Customer Reviews

Sex-Ploytation

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

Yes, this book is inflammatory and somewhat repetitive. No, the author does not back up his facts too well, nor is it well-organized. And no, not all women are like the ones the author describes here.
And yet, I feel this book needs to exist as a howl of frustration in the face of an overly-PC world. Have you ever wondered why there are countless books on relationships about "what women want" and how men "need to change"? Matthew Fitzgerald claims here that it is because women essentially *don't* know what they want, other than money and any excuse not to have to work for a living.
You will not find an extensive bibliography or statistics here, but the author speaks from the gut, discussing the following points:
1. If a man acts like a jerk, he is a jerk. Except if he has a lot of money; then women consider him a "challenge".
2. Women are not interested in finding a true loving partner; they are only interested in finding a free ride through life, financed by a man.
3. Women are raised to essentially use their bodies as a bargaining tool.

This is risky stuff to put in print, and although Fitzgerald is not a very skilled writer, I feel this book is important because someone has to fire a salvo in retaliation for years and years of books and TV shows which claim men are the ones doing everything wrong.

I have read all 72 reviews of this book. What Fitzgerald wrote about women is generally true and applies to MOST of the women MOST of the time. If you are a woman whom this material does not apply to and you're one of the few exceptions it still does not disprove what Fitzgerald wrote is GENERALLY true-the exception to the rule simply proves the rule is true. This book should be required reading for every twelve and thirteen-year-old boy (before their hormones fully take control and become blinded by their want for sex at any cost) they should have their fathers, uncles and or older brothers go over the material with them and help them fathom the expedient and subversive nature of woman before it is too late. Every young man should read this book, if only to rip the rose-colored glasses from his eyes and help him see women more realistically. If you're a man over 30 you won't find anything in this book that life experiences with women haven't taught you the hard way. And I commend the handful of women who reviewed this book and were actually brave enough to admit the truth to themselves and to the world that what Fitzgerald wrote is generally true. I had always wondered why my mother never told me about the nature of woman and what goes on inside her head when selecting a mate and after reading this book I now know why. And you ladies can malign Fitzgerald's jejune writing style all you like I don't believe his ambition was to win the Pulitzer Prize when he sat down to write this book as he stated in the introduction on pg ix, "This is an incendiary book."

If you are a baby boomer and single, you need to read this book to put relationships in perspective. Portions of it are a little extreme, but need to be to make the point.

If you have every been burned, divorced or just raked over the coals by a woman...you will enjoy this book.

Women hate this book and with good reason...

My boyfriend gave me a copy of Sex-Ploytation to read, and at first I was boiling mad, but then I re-read it and realized that everything the author says is absolutely true. I have used sex to get things from men, and I pretend afterward that I haven't. I see women doing this all the time, and now it disgusts me. Matthew Fitzgerald is right: women are basically prostitutes. They put on tight dresses and show cleavage strictly to scam drinks, meals, vacations, etc. from men. It's a very sad situation, but as the books says, dating and marriage should be abut partnership, not a whore/john relationship. From now on I'm splitting the bills with my boyfriend!

Several reviewers have pointed out that this book is nothing more than a rant, a letter to the editor. That is exactly what it is: a one hundred page rant. Not even that, really, since many pages are taken up with "man on the street" quotations that may or may not be the work of the author.

However, for ten bucks, this book will give you a respite from the deluge of self-help nonsense, Oprah reruns, and venomous hatred spewing from Women's Studies types. Fitzgerald slams American women, those who claim to be "liberated" but switch back to good ol' tradition whenever it suits them (meaning most American women).

If you're the type who thinks that women are goddesses then this book will either hit you like a freight train or you won't believe a word of it. If, on the other hand, you've always suspected that the PC hordes were reading from a script written by females, that all of this stuffabout men being responsible for everything bad in society and everything bad in women's lives may be hogwash, then this book will make you breathe a sigh of relief: you're not alone, after all.

Some reviewers have complained that Fitzgerald doesn't back up his assertions with any kind of evidence. Get over it, folks. It's a rant. Sure, Fitzgerald writes about the history of the feminist movement, but I read that bit in the spirit in which it was written: it's one man's impression, not a meticulous research paper.

The same goes for his slamming women for their greed. You have to read it as a rant: he's complaining about a quality of women, not their entire nature, not all that women are. Sure, he's susceptible to hyperbole but it comes with the territory... it's a rant, for heaven's sake!

If you've read Vilar's "The Manipulated Man" then this book is much less wide-ranging (it deals with the trade of sex for money and security... not much more), but does do us the favour of bringing Vilar's examples up to date. Where Vilar is scholarly and theoretical, Fitzgerald is raw and right down to earth.

Every young man should read this book, if only to rip the rose-coloured glasses from his eyes and help him see women more realistically. Not the way that Fitzgerald sees them, but then not the way the PC thought police want him see them, either.

Matthew Fitzgerald's Sex-Ploytation is one of the few works to march up to the great shrine of feminism, lift up its leg, and tinkle urine upon it. I salute his bravery even though I think he overstates his case somewhat. His point of view is too absolute. Some women are above mindless and rampant materialism. They long for more out of life than a treasure trove of "stuff." Yet, there is no doubt that four decades of radical feminism has ruined many a woman, and this can principally be seen in the way in which the sexes relate to one another.

