To be precise, you're referring to hunter gatherer societies. In such societies, women also do physical labour (foraging) and what tends to be esteemed for men is a particular type of physical labour, hunting. However, that's not evidence that earning a living through physical labour was historically the norm for men. (Note: "norm" and "normal" are not the same. It's normal to have an appendix, but it's not a norm.)
Physical labour in such societies is not so much a norm as a necessity for almost everyone, with hunting mainly esteemed not because it's physical labour, but because it's a difficult task that produces something that men and women both enjoy: the meats of the hunted animals.
It's true that hunting for a living is not longer a general norm for men (you don't look down on a particular man or disparage yourself for not being a professional hunter) but that's also been true in most civilizations. I don't think that the Ancient Romans were confused about their masculinity because almost no men made their living as hunters. Hunting for leisure has often been an esteemed activity, but that's a different thing.
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Notes -
To be precise, you're referring to hunter gatherer societies. In such societies, women also do physical labour (foraging) and what tends to be esteemed for men is a particular type of physical labour, hunting. However, that's not evidence that earning a living through physical labour was historically the norm for men. (Note: "norm" and "normal" are not the same. It's normal to have an appendix, but it's not a norm.)
Physical labour in such societies is not so much a norm as a necessity for almost everyone, with hunting mainly esteemed not because it's physical labour, but because it's a difficult task that produces something that men and women both enjoy: the meats of the hunted animals.
It's true that hunting for a living is not longer a general norm for men (you don't look down on a particular man or disparage yourself for not being a professional hunter) but that's also been true in most civilizations. I don't think that the Ancient Romans were confused about their masculinity because almost no men made their living as hunters. Hunting for leisure has often been an esteemed activity, but that's a different thing.
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