How Women Tricked Men into Doing All the Work While Still Playing the Victim (Forbidden History)
Episode script. Originally published 2026-05-05 at https://basedcamppodcast.substack.com/p/how-women-tricked-men-into-doing
Techno-Puritan editorial context: This is a supplementary episode, not a tract. It is a discussion of the historical and cross-cultural division of labour between the sexes rather than Techno-Puritan doctrine; its provocative title is the episode's own.
In this eye-opening Based Camp episode, Malcolm and Simone Collins dismantle one of the biggest historical myths pushed by both feminists and modern “trad” circles: the idea that women historically stayed home doing minimal work while men did everything.
Using cross-cultural evidence from hunter-gatherer societies, medieval Europe, Vikings, Spartans, ultra-Orthodox Jews, Islamic traditions, Africa, Latin America, India, China, Japan, and colonial America — plus genetic evidence from modern birds — they reveal the real division of labor: women handled the majority of reliable, grueling calorie production, farming (pre-plow), management, textiles, marketing, and household economy, while men focused on high-risk, high-reward activities like warfare, raiding, politics, and innovation.
They introduce the “Sword and Shield” model of relationships and explain how the industrial era, plow, and wage labor flipped traditional dynamics. A must-watch for anyone interested in real history, gender roles, and escaping modern cultural brainwashing.