The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men [Paperback]

Even if I do not necessarily agree with the solutions the author offers, I think that anti-male bias (cf. p211 of the book) pervades all western countries, and that we need to build a balanced approach to gender studies.

All discussions about large groups are inherently flawed because the circumstances of each individual in that group will be vastly different from the average of the group. The War Against Boys continues the debate about whether or not young women are being treated poorly by society, especially in school, by pointing out that boys are doing more poorly than girls. That observation, while true, doesn't answer the problem of what to do about the girl or boy who is having a problem with another child (whether from sexual harrassment, being overbearing or from some other source). Clearly, something is wrong with the circumstances of our young people today because psychiatrists report rapid growth in depression among them. Neither side of the debate regarding repressed females addresses this more serious question.

I dislike a tone of polemicism, and Ms. Sommers gave me more of it than I like. On the other hand, if you enjoy reading about the weaknesses of much feminist scholarship, this is your book. I was glad that I read this material, because I was familiar with the Gilligan work about girls from reading about it in The New York Times. Determined to be a good father, I constantly ask my daughter about whether the boys in school are behaving appropriately towards her. I really felt foolish in being so concerned about this issue after reading in this book what the follow-up studies have shown -- that girls generally are treated better and are happier in school than boys are, as perceived by teachers, the boys and the girls.

Ms. Sommers is offended by many government-supported programs that encourage teaching boys to be more like girls. Having seen my two sons benefit in many ways from such programs, I did not share her reactions. Reasonable people can and will differ on this point.

The main weakness of the book is that is does not address the deep resonance that occurs among some women when someone talks about girls being repressed by male behavior in school. Clearly, that resonance suggests to me that many women have experienced that repression. Before this debate is going to be concluded, someone is going to have to address the sources of that resonance. If boys in school are not repressive now, were they many years ago?

I was still left wondering why feminist books that talk about mistreatment of girls by boys in school are so popular. That thought reminded on a seminar I sat in on concerning English literature at a college a few years years ago. The class had mostly women in it, yet one young man dominated the conversation for almost an hour. But this young man had little of value to say. The female professor could not quite get him to slide into a lesser role, and a lot of time was wasted. After class was over I asked the woman at my side if this was typical. She rolled her eyes, and said that every session was like this. We continued talking, and she told me some of her thoughts about the subject of that hour's discussion. Clearly, her ideas were superior to those offered by anyone else in the class. Yet she had said nothing. I don't know why, but I was struck that clearly we would all benefit from a society where all spoke openly so we would have a chance to hear what was on each person's mind.

The work in this book on the need for moral leadership is superb, and is worth reading the book for.

Love, support and guide children of all ages, regardless of their sex!