Matt Haig has hit back after his plans to write a book about "gender and the pitfalls of masculinity" received a negative reaction from some very vocal Twitter users.

The British author proposed the idea for his next non-fiction novel on 13 June but swiftly "abandoned" it, before deciding that actually, the response "shows it needs to be written".

Haig, whose recent depression memoir Reasons to Stay Alive received five star reviews, wanted to posit the argument that "men benefit more than women from sexism, but both would be better off with feminism".

Sadly, this led to a barrage of unhelpful comments, with some followers telling him that "feminism doesn't exist to help males" and that because of his male gender, he should "stop talking about feminism".

Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Show all 18 1 /18 Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Feminist Quotes From Leading Men John Legend “All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights, the world will be a better place. We are better off when women are empowered — it leads to a better society.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Matt McGorry “I'm embarrassed to admit that I only recently discovered the ACTUAL definition of "feminism". The fact that the term is sometimes clouded with anything other than pure support and positivity in our society is very tragic. I believe in gender equality. Being a feminist is for both women AND men. I AM A FEMINIST. In for equality? Pass it on.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Hugh Jackman “I'm for gender equality because it should’ve never been any other way!” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Seth Meyers “When you work with the sort of really strong women that I work with, the idea that anyone would want to make decisions for them is hard to wrap your head around.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Ezra Miller “I feel that all revolutionary causes should start with addressing misogyny.” Joseph Gordon-Levitt: “I do call myself a feminist. Absolutely! It’s worth paying attention to the roles that are sort of dictated to us and that we don’t have to fit into those roles. We can be anybody we wanna be.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Joss Whedon “[My mother] really was an extraordinary, inspirational, tough, cool, sexy, funny woman. And that’s the kind of woman I’ve always surrounded myself with, my friends and particularly my wife, who is not only smarter than and stronger than I am, but occasionally taller too. I think it also goes back to my father and my stepfather, because they prized wit and resolve in the women they were with above all things and they were among the rare men who understood that recognizing someone else’s power doesn’t diminish your own.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Ryan Gosling “I’m attracted to films that have strong female characters because there are strong female characters in my life.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Eddie Vedder “I’m usually good about my temper, but all these men trying to control women’s bodies are really beginning to piss me off. They’re talking from a bubble. They’re not talking from the street, and they’re not in touch with what’s real.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Mark Ruffalo “My own mother fought to make herself more than a possession; she lived her life as a mother who chose when she would have children, and a wife who could earn a living if she so chose. I want my daughters to enjoy that same choice. I don’t want to turn back the hands of time to when women shuttled across state lines in the thick of night to resolve an unwanted pregnancy, in a cheap hotel room just south of the state line. Where a transaction of $600 cash becomes the worth of a young woman’s life.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Prince Harry “We know that when women are empowered, they immeasurably improve the lives of those around them – their families, their communities and their countries.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Iggy Pop “I’m not ashamed to dress ‘like a woman’ because I don’t think it’s shameful to be a woman.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Daniel Craig “Women are responsible for two-thirds of the work done worldwide, yet earn only 10 percent of the total income and own 1 percent of the property… So, are we equals? Until the answer is yes, we must never stop asking.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Jon Hamm "Men ruled the roost and women played a subservient role [in the Sixties]. Working wives were a rarity, because their place was in the home, bringing up the kids. The women who did work were treated as second-class citizens because it was a male-dominated society. That was a fact of life then. But it wouldn't be tolerated today, and that's quite right in my book... people look back on those days through a thick veil of nostalgia, but life was hard if you were anything other than a rich, powerful, white male." Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Dalai Lama “I call myself a feminist. Isn’t that what you call someone who fights for women’s rights?” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Alan Alda "I think [misogyny] is like a disease that needs to be cured. And if we could eradicate polio, I don't see why we can't eradicate misogyny." Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Andy Samberg "Since there have been men and women, there have been funny women... f***ing idiot-ass men keep saying that women aren't funny. It makes me crazy. I find it disgusting and offensive every time." Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Barack Obama “We stand with women by fighting for economic security, protecting access to health care and supporting women’s leadership across the country.” Getty Feminist Quotes From Leading Men Kurt Cobain “Rape is one of the most terrible crimes on earth and it happens every few minutes. The problem with groups who deal with rape is that they try to educate women about how to defend themselves. What really needs to be done is teaching men not to rape. Go to the source and start there.” Getty

"Maybe I am missing something. There may be too many books about and by men, but not many looking at the perils of masculinity," Haig wrote on Saturday.

"Am I wrong? Unless you want to do away with men, then we need to look at what masculinity is and why its current interpretation causes problems."

Haig continued with a string of tweets attempting to back up his viewpoint, insisting that all he wants is for his son "not to feel self-conscious he likes ballet and [his] daughter to carry on playing Han Solo".

"Feminism isn't about crushing men into silence, it's about standing side by side," one user wrote, while another expressed frustration at Haig being attacked for "talking about expanding male identity beyond patriarchal stereotypes".

Haig told the Guardian that he had been shocked by the backlash to his suggestion. "I've always thought feminism had a lot to say about both genders, as it is hard to talk about one without the other," he said. "I think men and women alike would benefit from men having a more fluid idea of what being a man is."

Haig's proposed subject matter echoes the intentions of rapper Professor Green in some respect, who will be hosting a new BBC Three documentary about male suicide in a bid to encourage more men with mental health problems to open up.

Professor Green will share personal experiences of his father's suicide (Hand out press photograph provided by Camilla Gould)

Green was made patron of male suicide prevention charity Calm last month. He was just 24 when his estranged father killed himself.

"If anything comes from this documentary it's that we should not feel ashamed or embarrassed to open up and talk to those around us about our feelings, in particular young men," Green said. "Collectively we need to break the stigma surrounding suicide."