Well, this is a quite complex topic. Actually, it isn't, nothing is, but talking from a conceptual box, it is. So, I guess we'd have to discuss this over a couple of coffees.
Do you think there's an emerging social context?
Well, kind of, although I think it's just humanity. Increasingly I've started to acknowledge that almost everything we do, almost everything we say, almost all our views are exactly that, views, with a small twist, though. Per se, views aren't problematic. I can't quote right now but lots of Zen masters had views on stuff like what's the most convenient way to practice, who's a "good friend" and who's a faux-teacher and so on. I personally think that views, are just a tool. However, nowadays people seem to greatly value their views and have apparently lost the ability to reconsider them. Now, coming back to your question, what I do see is that the unrealistic social and personal expectations people hold in the 'first-world' and the increasingly alienated 'third-world' are leaving most of the population with a feeling that they are empty. I for example, couldn't give a peanut about it, all I am, I'm not, all I have, I have not and I just spend my days like a 'zombie' trying to kill my ego moment after moment, thinking literally about "what drags this body around?". So, I don't give a hut about social expectations and how good or bad I fulfill them, I just work, dance, eat, sleep as I see fit and go back to "what drags this body around?". The people we're talking about, however, they have bought the whole story, they feel the need to be not empty, they have believed that they have to be someone, whatever it is that would characterize that someone. So, if you're broke, like most the population, uneducated, like most the population even the 'educated' ones, depressed, like most the population, but you nonetheless have believed that you must find the someone who you are, you're up for a hell of a ride. That's where you find people with extreme views. That's where you find people who actively try to find a small piece of truth, however insignificant, however illusory, they find that fucker and you can bet, they will kling to it, kling damn hard.
So, although I'm not in the USA, I can't help but find this whole fight of femininity versus masculinity, which this actually is about, both stupid and sad. Stupid because as I said at the beginning that whole mess is just ideas, useless ideas, people ruminating their own brains seeking for some truth in which to find some comfort. Sad because as with any idea one clings to, life shows us the reality-value of such ideas sooner or later and at that point you can bet those in the ship will be miserable. If I put my box-thinker hat, society today is too complex. You have people in the liberal church, your have people in the conservative church, you have people in the free-market church, you have people in the feminist church, and so on. As with any church, all of them get their share of the pie at some point, but also as with any church they are sooner or later burnt by those left out. So, I don't advocate anything, I don't see anything, the only thing I ask people when they drag me into such discussions is "why do you think this way?" That seems to start a process of self-introspection with most people, which I do think is the only way, again box-hat, 'forward for society'. But no, people are just being people, an idea coming from a liberal is a liberidea and an idea coming from a conservative is a conservidea, both deserving to be destroyed by their counterparts. On the gender side of things, people have been polarizing society for so long, so hard, that I guess they have no idea what's coming to them, social meltdown. One can fuck with the economy, with education, with politics, but when one isolates people, which is what all this battles achieve more so the 'gender' discussion, you're up for a hell of a party. Humans hate being isolated, most of us behave like mice over an iron plate when isolated. So, what I suppose we will get, is a stronger version of what we already have, a society where everyone distrusts everyone, everyone hates everyone, and everyone is oppressed. And since being opppressed is o fashionable, everyone will be opressed, everyone will distrust someone, everyone will hate someone and everyone will be, well, what else? depressed. takes box-thinking hat off, but you and I know that I don't really care, I just go about my day trying not to shove what I think onto anyone. I specially don't care, because the aftermath will be the "lets fix society" church and then everything will start over. As I said, drink tea, enjoy friends, family and meditate.
What do you see?
People being people.