Remember when a woman named Jackie claimed she was gang-raped at a University of Virginia frat party? Rolling Stone magazine conducted an extensive interview with the so-called victim and ran an enormous editorial on the crime, without bothering to interview the presumed attackers.

Turns out there were so many "discrepancies" in Jackie's story that Rolling Stone was forced to print a humiliating retraction. Whatever "issues" Jackie has in her life, it didn't involve a gang-rape by the members of the fraternity she accused.

This kind of feminist-fueled nonsense just feeds into the "rape culture" hysteria plaguing colleges today, in which men are presumed to be rapists merely for possessing the right equipment, and women are presumed to be honest and virtuous whenever they interpret a passing glance from a man as a preliminary attack.

"The feminist power agenda has caused serious problems on college campuses," wrote David Usher in a column entitled "Feminism: Today's women's Ku Klux Klan." "California just enacted 'Yes Means Yes,' a widely criticized law converting college life into a witch hunt for a non-existent campus rape 'crisis.'"

While this situation is horrible, unfortunately it reflects a growing trend of an increasing chasm between the sexes. Women are claiming everything from an appraising glance to a misplaced word are "sexual assault," and as a result a growing number of men are withdrawing from any association with women at all, as a means of defense or survival if nothing else.

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Thus was born a movement called "Men Going Their Own Way," or MGTOW. I had never heard about it before last fall, but once brought to my attention, I've seen related stories cropping up all over the place. Many men, it seems, have decided women aren't worth the trouble. They are eager to participate in one-night stands, but that's about the extent of their willingness to commit. This in not just a case of "Why buy the cow when the milk is free?" Instead, for many men it seems the cost of the cow is simply too high.

In a lot of cases, I can't say I blame them. I may not like their misogyny, but I can understand the sentiment.

"Never before in history have relations between the sexes been so fraught with anxiety, animosity and misunderstanding," notes Milo Yiannopoulos in a Breitbart article. "To radical feminists, who have been the driving force behind many tectonic societal shifts in recent decades, that's a sign of success: they want to tear down the institutions and power structures that underpin society, never mind the fall-out."

This article interviewed European men who are grim about their future. "Marriage is dead," noted a young gamer. "Divorce means you're screwed for life. Women have given up on monogamy, which makes them uninteresting to us for any serious relationship or raising a family. That's just the way it is. Even if we take the risk, chances are the kids won't be ours. In France, we even have to pay for the kids a wife has through adulterous affairs."

"[T]he sight of society breaking down, and ordinary men and women being driven into separate but equal misery, thanks to a small but highly organized group of agitators, is distressing," continues Yiannopoulos. "Particularly because, as increasing numbers of social observers are noticing, an entire generation of young people – mostly men – are being left behind in the wreckage of this social engineering project."

You can hardly blame men for withdrawing from society, Yiannopoulos concludes.

"Cruelly derided as man-children and crybabies for objecting to absurdly unfair conditions in college, bars, clubs and beyond, men are damned if they do and damned if they don't: ridiculed as basement-dwellers for avoiding aggressive, demanding women with unrealistic expectations, or called rapists and misogynists merely for expressing sexual interest."

This is confirmed by another article, which recounts how "Seventy percent of American males between the ages of 20 and 34 are not married, and many live in a state of 'perpetual adolescence' with ominous consequences for the nation's future. … Far too many young men have failed to make a normal progression into adult roles of responsibility and self-sufficiency, roles generally associated with marriage and fatherhood. … The high percentage of bachelors means bleak prospects for millions of young women who dream about a wedding day that may never come. … Young women who adhere to a moral code and refuse to participate in the 'hook up' culture are now considered social misfits. … And they face even more daunting odds of finding a husband than their promiscuous sisters."

That's because if young women are not willing to "put out," many men won't have anything to do with them. And if women are willing to sleep around, the men take advantage of this for purely sexual reasons, not as a means to a deeper commitment.

Then, of course, the men will wonder if they'll later be accused of rape, no matter how willing the female participant might have been.

In short, men and women are so suspicious of each other's motives, neither can trust the other and often withdraw into eternal singlehood rather than risk ugly consequences. The result of this mutual distrust is rampant meaningless uncommitted sex and a dearth of solid, happily married couples. Can you see this as a recipe for a stable society in the future?

I find this trend poignantly sad. As one reader put it: "Trust me, nobody wants to be on their deathbed and only see the people who want their money gathered around. Which is what happens when you abandon the role of father and protector, and instead 'go your own way' as some kind of weird Peter Pan, never growing up, but always getting older. … Victory isn't achieved by living your life alone. Victory is achieved when you find someone who fits you to a 'T' and marry them. Modern feminism hasn't corrupted all women, you just need to get outside of your comfy life and find them."

This attitude is countered by a bitter comment from the Breitbart article from a man who went his own way: "For the past, at least, 25 years, I've been told to do more and more to keep a woman. But nobody's told me what they're doing to keep me."

So many women who hate men. So many men who hate women.

Why does this concern me? After all, my husband and I just celebrated our silver anniversary. We couldn't be happier.

We have no sons who might someday get accused of rape for no reason. But we have daughters, daughters who show every promise of someday being a good man's dream wife – if there are any good men left who are willing to risk marriage at all. But too many men will look at statistics, facts and figures and decide to foreswear off all women. And I couldn't blame them.

It's just sad.

Learn how to achieve a simple lifestyle without "going green" or joining a monastery. Read Patrice Lewis' helpful book, "The Simplicity Primer: 365 Ideas for Making Life more Livable"

Media wishing to interview Patrice Lewis, please contact [email protected].

