A Feminist Review of 'Don't Be a Feminist'
Read a feminist review of the book 'Don't Be a Feminist'. The review looks at the book's discussion of status, mothers, and respect for women.
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Bryan Caplan
GMU econ prof, NYT bestseller, father of 4, author of Myth of the Rational Voter, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, Case Against Education, and Open Borders.
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Now @Louise_m_perry has written the best feminist review of *Don't Be a Feminist*. https://t.co/7heHlA4LWm
— Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan) June 2, 2023
Very fair, except... (1/N) -
...I can't see how she can accuse me of ignoring status. I talk about status repeatedly in the lead essay! And it's *plainly* false that men in general have higher status than women in general. (2/N)
— Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan) June 2, 2023 -
As I freely concede, high-status humans are disproportionately male. But LOW-status humans are ALSO disproportionately male.
— Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan) June 2, 2023 -
Perry writes: "we adore our mothers, but we don’t necessarily respect them." I say it's obvious that we respect mothers. A lot. We respect them *more* than fathers. We just don't respect them as much as superstars like Beethoven, Tolstoy, Salk, or Musk. (3/N)
— Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan) June 2, 2023 -
Perry: "If men are at the top of the status hierarchy, and children are at the bottom, then women are always and everywhere positioned somewhere between the two." (4/N)
— Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan) June 2, 2023
The real story: men are at the top AND the bottom. And men at the bottom are below women AND children. (5/N) -
Bottom line: Perry improves feminism a lot, but her status variant still promotes unjustified antipathy and self-pity for women. (6/N)
— Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan) June 2, 2023 -
Women in Western societies get ample respect. Mothers get even more. Take yes for an answer! (N/N)
— Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan) June 2, 2023