Misogyny: The Male Malady

Rating:
Summary: And now for the female malady
Review: After reading this book I was inspired to think about a work to complement it for all the feminists out there, entitled, "Misoandry," (a word which is probably a contraction of "me so angry").

As a budding misogynist myself who's recovering from a typical American upbringing in which I was taught to uncritically worship and indulge women who were probably completely undeserving of such adulation, I found this to be an invaluable guide to reforming my uxorious and adulatory ways with respect to the fairer sex.

Of course, women have their problems in life too. They have menarche, menopause, mental stress, and mendacious partners to deal with. Notice that all these words start with the word "men," which is no doubt where all their problems come from. I'm sure my book on misoandry will be a runaway bestseller and make me a cult millionaire with all those rabid, man-hating feminists.

Rating:
Summary: First rate
Review: An excellent guide which I, and by extension my shrew of a wife, thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: Misogyny's catalogue
Review: More than two thirds of this book consists of a tour of misogyny around the world and through time in order to tell matter-of -factly, evenly and energetically, about a variety of horrific practices, customs, societal prejudices, and institutionalized violence toward females in Melanesia, India, Nepal, the Middle East, Europe, the Garden of Eden, Africa, South America, among the Yuok of Burma, the !Kung San Bushmen of Botswana, the Crow of Montana, and many more. Freud, Brahms, Celtic folklore, Milton Shakespeare, Keats, Yeats, and the British Victorians, too. Even Dr. Strangelove! We're treated to a grab-bag full of descriptions of customs and practices around separation of the sexes, initiation rites, the vagina, menstruation, marriage, conception, childbirth, the damp and the wet, daily life, and inevitable death. Gilmore spares few details (though he does not include clitoridectomy).

What is all of this universal woman-hating about, and where did it come from? Gilmore's not sure. He cites a lot of thinkers, many from anthropology (some, like Chagnon, now discredited). He pays lip service to several psychoanalytic approaches but scant attention to political or economic explanations for misogyny.

Gilmore confides toward the end of his book that "many, if not most, of men's feelings about women are a hodgepodge of strongly contrasting impulses, starkly contradictory affects and fantasies." He clears a path for himself when he asserts that "unlike some who have studied misogyny, I believe this tension-ridden state, not simple hatred or a wish to dominate, accounts for men's denigration of women." His social-psych explanation essentially takes a little from here, a little from there. But finally, he theorizes.

Men. It is _they_ who have suffered, really - according to Gilmore. Men are afraid of the "femaleness" within. It's hurt them as much as it's hurt women. (Gilmore really says that.) Men know that they need women, but they have "phobias, terrors, fantasies." Men suffer from castration anxiety, are afraid of mutilation, have sexual urges at odds with marriage, and just generally have a darn hard time of it. What, then, is to be done for the contemporary problem? Gilmore prescribes "education" and dads caring for their baby sons more. In conclusion he suggests that "men must get more comfortable with their ambiguous sexuality, their subterranean dependency needs for women's nurturing, their 'corrupt' feminine side, and their 'poisonous' bisexual self."

This book is more of a big catalogue of bad things, with a feel-good solution for a very few men at its conclusion, than a deep inquiry into its topic.

Rating:
Summary: Dark Side of the Mood?
Review: This book was a remarkable eye-opener as I was originally searching for a copy of 'The Book of Miso : Savory, High-Protein Seasoning' by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi. However, although my culinary desires went unsatisfied, this work more than compensated me with its keen insights into an area heretofor unknown to me. Henry Raddick's comments are, of course, the definitive review; I am somewhat surprised, however, that he omitted to comment on this fascinating (and courageous) change of genre by Mr. Gilmore. I am pleased to correct the omission. From his (arguably humble) beginnings as groundbreaking prog-rock guitarist to professor of anthropology we can only laud this single-minded devotion in forsaking the pleasures of the music scene (clearly where one might derive considerable experience in misogyny) in order to dedicate oneself to a more studious discipline. May I therefore honour Gilmore's frankness. Come on, McCartney, Daltrey and Jagger - the academic gauntlet has been thrown down!

Rating:
Summary: Misogyny
Review: This is a brilliant treatment of the subject of misogyny -- a must read for anyone seriously interested in gender studies.

Rating:
Summary: Front-Heavy, But Good.
Review: Though I agree with some points of Miss Berden's analysis, especially the catalog nature of Mr. Gilmore's book, I find his observations about male frailty and victimization to be quite adroit. These points were meant as entreaties to male readers, and not intended to deflect blame. Anyone with any sense of education knows who's getting the raw end of misogyny, and the male population would be served well by delving deep into the cultural roots of our abusive behavior, which are documented quite well (with an exception or two) in Mr. Gilmore's text.

The problem I have with the book is that the documentation of cultural practices weigh down the first two thirds of the read so as to almost overwhelm you before you approach his altruistic conclusions at the end. Other than that, I thought it was quite a refreshing look from a male approach.