Helen Smith - Men on strike: why men are boycotting marriage, fatherhood, and the American dream--and why it matters

PRAISE FOR Men on Strike

Men on Strike is an important contribution to understanding the sexual disequilibrium feminism left in its wake.

James Taranto, The Wall Street Journal

The patriarchy of feminist lore is in full retreat. Three decades of media male-bashing, father-averse family courts, and feminized classrooms have led millions of male hegemons to drop outfrom education, marriage, fatherhood, and even the workplace. In this riveting and eye-opening book, Helen Smith explains how it all happened, why it is harmful, and what can be done to turn things around.

Christina Hoff Sommers, resident scholar of the American Enterprise Institute and author of The War Against Boys

Men on Strikes compassion for men both psychologically and socially ranks Dr. Helen Smith as perhaps the most courageous female psychologist writing about men today. If you are a man wishing to open your heart to the possibility of being seen by a woman, Helen Smith proves it is possible.

Warren Farrell, PhD, author of The Myth of Male Power and Why Men Are the Way They Are

Part of what makes Men on Strike powerful is that Smith writes as both psychologist and journalist. As the former, she brings a wealth of knowledge gained through years of helping men and listening to their deepest struggles and fears. As the latter, she demonstrates that this subject isnt simply about feelingsthe myriad problems and injustices men face have a political, legal, and material basis.

Glenn Sacks, MA, mens issues columnist

One of the reasons I wanted to talk to you is because so few people today have the courage in the current cultural and political climate to stand up for men.

Rush Limbaugh, The Limbaugh Letter, July 2013

Its an important book. Read it. You may disagree with her ideas, but its hard to disagree with the trends Dr. Smith exposes. And ultimately, you cannot argue with men who arent there.

Shawn T. Smith, PsyD, licensed psychologist and author of The Womans Guide to How Men Think: Love, Commitment, and the Male Mind

... her stance is sure to incite lively debate.

Publishers Weekly

Smith draws heavily from the actual experiences of men, using their stories and comments to illustrate the disaffection, anger, and sorrow that many feel. The anecdotes she providesthe voices of the men themselvesare powerful.... Smith lets us listen, and walks the reader through the ways that mens rights have been constricted.... Instead of blaming men and ridiculing the lifestyle of those who have failed to launch, Smith explores the idea that men may be making a purposeful, even rational, choice in rejecting a society that already has rejected them.... Also setting Smiths book apart from other treatments of the plight of men is her advice on how they can, as individuals and as a gender group, work to restore a more balanced society.

Carrie Lukas, The Siege of Men, National Review, July 15, 2013

Howeverand it can be painful to admit thissome of her premises are true.... Men and boys do struggle in school. They are often less able to express emotional frustration fluently. And we may owe them more support than were currently giving them.

Sarah Begley, How We Fail Our Boys, Daily Beast, September 13, 2013

MEN ON STRIKE

2013, 2015 by Helen Smith

Preface 2015 by Helen Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, New York 10003.

First American edition published in 2013 by Encounter Books, an activity of Encounter for Culture and Education, Inc., a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation.

Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGUED

THE HARDCOVER EDITION AS FOLLOWS:

Smith, Helen, 1961

Men on strike : why men are boycotting marriage, fatherhood, and the American dream : and why it matters / by Helen Smith, PhD

pages cm

ISBN-13: 978-1-59403-763-4 (ebk.)

1. MenUnited StatesAttitudes. 2. MenPsychology. 3. Marriage. 4. Sex discrimination against men. I. Title.

HQ1090.3.S65 2013

155.3'32dc23

2012042992

To my father, who taught me how to love, and to my husband, for keeping his achievement alive, and, of course, for Julia always.

And to the Army of Davids who helped me put this book together.

Contents

Your book made me feel appreciated, understood, and like Im no longer walking alone.

Christian, a reader from Massachusetts

I am delighted that this paperback edition of Men on Strike is now available, as it means the original hardback was successful enough to warrant another round of readers for this newer version. Since the hardback edition of the book came out, I have been surprised at how many men around the country have written me to share more about their situations, and I will discuss their stories and comments below. But first, I want to address the critics of the book who say that there is no war on men, or if there is, men bring it upon themselves, or who say no hard data shows without a doubt that men are discriminated against. I dont buy this at all.

There truly is a war on men going on in our society, and the average man knows it full well. Most men may not talk about it or allow themselves to think that a democratic society would treat its citizens without due process or justice. Yet that is what is happening to many men in todays misandric climate, and it is proven again and again as newspaper articles and stories show men being sentenced to jail even after paying child support,

After Men on Strike came out, numerous naysayers complained that I used too many anecdotes to explain why men did not want to marry as often, attend anti-male colleges, or interact with kids for fear of being called a pervert. Evidently anti-male sexism must be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, whereas sexism against women is taken as a given though the facts may show otherwise. Misandry, the hatred of men, is so rarely discussed or investigated that most people dont know what the word means. Even sympathetic men reading my book said they seldom heard discussion of the information it contained, or the material was dismissed as tales from a bunch of evil (and probably racist!) mens rights activiststhe only rights activists who get no respect in todays world.

So how do you get people to grasp where men are coming from? You educate them and help them to understand there is really a problem, and it causes suffering. I hoped that Men on Strike would be the catalyst to open the dialogue, and it was, given the response I received from men and their advocates around the country. The books stories and details of actual men gives voice to what men are feeling as they deal with gender discrimination.

Anecdotes are powerful stuff. I chose to use them because several male activists told me that the most successful way to change the political climate in the mens rights arena is to present stories that make men seem real. People relate to other people whom they view as human beings with feelings and reactions to injustices, not as facts and figures. Yes, those are important, too, and I included them in the book as well.