Suzanne Venker, niece of Phyllis Schlafly and one of my personal favorite anti-feminists, shows us how it’s done…

1) Give your article a “provocative” headline. “The war on men” should do the trick.

2) Pretend all gay, lesbian, and trans people do not exist.

3) Cherry-pick a single statistic that supports your argument. For example, point to a poll released recently last spring that found that the share of young women who say having a successful marriage is one of the most important things in their lives rose from 28 to 37 percent since 1997, while among young men it dropped from 35 to 29 percent. Ignore all other recent studies that show that men are just as eager as women to fall in love, settle down, and have a family–if not more so. Instead, based on your interviews with “hundreds, if not thousands” of people, conclude that men are “retreating from marriage en masse.”

4) Talk about “good men” and “marriageable men” as if these are concepts that mean anything. Ignore the fact that the institution of marriage has evolved (gasp!) from being a social and economic necessity to a voluntary relationship based on love that seems increasingly obsolete to many people of both genders.



5) Pretend feminism is just about blaming men for everything. Accuse feminists of “browbeating the American male,” of blaming men “when love goes awry,” of raising women to “think of men as the enemy,” and pushing both men and women off their respective “pedestals.” Do not acknowledge that sexism exists. Note that women make up a majority of the workforce, but do not mention the pay gap. Say that “women are angry.” Hope nobody wonders if they might have some good reasons to be.

6) Make sweeping essentialist generalizations about men’s and women’s “natures.” Write lines like, “Women aren’t women anymore.” Vaguely allude to some evolutionary psychology bullshit to justify doing so. “Men want to love women, not compete with them. They want to provide for and protect their families – it’s in their DNA.” Act like this is real science.