The Myth of Male Power (book)
The Myth of Male Power is the most famous MRA book, published in 1993 by Warren Farrell, seeking to dispel the myth that men are oppressors of women. He argues that men have their own set of gendered struggles which are important and need dealing with.
Contents[edit | edit source]
In the book, Warren talks about successful suicide as a reflection of powerlessness, and how when boys are faced with male roles, their chance of suicide increases of 25%. He dispels the myth that women are more likely to be victims of violence than men. He talks about how women have the option of security as a housewife with a plethora of men, while men have no such thing and also no job security, so in the end no security at all. How never married women outearn men. He speaks of North Korea style "compensation for past 'oppression' " that feminism wants men to pay for. He speaks of feminism avoiding expansion of responsibilities while screaming for expansion of rights. He speaks of how the qualities it takes to survive as a species in industrialized society actually lines up with the qualities it takes to love, suggesting pre-industrial tingles women have for pre-industrial or pre-civilized men are harmful to the survival of the species now.
Warren then speaks of traditional male gender roles now now viewed as, 'power', were once viewed as servant, slave, and protector for obvious reasons. How the qualities of male disposability in the altruistic male gender roles aren't 'power'. How male-male violence isn't an expression of patriarchy, but is deeply rooted in male competition to protect and sacrifice themselves to women, again, not power. The army as a display of male disposability rather than power. How polygyny developed by women and men to keep women from sleeping with poor men. How deselection of lower status men is rooted in religion, with celibate women being polygynous to God, marrying him, as a virtue, rather than satisfying proletariat incel desires as a virtue.
He talked about historically, female independence from men for survival always led to divorce being considered moral. How historically, marriage was a right to women if it prevented female starvation, but not the opposite. He speaks how female selection of dark triad or sociopathic traits ("killer male") could lead to the destruction of society as a whole with nuclear technology (see fisherian runaway.
Farrell speak of the male 'glass cellar', which keeps men from breaking out of hazardous jobs. He speaks of more of a concern for safety inspectors for hazardous male jobs. How the government is always ready to protect women from unwanted flirtation, but does little to prevent premature male death. That discrimination against hiring women arises as a protection instinct and a male disposability instinct.
He describes how women will not love men until they adopt some of the killer-protector role. The three Ps society makes men go through to earn a woman's love: performance, pursuing and paying. How the teenage male feels like a burden as the demand for him to perform comes without the resources to perform (finances etc). The choice women have to be homemaker, mother, secretary, executive... but for men only work, and usually just one choice if they are lucky. How loss of love while growing older devastates men. How male suicide is correlated with unemployment and financial insecurity, making his suicide an act of love for those who had to support him. How women's usually unsuccessful suicide attempts comes from a selfish desire to be prioritized, as inward love rather than as an act of outward love. How unemployment for men is like rape to women. How women do not experience more depression, but report it more.
How industrialization separated men from the home. How women are encouraged to tailor to their personality, but men are encouraged to tailor to a uniform provider role: e.g. the suit. Industralization has opened up options for women but deepened men's gender role. When demands to perform outpace the resources to perform, men become disposable. (This could be adjusted by reducing demands or increasing resources). How every government spends more on female health than men's health. How married male executives have a wife who is a burden, but the married female executive has a husband who is a financial buffer. How jobs for men are an obligation while jobs for women are an opportunity.
How male homelessness is the ultimate expression of societies disregard for men who can't protect women. Wives report that they are more likely to assault their husband than their husband is to assault them. How we see black on black violence as an example of black powerlessness but not male on male violence as an example of male powerlessness. How people overestimate how many women are sexually abused to men by a factor of almost 5. We overlook men because woman as victim attracts most men, men as victim repulses most women.