From Publishers Weekly
Drawing on psychological and sociological theory in what he acknowledges is an essayistic rather than scholarly work, Florida State psychology professor Baumeister addresses gender roles and equality in a simplistic and even baffling book (as an example of male-female cooperation, he writes, "Most men voted to extend the vote to women," overlooking how long it took before men agreed to cast that vote). The reason men dominate culture and rule the world, he observes, is not that men are superior to women or have designed patriarchy to oppress women but rather that culture grew out of male relationships, which resulted in large structures containing many people (whether to engage in trade or in war), and thus men were always in charge. Whereas women, in Baumeister's view, seek close one-on-one relationships that are not culture-building. The author's belief that future cultures will be better off if they recognize and accept the differences between men and women can sound an awful lot like a "separate but equal" argument. Ultimately, though, Baumeister's repetitious and circular arguments fail to contribute any fresh ideas to the gender debate.
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Review
"[Baumeister] does make the fascinating point that men operate at the extremes, socially and biologically." --
Bitch 'Male readers may find some solace in Roy F. Baumeister's "Is There Anything Good About Men?" Mr. Baumeister is less concerned about the wimpification of modern man than about the degree to which men have been historically "exploited." The very cultures that men have built, he says, have considered males more expendable than women... But men, Mr. Baumeister says, are often taken for granted and denigrated as the bane of female existence, with some gender activist insisting that women would be better off without them. In a feisty rejoinder, Mr. Baumeister says that "'if women really would have been happier without men, they would have set up shop on their own long ago."
--Dave Shiflett,
Wall Street Journal "Read this if you're open to a thought-provoking take on so-called battle of the sexes. Packed with counterintuitive but convincing points, the book will reshape how you think about sexism, feminism, and gender differences." Andrea Bartz,
Psychology Todayl "There are some interesting arguments concerning marriage, procreation, and the creation of culture that students and professionals in the field of evolutionary psychology probably
would be interested in discussing further." -- Elin Weiss,
Sex Roles
