Suzanne Venker - The War on Men

a WND Books single

BY SUZANNE VENKER

THE WAR ON MEN

WND Books
Washington, D.C.

Copyright 2013
Suzanne Venker

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, or otherwisewithout permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Book designed by Mark Karis

First Edition

eBook ISBN: 9781938067181

Library of Congress information available

Printed in the United States of America
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The wound that unifies all men is the wound of their disposability.

WARREN FARRELL

MARY-LOUISE PARKER admits to liking things that are psychologically dangerous. The Weeds actress never married, but she has two childrenone from a previous relationship and one who is adopted. When a man once asked her if her being a mom meant the two of them would not be able to go out alone together very much, Parker replied, Yes, thats exactly what it means. It means you come fourth cause its my kids, my job, and my family.

Welcome to twenty-first-century America.

In the span of a few short decades, this nation has managed to demote its men from respected providers and protectors of the family to superfluous buffoons. Name a sitcom from 1970 forward that depicts a strong, responsible, intelligent father figure. Fathers in sitcoms are good-hearted, but they are also depicted as immature, dumb, lazy and incompetent. Do we seriously believe this drumbeat of messages has no impact? writes New York Times reader Allan Bird.

It has major impact. Todays sitcoms, and commercials, routinely paint a portrait of the idiot husband whose wife is smarter and more capable than he. Ward Cleaver is long gone. So is Cliff Huxtable, The Cosby Shows enlightened but successful father of five. In their place is The New Dad: unemployed, unaware, and thoroughly emasculated.

What on earth happened?

Gender equality advocates, a.k.a. feminists, insist they have it all figured out. American women, they say, have taken their rightful place in societythe one thats been denied them for centuriesand men have become slackers. They dont have good jobs, and they spend all their time playing video games.

Well, maybe so. But the obsession with video games, as well as the proliferation of Internet pornography and rise of the man cave, make sense when you think about it. Men are burning off the testosterone America rejects.

Womens role in society has changed dramatically, no question. And this does alter the dynamics between men and womenon that point feminists and I would agree. But female ambition, in and of itself, isnt threatening to men. Men know women are powerful, and we dont mind that one bit. It empowers us that youre empowered, writes clinical psychiatrist Paul Dobransky, M.D. Unless, that is, you disempower us in order to feel empowered.

And there it is.

What I have to say in the pages that follow may sound blasphemous. But its comments like Mary-Louise Parkers that are blasphemous. This type of male bashing, which almost always falls under the radar, is par for the course in modern America. At a Los Angeles press conference to promote the film The Switch, Jennifer Aniston said women are realizing more and more that you dont have to settle, you dont have to fiddle with a man to have that child.

Fiddle?

If youre tempted to dismiss such comments as Hollywood drivel, consider these remarks by other high-profile females:

Author and journalist Natalie Angier begins an article in The New York Times by writing, Women may not find this surprising, but one of the most persistent and frustrating problems in evolutionary biology is the male. Specifically... why doesnt he just go away?

In a CNN interview with Maureen Dowd about her 2005 book, Are Men Necessary?, Dowd says, Now that women dont need men to reproduce and refinance, the question is, will we keep you around?

Lisa Belkin, a blogger for The New York Times, wrote, We are standing at a moment in time when the role of gender is shifting seismically. At this moment an argument can be made for two separate narrative threadsthe first is the retreat of men as this becomes a womans world.

In an article in The Atlantic entitled Are Fathers Necessary? author Pamela Paul wrote, The bad news for Dad is that despite common perception, theres nothing objectively essential about his contribution.

You come fourth. Fiddle with a man. Go away. Will we keep you around? Imagine if such statements were made about women. Impossible! Just for grins, lets see what that would look like.

Author and journalist Nat Angier begins an article in The New York Times by writing, Men may not find this surprising, but one of the most persistent and frustrating problems in evolutionary biology is the female. Specifically... why doesnt she just go away?

In a CNN interview with Mike Dowd about his 2005 book, Are Women Necessary? Dowd says, Now that men dont need women, the question is, will we keep you around? And the answer is, You know, we need you in the way we need ice creamyoull be more ornamental.

Liam Belkin, a blogger for The New York Times, wrote, We are standing at a moment in time when the role of gender is shifting seismically. At this moment an argument can be made for two separate narrative threadsthe first is the retreat of women as this becomes a mans world.

In an article in The Atlantic entitled, Are Mothers Necessary? author Patrick Paul wrote, The bad news for Mom is that despite common perception, theres nothing objectively essential about her contribution.

Changes things, doesnt it?

Lest you think Im exaggerating my case, or making much ado about nothing, consider this. In November 2009, Maria Shriveralong with the Center for American Progressproduced an exhaustive, four-hundred-page document titled The Shriver Report: A Womans Nation Changes Everything. In it, Shriver and company claim we are no longer living in a mans world.

As we move into this phase were calling a womans nation, women can turn their pivotal role as wage earners, as consumers, as bosses, as opinion-shapers, as co-equal partners in whatever we do into a potent force for change. Emergent economic power gives women a new seat at the tableat the head of the table.

Three years later, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg echoed these sentiments. In November 2012, in response to a question about what would constitute an acceptable number of female Supreme Court justices, Justice Ginsburg answered, Now the perception is, yes, women are here to stay. And when Im sometimes asked when will there be enough and I say when there are nine, people are shocked.

With such overwhelming evidence of female power, how can anyoneno matter what their political persuasionbelieve theres a war on women? We have it backwards. Men are the ones under attack.

To a large segment of the population, the idea that men can be victims at all is preposterous. Everyone knows theres more work to be done for women to achieve so-called equality. Everyone knows the patriarchy is alive and well. That is the message of the feminist elite.

Americans have been had. Feminism isnt about equal rights, nor is it about providing women with choices. I dont care how pretty feminists package their agendathe mission is clear.

Feminism is a war on men.

Over the last four decades, America has witnessed a profound change in marriage and gender relations. To some degree, it was inevitable. Women today live longer lives than ever and simultaneously have fewer children. As a result, they pursue independence in a way that was previously unimaginable. In addition, technological advances and an economic boom (recent years notwithstanding) have changed the way people live, work, and communicate.