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.
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