~ Dr. Lionel Tiger (Author)
Amazon.com Review
Biological anthropologist Lionel Tiger, best known for
developing the concept of male bonding in Men
in Groups, offers what he calls "a chronicle of the decline of men and the
ascendancy of women." If there were a male counterpart to
feminism--masculinism?--this is where it would be found. Profound social changes
over the last several decades are rooted in reproductive technology, which "has
given enormous general power to women that has been translated beyond the family
sphere," says Tiger. This is not an unequivocally positive development, he
believes, and it has led to a slew of problems that include general family
breakdown. The book is occasionally alarmist, yet there is also a freshness to
its argument.
The Decline of Males is a nonsexist brief on behalf of men,
and it includes a number of interesting observations. As women play a larger
role in public life, men are looking for new ways to be male. "Perhaps the
apparent explosion of interest in sports and pornography means that men are
trying to find new outlets to express their inherent maleness, which they may
feel otherwise obligated to repress," writes Tiger. Several of his proposals are
politically naive, but intriguing in how they blend conservative and liberal
ideas. Tiger, for example, thinks men should earn higher pay for the children
they have during a first marriage, and that unmarried women with children should
receive welfare without having to work. The Decline of Males will fascinate some
readers and exasperate others, yet all will agree it makes a unique intellectual
contribution to the ongoing sex wars. --John J. Miller --This text refers to an
out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
