Why Men Are the Way They Are
by Warren Farrell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Warren FarrellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1988-09-01
ISBN: 042511094X
Number of pages: 411
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of Why Men Are the Way They Are
Book Review: 'It's reproduction, stupid'
Summary: 1 Stars
This book is a primitive version of 'The Myth of Male Power' and, like that, is based on a few 'truths' but full of ignorance and distortion.
Rather than waste your money on these books I would advise people to read books on the evolution of sex and the reproductive behaviour of humans in the context of the evolution of all species.
Farrell has a favorite line about how a male experiences 150 rejections 'between eye contact and intercourse'. That he cannot understand how this attitude makes a female's skin crawl rather than making her want to be an easier depository for his sperm shows how little he truly understands about what sex really is.
What is conspicuous by its absence is the lack of much reference to parenting and children. OK, we have contraception but our sex drives are still directed by potential reproductive fitness. And the failure of contraception is something that Farrell never seems to worry about. Farrell is obsessed throughout the book by beautiful women and I just wish he could understand that the attractiveness of a woman is an expression of her fertility and potential reproductive use for him.
Biologists know that males concentrate on mating effort and females on parenting effort. Farrell only wants to talk about mating effort. And this is a man who today fights for fathers 'rights'!!!
Farrell wants male reproductive fitness to be improved by women allowing far more men sexual access to their fertile young bodies - the very thing that for women leads to reduced reproductive fitness. Doh!
Farrell forever complains that men have to 'earn' sex. Of course men should prove themselves willing to provide for potential offspring. Otherwise he is no more than a reproductive parasite.
On page 135 he comes out with this shocking admission: 'I am increasingly impressed by the degree to which...men risk their lives...for an attractive woman's....sexual attention. Think of men willing to risk their careers with charges of sexual harrassment for an affair with a secretary or student. Think of men who risk years in prison...for the attention of or sex with an underage female, the one female they believe they can have access to - a child'
WOW!!!If Farrell is an expert on the sexes then girls, we are in BIG
Following this logic, Farrell must be especially impressed by men who risk execution in murdering someone in pursuit of their self-interest - for the male pursuit of sex is a self-interested pursuit. Farrell's own pursuit of male supremacist logic leads him along some strange, dark and dangerous roads.
Farrell admits that men are obsessed with sex (as if we didn't know) and his solution is that women - no, beautiful (fertile) women - should let them have it for free and not bother with any provision for any children that come along.
And again, this is the man who today rants on about fatherhood.
When women are concerned with commitment it is really commitment to offspring they are concerned about. The man can take the mother's commitment for granted but fatherhood is fickle. Women know this but Farrell does not even think it is worth discussing - after all, he's only concerned with copulation. He seems to have a psychological block about motherhood and imagines it to be a selfish hobby.
His only real concern about children is that it turns women into 'childaholics' and the men lose out on sex!!!Perhaps if he understood that the male reproductive focus is on fertile women with copulation their goal. Women deal with the aftermath and the way women feel about their children is the way men feel about female beauty. Men focussing on beautiful women and women focussing on beautiful children is how reproduction has succeeded through time.
When human motherhood became so resource and time-consuming and dangerous for women the only way humans continued to survive was because mothers were able to get fathers to do some providing too. This loss of independence for mothers forced women into relationships with men who could use this dependence to manipulate women.
And manipulative is the word I would use for Farrell. Things such as dependency or helplessnes he sees in women is actually that of the potential or actual chidren they have - women are the mouthpieces of a child's needs. Children exist and survive through the actions of their mothers. Men are a step removed from children and seem to miss this point.
Farrell says that when a man does commit to sex with one woman, giving up all the sex with all the beautiful women he could have, it is the most unappreciated adaptation in all human behaviour.!!!!!! So girls, lets all applaud the fathers of our children for giving up all that fun and providing something for their own chidren rather than leaving it all to us. What? I can't seem to hear anything!!!!
Men commiting to children is a recent event in evolution - all the more reason he should stop pontificating today about what wonderful fathers men naturally are. They obviously resent having to provide for children when they could be spending their time and money just getting laid by all those other beauties out there.
If you must buy this book then at least recognize it for the manipulative argument it is and don't be misled by the few 'truths' thrown in that are part of the deceit. And then learn about why sex and the sexes evolved and the inherent conflict of interests that needs a better understanding than Farrell can offer.
Summary of Why Men Are the Way They Are
Farrell has conducted role-playing workshops with thousands of men and women for more than 20 years. His ground-breaking research is the basis for the book, which most experts agree may be one of the most extraordinary, eye-opening books of our time.Self-Help Books
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