Alix O'Hara

An unfortunate example of the insidiously poisoned values that the author unmasks. No discussion of abortion is complete without even mentioning the lack of supports for women if they go ahead with an unwanted pregnancy. If more women were allowed to power without sacrificing their femininity - if we were ever even considered for it - then society may have done more to protect us where society started falling apart. Feminism isn't about man-hating, it's about demanding to be equipped and enabled fend for ourselves if men won't. I'm not sure what "natural boy behaviour" he's speaking about that they're singled out for punishment for besides theft, sexual assault of peers and other impunious belligerent behaviour, while women are pruned to absorb all of the above... I consider that a man has grown up when he develops capacity to see any of that. (Amazing how rapidly a male will slip into sidelining women as unimportant except to breed with, and to provide nurture.) We ARE tyrannised by bumbling overgrown boys and psychopathic predators, and saying that doesn't make someone influenced, it makes them a realist. Toxic masculinity doesn't represent everyone, but it is definitely real. If he's had his masculine protective instincts eroded, then he should have consulted feminine interests before enshrining implication that abortion isn't also perfectly rational. The "Paradox of declining female happiness" may have something to do with the rising costs of living. He could have also done more research about the effects of banning abortion on crime rate, about female warriors (Nordic, Dahomi, Iceni, Artemisia), about the influence of other gods, and I find his academic style repetitive. Nevertheless, it's probably a landmark work, there are a lot of important insights in there. I just wish it was written by somebody else.