Has Radical Feminism Achieved A Deceptive Victory? by Darryn “Dutch” Martin

martin_smAmerican men are fed up and angry — and rightfully so.

Sick of being constantly portrayed as rapists, abusers, bumbling idiots, irresponsible losers, deadbeat dads (if they’re absent), immature fatherly buffoons (if they’re present) or overall “bad guys” by the mainstream media and Hollywood, many men have reached a tipping point.

Tired of being mistreated by a family court system that either forces financially-crippling child support obligations upon non-custodial fathers or — worse still — forces many men to pay child support for children they later discover are not even biologically their own, men have had it.

More and more, men are not getting married like they used to due to the prohibitive cost of divorce. Nor are they attending college at the same rate as women, because some just don’t want to deal with the hostile environment of feminist political correctness that could ruin their lives. In short, men have had all they can take of this decades-long backlash against them.  They are voluntarily “going Galt,” like in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, and taking a vacation from responsibility.

Why?  Because they can.

In the battle for women’s rights, has radical feminism achieved a Pyrrhic victory?

Dr. Helen Smith, a psychologist and blogger for PJ Media, certainly thinks so.  In her new book, Men On Strike: Why Men Are Boycotting Marriage, Fatherhood, and the American Dream – and Why It Matters, she shows how — if left unchecked — 21st century America’s legitimate “war against men” will be society’s undoing.

Having studied the literature decrying the “man-child” phenomenon, Dr. Smith points out how various authors who have written books criticizing men for their “irresponsible behavior” are missing this point:

Most men are not acting irresponsibly because they are immature or because they want to harm women; they are acting rationally in response to the lack of incentives today’s society offers them to be responsible fathers, husbands and providers.  In addition, many are going on strike, either consciously or unconsciously, because they do not want to be harmed by the myriad of laws, attitudes and backlash against them for the simple crime of happening to be male in the 21st century.

Let’s face facts. From an early age, too many young girls are now raised and taught to view boys and men with suspicion at best or outright disdain and dread at worst.  This radical feminist, anti-male indoctrination has seeped into our school system.  And it infests higher education, where freshman men may be force-fed “chick lit” such as A Handmaid’s Tale or performances of The Vagina Monologues.  Or they may find their academic careers ruined by accusations of sexual harassment or rape, regardless of evidence or whether the accuser purposely lied (such as what happened in the infamous Duke University rape scandal).

Radical feminism also worms its way into the legal system with the help of people Dr. Smith calls “Uncle Tims” — men looking to get on women’s good side.  Examples of anti-male bias have damaged countless divorce, paternity and child support cases.

For many years, Dr. Smith has counseled men adversely affected by radical feminist assaults, making her a leading authority on the topic.

Males, she says, are culturally conditioned to not publicly share feelings for fear of being seen as weak.  That doesn’t mean a lot of men aren’t angry and hurting inside.  Those feelings have been simmering just beneath the surface for a long time.  But they are forced to just “suck it up” and tolerate this abuse by a society now largely dictated by a radical feminist dogma.

Some men are breaking down and breaking out — unwilling to hold in their feelings or to abide by the “new normal” imposed on their gender by radical feminist doctrine.

Dr. Smith concludes her book by describing ways in which beleaguered men are productively fighting back and standing up against the anti-male juggernaut.

Men On Strike is the ultimate survival guide for 21st century American men in an uber-feminized society.

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Darryn “Dutch” Martin is a member of the national advisory council of the Project 21 black leadership network.  Comments may be sent to [email protected].

Published by the National Center for Public Policy Research. Reprints permitted provided source is credited. New Visions Commentaries reflect the views of their author, and not necessarily those of Project 21, other Project 21 members, or the National Center for Public Policy Research, its board or staff.



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