Kindle ¶ Ú Roy F. Baumeister
Have men really been engaged in a centuries old conspiracy to exploit and oppress women Have the essential differences between men and women really been erased Have men now become unnecessary Are they good for anything at allIn Is There Anything Good About Men Roy Baumeister offers provocative answers to these and many other uestions about the current state of manhood in America Baumeister argues that relations between men and women are now and have always been cooperative than antagonistic that men and women are different in basic ways and that successful cultures ca The title of Florida State psychologist Roy Baumeister’s book speaks to how silly much of the rhetoric surrounding the gender debate has become Dare I suggest that both sexes are good We don’t need our men to be like women nor our women to be like men Both sexes need each other for who they are Someone had to write this book and I’m glad that Baumeister had the audacity and tenure needed to do so To put it simply this is hands down the best book on gender differences I’ve ever readRead the rest of my review of Is There Anything Good About Men here
Roy F. Baumeister Ú Reader
Is There Anything Good about MenPitalize on these differences to outperform rival cultures Amongst our ancestors as with many other species only the alpha males were able to reproduce leading them to take risks and to exhibit aggressive and protective behaviors than women whose evolutionary strategies reuired a different set of behaviors Whereas women favor and excel at one to one intimate relationships men compete with one another and build larger organizations and social networks from which culture grows But cultures in turn exploit men by insisting that their role is to achieve and produce to pro Although feminist ideas are mentioned from time to time in this book I want to emphasize from the start that I am not debating any actual feminist scholars of the movement of feminist thought itself In fact I strongly suspect there is not point in debating with feministsThat means that even if an outsider like me made the most brilliant correct and insightful point against some feminist claim the feminists wouldn't listen or change their views one iota So why botherWell he didn't technically lie; he doesn't debate actual feminist scholars Instead he decides to create an Imaginary Feminist who is to represent the 'established wisdomfeminists as perceived by men' Oh boyThe idea of a glass ceiling is that there are hidden conspiracies among men to keep women downMoreover most serious social scientists recognize that conspiracy theories are generally wrong and this one should be considered uite dubiousSo we come to the false premise that underlies much of the book Baumeister refers to common feminist claims as anything other than 'conspiracies' exactly two times and expunges them on this basis repeatedly throughout the book For someone with a PhD I expect betterFrom the unfeeling perspective of the system it could be worth it to restrict female access to educationYikesBefore we condemn men as hopeless sinners however we might feel a moment of sympathy for their unrewarded successes How many times on the dance floor possibly head swimming with too many drinks did he want to reach out and touch some woman’s derriere and yet he resisted How many times did he stop as soon as the woman with whom he was necking said to stop He doesn’t get any credit for all the times he stifles his desires despite all the struggle and sacrifice that they cost him Daily he wrestles with the beast and mostly he keeps it controlled even though it is part of him and crucially when he does manage to give it the sex it wants the result has been some of the most glorious moments of bliss he has ever known Mostly he succeeds in restraining himself Out of every thousand times he has to deny himself and stop himself from acting on his feelings once or twice he slips up and these can be enough to shame him In fact he’s lucky if their only lasting effect is painful memories tinged with shame embarrassment and guilt These little slip ups could ruin him costing him his career his marriage his happiness even his freedomHe wants men to get credit for not sexually assaulting womenThere are many reasons to debate with feminists To do so fruitfully one would actually need to do what Baumeister referred to in the beginning make brilliant correct and insightful points against some feminist claims Baumeister fails to do this in this book There is plenty good about men and they deserve a lot better than what they have currently and a hell of a lot better than what this book offers them