Published in 2014
256 pages
Nikki van der Gaag is an independent writer and consultant based in the UK. She has been involved in feminism and development for more than 20 years and has held senior editorial and communications posts in the non-profit sector, including at Oxfam, the New Internationalist and the Panos Institute. She specializes in writing about gender, in particular girls’ issues, and men and gender equality. She is the principal author of six of the eight State of the World’s Girls reports and has written nine other books, including The No-nonsense Guide to Women’s Rights.
What is this book about?
What is men’s position in the feminist story? Are men villains or victims? Whilst the answer is both and neither both genders are still seen in terms of these kinds of unhelpful categories and while feminist waves have ensured that in theory at least, many women are now able to do the things that used to be done only by men, the reality of how men are seen and see themselves has changed very little across the globe.
Many young women exist in a world very different from that of their grandmothers. In many countries they can vote and stand for Parliament, earn money, have the choice of who they want to marry, or whether to marry or not. In others, there has been a backlash against these rights, but even here, most women recognise that these rights exist even if they cannot claim them. But what about men? Though they still hold the power in the boardroom, in parliament and often in the family too, their attitudes towards women – and towards themselves – have often changed very little over the decades. Has feminism itself left some men confused and others angry with concerns that ‘men are losing out’?
