An irreverent, albeit anecdotal, dig into the claim made in incel chat rooms, on Reddit and in the so-called manosphere that it’s easier to be a woman than it is to be a straight white man today. And, guess what? She believes it ... Written in Moran’s usual confessional style — except that she’s defending the very people we’ve grown accustomed to her poking fun at ... Those hoping for a sociological dig into men and masculinity will be disappointed. Her strength is in writing what she knows, and it is impossible even for the most clever and comprehensive author to sum up an entire sex. And anyway, What About Men? isn’t meant to be comprehensive. It’s meant to be funny. But that at times, without research of any kind to support her clever observations...she runs the risk of perpetuating the very stereotypes she’s trying to unravel ... Moran seems to approach the world with irreverence. In the case of this book, readers should do the same.
Not subtle. It is screamingly funny, boldly against the grain and socially urgent. With the world’s evils laid at their door, the perception of men – their perception of themselves – has become unsustainably limited or despicable ... Moran’s great strength is that she argues for men without selling out the sisterhood ... This deeply empathic, brave and rallying work deserves to be every bit the phenomenon that How to Be a Woman was.
When it works, it really does work. When Moran fixes her sights on problems that require urgent solutions, such as the effect that constant pornography saturation has on the brains of boys, she is absolutely note-perfect ... Almost every male subject that Moran broaches is dealt with through the prism of how it relates to women, which means it really works best as a translation device ... What About Men? is a very good start.
On the surface, a wide-ranging text. It covers the childhood, clothing, sexual behaviour, genitalia, pornography, friendships, illness, parenthood and ageing of men. In the process she shows a lot of empathy for the gender which has caused her own a lot of hardship. The problem is the narrow scope of her research. Her main sources are people she knows ... The problem with this is, I also know men. I’m sure you do too. And I’d bet that the men I know are different from the men Caitlin Moran knows and that they’re different again from the men you know. So not everything Moran confidently proclaims about the male gender rings true to me ... Moran is a reliably funny writer ... Moran always writes well. She’s funny and empathetic and her heart is in the right place. She is right that men should be encouraged to talk more about their problems and that they have much to learn from women, but the narrowness of her focus risks essentialising the stereotypes she describes.
Caitlin purports to be in earnest about helping men with their problems, but cannot resist scoring points at their expense. Anything for a laugh, or a nod of approval from a fan – as with her comments about me. Maybe I’m a bitter old man, but I expected more from that witty teenager who so impressed me 30 years ago.
It’s hard to find any of this relatable ... Blinkering ... True, there is also a fine chapter on how pornography is corrupting men and making them miserable, based on a young man’s harrowing story of his addiction. But much more often, Moran’s method is to have a far from original thought.
The book is written in Moran’s racy and raunchy style beloved by her fans though there’s an occasional misstep ... A breezy read but with few new insights and will no doubt find itself in the Women’s Section of the bookstores. The real proof of this pudding will come from the response of the men who have the fortune or persistence to find and eat it.
Moran’s candid humor does the cause of gender equality more harm than good ... The framework she builds... is clever, and accessible ... The book’s problems, however, outweigh its entertainment value. For starters, the "journalism" on which she bases her shaky suppositions makes a mockery of the profession ... Unsurprisingly, the conclusion she draws, and spends 300 pages attempting to defend, is insulting to her own intelligence, and ours.
Typical Moran-like ... Insightful nuggets of truth and practical wisdom mix with the snorts and sputters of laughter, making this a worthwhile, enjoyable, and timely read.
