feminists, savagely feared by their opponents. Any Medium writer using the term "dominance hierarchy" is probably one of her disciples.

I have had two extraordinarily long conversations with her. The first one began seven years ago. The comment where I acquired the title of "Good-Natured Curmudgeon was near the end of the second. Both extended over a period of around six months.

There are two things I learned during those conversations. One is that Elle Beau tries to provoke her adversary to descend into personally insulting her, thus derailing any cogent challenges to her orthodox positions. Here is where she tried to do that to me in our first conversation:

https://ellebeauworld.medium.com/i-cant-have-a-real-discussion-with-someone-lost-in-their-victim-oriented-bro-flake-world-so-i-m-651097cc579c

She was unsuccessful, as you can see by reading my response. I am unprovokable.

The other important lesson is to carefully read the documents she cites to support her position. In some cases, the research she cited did not fully support her claims, sometimes not at all.

She accused me of being a "guy with some opinions."

https://ellebeauworld.medium.com/im-a-social-scientist-with-20-years-of-study-in-this-field-and-a-fuck-ton-of-expertise-be1c521ac9b#:~:text=guy%20with%20some%20opinions

My response to that was, "True, but they are not all my opinions." I went on to list the renowned experts I had cited.

https://estwald.medium.com/warning-dont-read-this-comment-e7579b6d4535#:~:text=True%2C%20but%20they%20are%20not%20all%20my%20opinions.

She probably doesn't block me because I rarely engage with her. Other than our first conversation, which I initiated by challenging her explanation of "toxic masculinity,"

https://estwald.medium.com/toxic-masculinity-is-a-term-that-feminists-apply-to-men-whose-conduct-thoughts-and-6b36da38ae57

I have never otherwise challenged anything she wrote. If she wishes not to engage with me, she can do so by ignoring me. Also, we seem to have a personal affinity for each other, despite our disagreeing on significant issues.

I have to agree with your skepticism about the social sciences. Research seems to be interpreted around whatever the current social orthodoxy happens to be. Some activists make some claim and subsequent research just happens to back them up.

I appreciate your reading and commenting. Your feedback is appreciated.