Clara noted the physical differences in her classmates as school started. Initially she was alarmed at the number of men meandering in the halls with the students but she quickly realized that they were students too. The rapid male puberty took boys into manhood in the course of a few years and the process was just as awkward and disorienting as she hoped it would be.
Guys grouped into small clusters and shrunk into the walls. Their bodies were on display, wearing only underwear, for all to see. Men weren't seen as weaker, but simply, less capable. It was common knowledge that women's strengths were overwhelming, just not physical. Patience, compassion, empathy, and multitasking were just a few of the area's women dominated. The new male biology didn't help men's cause in this case, but it also wasn't meant to...
Mrs. Wagner began class, "Can anyone tell me WHY men are so different from women?"
"They developed to be better suited to protect the home." Casey said.
"Yes but what does that mean? Or more specifically, how is that the case?" Mrs. Wagner prodded.
"Well men are strong, to ward off immediate threats while women are cunning to avoid threats in the first place." Dana commented.
"Yes Dana, can anyone add to that?" Mrs. Wagner encouraged.
"Well, in ancient times, women went out hunting and stalked prey from afar, rather than killing it right away they tracked it back to its home to get lots of food rather than only one animal. Also creatures were captured and domesticated rather than being immediately slaughtered. This was initially challenging but ultimately paid off many times over. The men were left at home to take care of the house and do the chores, they were only called in for the heavy lifting, so men grew strong while women are just plain smarter." Colleen commented.
The men in the class winced, "Colleen, we recognize the contributions of men and women. Without men protecting the family and household, women couldn't go out and build the traps to capture the wild animals without fear of being injured, or discover medicines, or build our thriving and wonderful society." Mrs. Wagner said.
Clara's mouth was agape as she watched the exchange. None of the boys did more than hold their heads down and look at their books. Society was female based and men were in the supporting role. Expectations of men were to stay home, raise the kids, and protect the house... The expectation was that men were pretty close to stupid, and couldn't handle much more than the simplest of tasks and definitely not more than one thing at a time. When brute force was needed, men were called in but beyond that, they were servants and caretakers striving to be useful.
Instead of home ec class there was Home Operations... a class entirely dedicated to understanding how the house operated. Wells vs city water, septic systems vs sewer replacing a dishwasher/basic plumbing, it also taught recipes and nutrition... how to best take care of your Woman and family.
The current hot topic was Men not being vasectimized at 18 which was the societal norm. Unplanned pregnancies aren't a thing, and are considered a failure on the man's part to properly disable his sperm... It is highly looked down upon in society.