A central and extremely important theme here is that feminism does not stand for equality. Men are still expected to make chivalric sacrifices even though the women they interact with are as far from maidenly as could be. Men still pay for everything on dates and a man's financial status is integral to his success in attracting a wife or girlfriend. Some of the best sections here are the "Man on the Street" segments where the author shares some of the things he overhears regular guys saying about women and their role in society. Overall, even if Sex-Ploytation is not perfect, I'm glad that someone is documenting the outrages transpiring against men.

Matthew Fitzgerald's view is that almost all women are only interested in money and how much of it they can get from men. While I have also seen many women act the way he describes the criticism does not apply to all women. His reference seems to be more oriented to singles bars where money matters more than sincerity. He is close to accurate in his descriptions of women who use sex or the promise of "maybe sex" to extort drinks, dinner, vacations, apartments, and most anything else from men. Every man who's been dating has met many such women. It would be better writing if it were toned down a little and acknowledged that all women are not the same. More women would then read the chapter of advice for women. The advice for men is pretty good guide to young men dating women today.

This is a shocking, no-nonsense book that affirms the seldom spoken about observations of most men. However, I do believe that Matt Fitzgerald could have made better distinctions amongst women--of course, they are not all golddiggers, nor are they all of the same age group or ethnicity (things that influence behavior). Nor do I agree, as the author asserts, that all stay-at-home mothers, esp. those homeschooling the children, are goading her husband for more money. These days, most of those families are not well-to-do (husbands are blue-collar) and the woman is concerned about the ability to provide as a parent for the kids--not herself.

However, I do believe that the tenor of this book best describes and applies to American yuppie, college-bound/educated (the most corrupting influence of all), hotel bar-hopping nouveau-riche women. Women nowadays in this society benefit from more economic opportunity than their male counterparts, graduating from college and pursuing advanced study at twice the rate of males. Yet it is still inculcated within the youth as a matter of "etiquette" that the guy still always pays--and given the overall rise in the standard of living of this society--he pays big! And given the sexual promiscuity that is extant w/in this cross-section of the population, women who date will have sex w/ the men they date--the men who pay--ergo, the author's term for dating, "legalized prostitution."

Of course, some of these "upper-crust" women decide to be pseudo-traditional as wives--to the extent that they don't go to work (or at most perhaps teach grade-school for half a day 9 mos/yr). Beyond that, they will have no more than 2-3 kids that they shuffle bet. day-care and "activities," providing her with plenty of "time to herself"--e.g., mall, spa, tennis, etc (all which daddy pays for)... This contrasts with the true tradition of mothers with 5-10 kids and all domestic responsibility. American women are now above that, right? At least they think so. What a raw deal for a guy, who in his profession must compete with these women for his own job, by which they coldly assess his worth as a human.

So women are kind of like cars--go with foreign!!! Most other societies have not experienced as much women's lib. nonsense (and are accustomed to a lower standard of living) as the US, and in those that have (like northern Europe), women's equality is taken seriously--they will actually pay their own way and initiate dates!!! The games that US woman play won't fly. Sure, social considerations still exist in other countries--but on the level that those societies (unlike the US) have social-class systems (w/less mobility) and expect people to betroth within their own strata--"marrying up" is seldom an option. The Cinderella's of America need to get over themselves.

Although Matthew Fitzgerald says his "Sex-Ploytation" is not intended as a manifesto, that's exactly what it is, and that's not a bad thing, necessarily. Although his research appears scant, used as it is to support his own views, the fact that he was able to find this information demonstrates that there is another side to the story of the war between the sexes, a side that hasn't been given its due. One idea that stands out right now, is the idea that women are perfectly capable of selecting a mate based on other criteria than whether a man will take care of her, and this is never articulated to a satisfactory degree in any other book I have read. Many times I have read a book about male-female relations, and the point of view expressed many times is something like this: men need to change and women don't[and I see this in books that are supposed to be sympathetic to men]. No matter what women do, it is explained away that this is biology, evolution, social conditioning, and the insinuation is that men should just accept it. I realize that books like this are aimed at men, but one wonders whether books aimed at women are any more balanced; in many cases, I think not. I don't believe that this book will automatically inspire hatred for women [and I am someone who also has been rejected by the so-called fairer sex because of his lack of status or funds]; actually it may, in fact, give voice to many men who resent women deeply and don't know why [or if they should]. I found myself looking at women as simply human, not goddesses, and not belonging on pedestals any more than men belong there. The truth is, many women are looking for perfect men who don't exist, and as such we men are perfectly capaple of feeling not hatred [although anger may be justifiable], but pity and sympathy. If Matthew Fitzgerald can accomplish this in my case, he can certainly do the same for other men, and this book may serve a useful purpose.

Matt Fitzgerald has written an unapologetic and correct account of what is going on and has been going on with men and women here in the west for the past who-knows-how-many years. This book, like Esther Vilar's "The Manipulated Man", is a candidate for suppression by the feminazi/PC police. But you know, the kitty's out the bag. There's no keeping it down.

I am not kidding when I say that after reading this book, my entire attitude toward "the fairer sex" has changed such that I can now see what they are up to vis-a-vis men and money, etc. My days of paying for sex are over-- especially so if it is not actually delivered, as the author so aptly points out is usually the case. I'd rather "go without", as they say, than acquiesce to feminine extortion any further. And marriage is of course out of the question. You need only look at how men are treated in "family" courts and divorce courts to see how this is a bad idea-- for men, anyway -- and note the 50% divroce rate. Would a sane man enter into such a proposition if the matter were not regarding marriage but instead a conventional business matter? Risking income and psychological ruin on a 50-50 dice toss? Insane!

Let the revolution begin!