SPREADING MISANDRY:
The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture
Authors: Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
October 2001

Book Description
Paul Nathanson and Katherine Young argue that men have routinely been
portrayed as evil, inadequate, or as honorary women in popular culture since
the 1990s. These stereotypes are profoundly disturbing, the authors argue,
for they both reflect and create hatred and thus further fracture an already
fractured society. In Spreading Misandry they show that creating a workable
society in the twenty-first century requires us to rethink feminist and
other assumptions about men.

The first in an eventual three part series, Spreading Misandry offers an
impressive array of evidence from everyday life - case studies from movies,
television programs, novels, comic strips, and even greeting cards - to
identify a phenomenon that is just now being recognized as a serious
cultural problem. Discussing misandry - the sexist counterpart of misogyny -
the authors make clear that this form of hatred must not be confused with
reverse sexism or anger and should neither be trivialized nor excused. They
break new ground by discussing misandry in moral terms rather than purely
psychological or sociological ones and refer critically not only to feminism
but to political ideologies on both the left and the right. They also
illuminate the larger context of this problem, showing that it reflects the
enduring conflict between the Enlightenment and romanticism, inherent flaws
in postmodernism, and the dualistic ("us" versus "them") mentality that has

influenced Western thought since ancient times.

A groundbreaking study, Spreading Misandry raises serious questions about
justice and identity in an increasingly polarized society. It is important
for anyone in interested in ethics, gender, or popular culture, or just
concerned about the society we are creating.

>From the Critics B&N
>From Library Journal
Perhaps it was inevitable that equal time should have been granted to those
who claim that modern popular culture is biased against men. Nathanson (Over
the Rainbow: The Wizard of Oz as a Secular Myth) and Young (religious
studies, McGill Univ.) use an extensive appendix of antimale bias in film,
television, and even greeting cards to show that in the past ten years, the
pendulum has swung too far. Equally challenging is their notion that
academic elites (i.e., feminist idealogs) are to blame. The problem with
their approach is twofold. The potential examples of both misogyny and
misandry probably run nearly neck and neck in film, television, and music
today. Moreover, it is in the very nature of these media to describe
conflict, especially gender conflict, as their core subject matter. The
entertainment beast is such that somebody has to be the bad guy excuse me
person, and hence the authors' sincerest wish that Hollywood end the war
between the sexes is not likely to be fulfilled. Academic libraries may want
to add this title to balance their collections in the interest of rigorous
academic fairness. Jeff Ingram, Newport P.L., Newport, OR Copyright 2001
Cahners Business Information.

Customer review:

A reviewer, now a liberated man, December 10, 2001,
I am Man, Hear Me Roar
Fabulous book. Important book. Liberates men from the culture of hatred
fostered by the most extreme wing of feminism. Doesn't bash women, but says
we need to recognize man-hating stereotypes if the battle of the sexes is
ever to end in a group hug. Forget Women are From Mars, yadda yadda. Read
this book. 

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