Men are the new, silent victims of the sex war, "continually demeaned and insulted" by women without a whimper of protest. A "lazy and insidious" culture has taken hold within feminism that revels in flailing men. "Men seem to be so cowed that they can't fight back, and it's time they did."
You might guess that these are the words of an anti-feminist, but they're not. They were some of the comments made by well-known feminist writer Doris Lessing at the Edinburgh Book Festival held from August 11-27. Her outburst made front page news in the August 15 Sydney Morning Herald.
The Herald's editor evidently thought it was newsworthy — a self-proclaimed feminist railing against the brutal excesses of feminism.
The 81-year-old Zimbabwean-born writer has written many novels, among them The Grass is Singing and The Golden Notebook, which have made her something of a feminist icon during the 1960s and 1970s.
The article cites one of Lessing's experiences: "I was in a class of nine- and 10-year-olds, girls and boys, and this young woman was telling these kids that the reason for wars was the innately violent nature of men. You could see the little girls, fat with complacency and conceit while the little boys sat there crumpled, apologising for their existence, thinking this was going to be the pattern of their lives."
Lessing said the teacher tried to "catch my eye, thinking I would approve of this rubbish". She added: "This kind of thing is happening in schools all over the place and no-one says a thing. It has become a kind of religion that you can't criticise because then you become a traitor to the great cause, which I am not."
Despite her denials, Lessing does betray the feminist cause — by misrepresenting its focus. Her experience with a teacher who explains war in terms of male aggression is hardly evidence that men are the new victims of a sex war.
Lessing laments that feminism's achievements have been at men's expense: "Great things have been achieved through feminism ... There are many wonderful, clever, powerful women everywhere, but what is happening to men? Why did this have to be at the cost of men?"
The vast majority of feminist activists would agree that the goals of feminism are not served by making men's lives a misery. Feminists' target is the social system which relies on the discrimination against women, which relies on women being allocated a specific social role as housewives, mothers, carers and nurturers and as a result restricts their life choices.
Feminism is about achieving concrete advances for women, such as the elimination of sexual violence, greater reproductive choice, extensive provision of child care and equal access to skilled jobs.
While the social system is the source of women's oppression, feminists also recognise that many men play a role in perpetuating sexist attitudes and behaviour which make it easier for the discrimination against women to continue.
Lessing asserts that advances made by women have been at the expense of men, that men suffer because of feminism. This is only the case if we accept Lessing's assertion that feminism is a war against men, that feminists are working to dominate men in every sphere.
Some women are certainly hostile towards men, but they often have understandable motives. The high incidence of rape, sexual assault, incest and domestic violence reinforces the fact that many women still suffer terribly at the hands of men.
Men do not suffer at the expense of feminism.
Men do not suffer from the provision of child care which helps to socialise some of the individual burden of looking after children, which women usually shoulder the bulk of.
Men needn't suffer from women's greater independence, self confidence and assertiveness, which help to contribute to more rounded, emotionally healthy relationships between men and women.
One of feminism's goals is to win men to an understanding that the liberation of women will contribute substantially to the liberation of all working people.
Lessing, in joining with the corporate media and other anti-feminists to define and condemn feminism as perpetuating a "sex war", is only helping to deepen the ideological backlash against the gains the feminist movement has fought so hard for.
BY SARAH STEPHEN