Ladies, beware of herd mentality

I was drawn to Olive's blog primarily because of her concerted effort to distance herself from negative influences which prevent her from achieving her goals in life. I am a big fan of that.

In her recent series of posts "The quest for supportive friends" she describes in vivid detail why a certain friend or other was a bad influence on her, particularly in the dating environment.

All these friends (so far) have been other women.

One thing I have learned from the godfathers of the Manosphere is the concept of Women and their herd mentality.
I had never heard of this before.

I mean, I knew vaguely of the importance of 'the herd'. In the field of immunisation, for example, the principle of herd immunity is exploited to good effect.

But with educated eyes, I soon discovered evidence of 'the herd' all around me.

Women go around in packs much more than men. In a social setting, several women will leave for the bathroom together even if one or several of them do not need to go. Men will go one at a time.

Women tend to have many friends. Most men are solitary creatures.

'The herd' serves a useful biological purpose for women. In hunter-gatherer times, women stayed together for support (mutually free babysitting needs got fulfilled, for example), communication (if all the men were out hunting who would listen to her talk all day but the other women in the community?) and emotional connectivity (ditto). It was a great opportunity also for older women to pass on advice and tips to younger women (sadly today a lost art). The system worked very well.

In modern times, we have kept up this tradition of sorts and for the most part, it works.
What woman hasn't revelled in the support and building up that only her friends can provide in the aftermath of a catastrophic event in her life (read: aka boyfriend trouble)?

I am all for 'the herd'.

Except for two things.

Firstly, as Olive explains, the herd can lead a woman so far off the beaten track she is practically out of the woods altogether.

Some women are more savvy than others. Years of feminism has resulted in women competing with each other for men and not the other way round as in previous generations. Some women play dirty. They deliberately sabotage the efforts of their sisters in the dating game.

Beware who is in your herd. Distance yourself from those who are not helping your cause. Any source of conflict with your best interests will result in a state of cognitive dissonance within you. Eliminate internal conflict.

 Secondly, herd mentality in women can be used against them on a much wider scale than a few bitchy friends.

Think feminism.

The effects of feminism have been much worse on women than on men.
This is because women pass on 'messages' to each other much more effectively than men, precisely because they are good communicators. To use cell biology analogy, men could be described as distinct cells whilst women could be seen more as the 'gap junctions' or cell membranes that make cells 'stick together' and communicate effectively with one another.

As women go, so goes society.
Because feminism was so successful at getting into the mindset of women, the consequences became disproportionately widespread.
This is why feminism is not just a western disease. Even remote parts of the world are subject to its effects as long as its women are reachable by some means or other.
Paradoxically, any effective measure to reverse the effects of feminism would essentially have to rely on this same herd mentality.

Think Pick Up Artistry (PUA).

The seedier aspect of PUA exploits this potential 'flaw' in women. In both ways.
This is why concepts such as 'negging' particularly when executed in the presence of other women works so well. The woman needs to feel part of the herd - if a trait of hers which deviates from the herd's modus operandi is reproached, in front of the herd, she feels a deep sense of isolation. She does not want to be isolated, so she conforms.
A good example: 'all your friends are sleeping with guys on the first date - why won't you? What's wrong with you?'
In the other way herd mentality can be exploited, a skilled PUA understands the need to actually isolate a woman from the herd: her support mechanism needs to be eliminated if she is to be effectively manipulated.

The herd can be a useful and marvellous tool for women.
Ladies, use it to your advantage.
Beware of the risks therof.