Podcast Summary

Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning with Sasha Stone

Episode Title: Did The Great Feminization Cause The Great Awokening?
Release Date: October 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking solo episode, host Sasha Stone explores the provocative thesis that “The Great Feminization” of Western culture directly led to “The Great Awokening”—the rise of wokeness and cancel culture. Drawing extensively from Helen Andrews’ Compact Magazine essay and subsequent book, Stone examines the intersection of gendered behavioral norms, social and political shifts, and the crisis of masculinity. The episode is a blend of personal reflection, social commentary, and cultural analysis.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Great Feminization Thesis

• Stone introduces Helen Andrews’ argument:
  • “Cancel culture is simply what women do whenever there are enough of them in a given organization or field. That is the Great Feminization thesis… Everything you think of as wokeness is simply an epiphenomenon of demographic feminization.”
    — Sacha Stone quoting Helen Andrews [00:27]
• Wokeness and its patterns (empathy, safety, cohesion) mirror female social norms that have become dominant as women entered fields traditionally led by men.
• Stone identifies parallels in survey data:
  • “71% of men said protecting free speech was more important than preserving a cohesive society, and 59% of women said the opposite.” [01:32]
• The “epidemic” of wokeness is not necessarily rooted in ideology, but in the demographic and behavioral influence of women.

Quote:
“Wokeness is not a new ideology, an outgrowth of Marxism, or a result of post-Obama disillusionment. It is simply feminine patterns of behavior applied to institutions where women were few in number until recently.”
— Sacha Stone quoting Helen Andrews [00:50]

2. Cultural Shifts and Cancel Culture

• Stone recalls Tumblr (circa 2013) as a starting point of cancel culture, originating with young girls enforcing conformity and control [03:25].
• The feminization thesis helps explain why cancel culture flourished and why social justice narratives often center emotional narratives, safetyism, and moral signaling.

3. Empowerment and the Role of Advertising

• The shift in corporate America from targeting women for practical purposes to targeting them for empowerment (as seen in ads for Pantene, Always) [06:17–07:52].
• Stone debates whether such marketing is genuinely empowering or simply another form of pandering.
• Critiques the “mixing of social issues with selling products,” noting it shapes both consumer habits and self-conception.

Quote:
“I feel like even if it is like a publicity thing, not only is that happening, but it’s also helping with like women’s self esteem and empowerment.”
— Sasha Stone [07:38]

4. Generational Dynamics and Political Fallout

• Women, increasingly empowered post-Oprah era, expected more social and political wins (e.g., Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid) [08:00–09:00].
• The disappointment post-2016 led to further entrenchment of feminist and woke ideologies, especially among white liberal women.
• Societal shifts have led to boys and men feeling disempowered or lost:
  • “I watched how boys ... came of age in a society that punished them for who they were, and many of them wander around aimlessly. Or they become mass shooters, or they suffer lives of quiet desperation.” [04:34]

5. The Crisis of Masculinity and the Rise of Trump

• Stone connects Trump’s political victory and appeal to his unapologetic masculinity, in contrast to Obama’s more feminized leadership style:
  • “Barack Obama was not [an unapologetic masculine man]. He was a sensitive, empathetic man … If the end result of that was a feminization of society, then Trump is the response to it.” [09:00]
• References her own satirical “Make America Masculine Again” ad riffing on this dynamic [11:20].

Quote:
“Let’s make it okay to be a real man again. Are you with me, ladies? Because let’s face it, we’ve seen what a culture without men looks like, and it’s not very fun.”
— Sasha Stone [11:44]

6. Crossover with Race and Emotional Manipulation

• Stone argues that understanding wokeness as feminization “removes any discussion of race” and reveals virtue signaling by white women as the real driver of woke culture [15:26].

7. Extreme Examples: Mass Hysteria and Online Vitriol

• To illustrate the intensity of feminized woke discourse, Stone plays a sample TikTok rant filled with polarizing, emotionally charged language attacking a political figure [16:14–18:22].
• Suggests this mass hysteria is the result of emotional power tactics traditionally associated with women being institutionalized.

8. Solutions and Looking Ahead

• Stone questions whether the changes can be reversed (“How do we stop it? How do we change it? I’m not sure it can be fixed.”) [18:22]
• Cites Helen Andrews’ suggestion that a return to meritocracy could “take care of itself.” [18:52]
• The “Fourth Turning” context: Trump as the “grey champion” restoring a lost masculine balance in society [12:00, 19:00].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[Cancel culture] is simply what women do whenever there are enough of them in a given organization or field.”
  – Helen Andrews, read by Sasha Stone [00:27]
• “Wokeness really did mark a significant departure in how our institutions function.”
  – Cindy Hsu [13:57]
• “We have lost something. If history departments become feminized, ... the institutions just don’t work as well.”
  – Helen Andrews [14:44]
• “[Trump] is an unapologetic, heterosexual, masculine man. ... If the end result of [Obama] was a feminization of society, then Trump is the response to it.”
  – Sasha Stone [09:38]
• “The only identity group not allowed is masculine, heterosexual men.”
  – Sasha Stone [02:18]
• “How did we think it would turn out?”
  – Sasha Stone [03:34]
• “I lived all of this because I am, or was, the typical female liberal.”
  – Sasha Stone [05:00]
• “How else to explain it? Listen to this woman who is straight out of central casting for the kinds of women who control the left and thus society.”
  – Sasha Stone [16:02]
• “We must build anew. Build outside of what is in place. Now, we’re halfway there already.”
  – Sasha Stone [18:40]
• “Thank you, Beyonce.”
  – Sasha Stone [24:43]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–02:00 – Introduction to the feminization thesis and its key arguments
• 03:25–04:35 – Rise of cancel culture via Tumblr and social media
• 06:17–08:00 – Corporate empowerment campaigns and gendered marketing
• 09:00–09:55 – 2016, the Hillary loss, the “Oprah generation” and political fallout
• 11:20–12:00 – Satirical “Make America Masculine Again” ad
• 13:57–15:12 – Helen Andrews’ and Cindy Hsu’s discussion on institutional feminization
• 16:14–18:22 – Extreme online woke rhetoric illustrated via TikTok rant
• 18:22–19:08 – Reflections on solutions and the prospect of renewal
• 20:26–24:43 – Beyoncé/Oprah segment on female empowerment in culture

Additional Highlights

• Stone’s personal journey: Describes the sense of isolation from other women for not going along with the dominant culture (“Why am I not behaving like all the other women by obeying the rules of Woketopia?” [02:55])
• Impact on the next generation:
  • She explains her motivation as a parent to critique these trends, hoping to carve a freer path for her daughter [04:50]
• Reflections on aging and femininity:
  • Stone analyzes how new feminist narratives attempt to erase the discomfort of aging and loss of sexual currency for women [08:30–09:00]
• The cultural exhaustion:
  • Hollywood and pop culture, she claims, have become “more boring and dreary” as a result of feminization [02:22]
• Blurring virtues and consumerism:
  • The lines between social progress, branding, and commerce are examined critically [06:40–07:38]

Summary Conclusion

In this dense, controversial monologue, Sasha Stone contends that the rise of “wokeness” stems primarily from the demographic and behavioral feminization of American institutions and culture. She argues that this drives conformity, emotional manipulation, and the decline of traditional masculine virtues, and has led—ironically and inevitably—to Donald Trump’s resurgence as a cultural counterweight. Stone blends empirical data, cultural criticism, autobiography, and satire to advocate for a renewal of meritocracy and masculinity in society, while warning that present trends may continue unless actively countered.

For more: www.sashastone.com