Myth of Male Power [Paperback]

The Myth of Male Power has already become the 'bible' of the mens rights movement, and though it has been out of print for many of the 15 years since its first publication, that is simply testamant to the quite heretical idea that the book exposits and to the many obstacles that the still incipient mens movement faces. I would challenge any person, male or female, to read the first chapter alone and not come away with your mind ablaze with thoughts, angry perhaps, but provoked certainly.

The book begins with a set of varying and more tightly focused definitions of power than are generally used (for example 'influence power') and for each one shows that men actually have (and have had) the rougher deal. By the end of the first chapter, only somebody with a very crude definition of power could believe uncritcally that men have always historically had it. In fact, such a belief is tantamount, as Farrell says, to believing that a chauffer is the one with power in a rich man's limousine simply because he is the one who is being paid to drive it.

Chapter two then covers rather more philosophical territory. The author explains how the changes in divorce law, contraception, abortion etc have led to changes in the social perceptions of male and female gender roles, largely to the benefit of women and almost wholly to the cost of men. Farrell stresses that there never was a 'patriarchy' in the sense of men having all the power and using it to serve the interests only, or even primarily, of males and points amongst other things to the 1.2 million American men who have died serving their nation and families over the last two centuries. Instead, society imposed certain roles and obligations upon both men and women, and now these roles have shifted, in particular, women have far greater freedom in choosing their role, yet men are still straightjacketed as 'the protector'.

Chapter 3 appears very optimistic in terms of it being an outline of how humanity is experiencing an 'evolutionary shift' in its historical destiny. The author claims that for the first time in history, humans have overcome the basic and pressing necessities of survival and are throwing away the socially constructed shackles that have formed from those urgencies. Men, up to now have been left out of this revolution, but a successful mens movement is near to inevitible in the same way that a woman's movement emerged and was quickly successful in the 60's.

The rest of the book is really a very well researched and argued further elaboration and justification of all the points made in the first three chapters.

A brilliant and thought provoking book, anybody interested in questioning the received wisdom of our society today should order it today.

I am delighted this book has been re-published. In 1993 I walked past Waterstones, in Oxford Street (London) and saw a presentation display and thought "How could anyone write a book with such a ridiculous title?" Then I had the (mis)fortune to investigate a sexual harassment claim. What I learned about men and women, and particularly because of the way all the women labelled the man 'sexist' when clearly he was not, made me .... buy the book.

In my view, it remains the best book to introduce men to their own issues. What separates it from books like "The Manipulated Man" by Esther Villar or "No More Sex War" by Neil Lydon, is the impeccable research. Farrell offers nothing that he cannot back up with many credible sources of research.

After reading this, I bought his "Why Men Are The Way They Are" -- perhaps the best woman-friendly introduction on the same subject, sadly now out of print. Recently I also read his "Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say" and this led me to Christina Hoff Sommers (Who Stole Feminism?) who unmasks the way the feminist establishment's 'economy with the truth' protects its interest in much the same way as the UK Trade Union movement in the 60s/70s.

If you need any incentive to re-examine your views about men, consider just one snippet. Since Warren Farrell wrote "The Myth of Male Power" he has found 50 academic two-gender studies on domestic violence. He cannot find even one that concludes men are more violent than women. Most find that women are more (1.5 to 2 times) more violent than men in personal relationships. Don't believe me, or him - you can check this for yourself as he lists all 50 studies in an appendix to his latest book with a quick summary of the conclusions of each.

He is, therefore, absolutely justified in making us ask why - when there is so much reliable evidence that men are more abused in the home than women - are there not more refuges for men? The answer is that most men (and women) are yet to examine the level of discrimination men face. And if they have, they find through experience that challenging it brings conflict with powerful institutions that protect women as well as into direct conflict with women themselves. Only very brave, emotionally and financially secure men can do that and still have women friends at the end of the process.

My support for this book does not mean that I am anti-women. I recognise, as Farrell does, that feminism was a necessary pre-cursor to men examining their own role in society. I am, like he is, grateful to the many feminist-minded women who started discussing gender roles. But now there is a need - more than ever - to look again at what men and women do to each other in the name of 'love' so that we can begin fulfilling our good intentions to treat each other equally.

Go and buy this book - give it your friends, give it to your wife, your mother, your father, your son, your husband, your daughter. Perhaps then we can (within a generation) achieve what equity-feminists originally set out to do - create a world in which men and women can love each other in the way that emancipates both sexes.

The 20th Century is littered with examples of societies which have been taken over by ideas which, with a bit of distance, now seem like collective madness. Think of Maoist China, Apartheid South Africa, a great many of the socialist paradises, Nazi Germany (obviously). Have you ever stopped to wonder whether you now could be living in a society which is also infected with a seriously crazy (and possibly also seriously harmful) ideology? If you read Warren Farrell's book you will discover, without a shadow of a doubt, that you are.

Its a very good book, very clearly written, a good easy read, and very tightly researched (with proper documentation and references for everything). Its also a very good book to put it in your loo (I mean that as high praise). It is an extremely important book that everyone should read. What more can I say?