Men Are Not Cost-Effective: Male Crime in America [Paperback]

June Stephenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1995

This provocative and entertaining yet totally fact-based look at the cost of crimes in this country--the majority of which are committed by men--uses documented statistics and numerous anecdotes to provide insight into the problem of why so many boys grow up to be criminals and what can be done about it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 374 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060950986
• ISBN-13: 978-0060950989
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,795,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth a read, April 19, 2002

By 

alligee "alligee" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Men Are Not Cost-Effective : Male Crime in America (Paperback)

One reviewer claims to have picked this book up in search of evidence that the feminist movement has become a hate movement and was disapointed to see that this book doesn't support their misconceptions. That "search" is sadly misguided, unlike this book.

The title alone should tell you this book is different than any other feminist theory out there. Stephenson does not uncover anything new--we all know that men are the vast and overwhelming majority perpetrators of crime in the US. What she does so stunningly in this book is show you how much the cost to our society really is, monetarily and otherwise.

A mind-changing read for anyone interested in feminism, crime, social issues, and culture.

16 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A flawed argument, badly made., March 15, 2003

By 

Headbang8 (Bogenhausen, Munich) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Men Are Not Cost-Effective : Male Crime in America (Paperback)

June Stephenson's argument seems interesting at first glance. Crime costs us. More men than women are criminals. So tax men more. Stephenson argues for an extra $100 a year, just to drive home the point to male taxpayers.

It's easy to discredit this argument on its own small-minded, mercenary terms.

There's already a tax on men. It's called income tax. Men have higher incomes than women, so they already pay much more tax than women. Enough to pay for the social costs of crime, it might be argued. In fact, the same male aggression which causes crime might just be the dynamo which drives our economic growth, creating wealth for both genders. Besides, men are the victims of violent crime more often than women; for example, homicide is the leading killer of black men under 25, is it not?

Even if Stephenson's argument held water, the vast bulk of the book doesn't advance it. The first discussion of the book's thesis occurs on page 360 of 374. I would have expected Stephenson to provide a more detailed proposal for how such a tax scheme might operate. And clear reasons why it's better than the current crimnal justice system.

Sadly, the first 360 pages consist of lurid descriptions of male crime, presumably so we don't forget how wicked men are. I find it frustrating that none of these descriptions are backed up with footnotes or endnotes, but acknowledged in the text, making it very difficult to check Stephenson's facts. (odd for a book written by a woman who is a practising researh psychologist, according to the blurb)

Not that any of the facts are controverisal--we already know men are more violent than women. What Stephenson fails to acknowledge is that the violence takes a toll on men, too; arguably a much higher toll. It's hard not to interpret these 360 pages as simple misandry.

Reducing every social argument to a matter of money dehumanises the debate. In this case, the argument isn't just inhumane, it's scarcely even made.

14 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting points, September 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Men Are Not Cost-Effective : Male Crime in America (Paperback)

Unlike the other reviewer, I think this book had some interesting points about responsibility. The things that seemed to annoy the first reviewer, such as the entire middle of the book, which just contains "facts" about crime and how much it costs this nation, were to me the strongest points of the book. As it turns out, from this perspective, men are not cost effective. Does this mean they are evil and wicked and we should get rid of them? Well, no, I don't think so and I don't think the author was suggesting that. Although a gender tax, which is the solution the author suggests in an effort to coerce men into taking responsibility for their own actions and to self-regulate themselves, may seem like an extreme idea--and it is certainly an idea that will never come to fruition--the book provides a jumping off place for continued thought about where we are today in this country and where the inequalities lay.