Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am a male who works in the mental health field and so I consider myself very aware in the areas of social justice, feminist theory, and how socialization affects genders, ethnic and other groups. I was shocked at how many of my own blind spots were illuminated by reading the stats and analyses in this book. What I appreciate most is that this book presents facts that are difficult to argue with and speak for themselves. In fact, I think that if there was a "cliffs notes" version of this book that included only the stats then it might be even more influential to some who have a closed mind to the idea that men actually have it quite rough in our country. I found myself thinking about how many times I have heard men be labeled as the "privileged" gender, as if it were that black and white and always easier to be a man. Now I finally know why those conversations always seemed severely oversimplified. One recent reviewer simply said "A whiney book". I think this is a good example of Dr. Farrell's thesis. When a woman writes a book about how women are treated unfairly, it is usually called feminist progress, strength, courage, activism, advocacy, and a step towards equality. When a man writes a book about how men are treated unfairly, someone calls it "whining" in an attempt to mock/shame men into silence and not speaking up for change, by applying a label (whiner) that implies weakness for expressing vulnerability. To any woman who feels confused about why men might be angrier than she would like, I urge you to read this book. As comes up over and over again in this book, most men want most of all to have female love, and we base our lives on how to obtain it and prevent losing it. As Dr. Farrell points out, teenage boys suffer more emotionally than girls when a breakup of a love relationship occurs, and men are far more likely to commit suicide when left by a woman than the other way around. I think most of us men don't even realize how powerless we feel to get women to appreciate us, especially since society is constantly telling us how powerful we are. If you want a loving connection with a man, this book might help you build empathy and appreciation for them, which could be a good step.