Final answer:
The built-in failsafe for women is a social convention rooted in traditional gender roles that suggest women's behavior should be modest and men should invest considerably in relationships. This reflects historical double standards and the generalized societal expectations of gender behavior. Men's roles, meanwhile, allowed for increasing personal freedoms, contrasting with the stringent expectations placed on women.
Step-by-step explanation:
The social convention described as a built-in failsafe for women refers to the protective behavioral patterns that emerge from society's concept of how men and women should behave. Historically, gender roles positioned women in a way that emphasized traits like purity, passivity, and dependency, while promoting the idea that men should be patient and prioritize long-term investments in relationships for potential rewards. This stems from the generalized other—the common behavioral expectations of general society—where women are oftentimes seen through a lens of being vulnerable and requiring safeguarding, which in return demands greater commitment from men.
In the context of the broader struggle between traditional and modern societal and cultural standards, this convention played into the double standard whereby men had looser social morals, while women were expected to adhere to stricter standards. Practices like not remarrying, restricting contact with unrelated men, and projecting modesty were historically high-prestige behaviors among elite women, delineating a form of high-status conformity. The internalization of such behavioral expectations also, at times, led women to 'compete to lose' by downplaying their achievements to conform to societal needs. This is reflected in the dynamic tension between concepts like 'maternal feminism' and the patriarchal notion of women's vulnerability.
The emergence of these standards reflects an ongoing negotiation between the roles ascribed to gender and individual agency, marked by a series of self-fulfilling prophecies, as described by sociologist Robert K. Merton. Meanwhile, men were encouraged to embrace wider social and personal freedoms, reflecting a shift in cultural values over time.