Until very recently it was an unexamined assumption that the (straight, white) male was the essential human and all others were defined by their deviation from that norm. The current "embrace of diversity" in academia is still really only a fashionable tolerance for those deviations from the male norm.

Novels, plays, and films that examine stereotypically male experiences (war, fatherhood, etc.) are still considered to be examining "universal themes," while novels, etc., about the female experience (domestic life, motherhood, etc.) are considered to be "chick lit," "chick flicks," etc.

Personally, I believe the "fear of female sexuality" theory is just a silly dodge. Basically all it does is return the focus back to the experiences and reactions of the male. Even discussions of female sexuality ultimately are discussions of male reactions to it. The female remains the "other" while the male is the subject of essential inquiry. Men have no more "fear" of female sexuality than women have "penis envy." What men really fear is not being the center of everything.

But I'm not bitter.