The Decline of Males

No one need read "The Decline of Males" for instruction in "1,00l Ways To Be Male in the Coming Millennium." Dr. Tiger states flatly, "The new outcome for men is not yet clear." It is, rather, a deeply disturbing book, and means to be. It raises important questions at both the intimate and cultural levels. He proposes I think a thorough reshuffling of the gender deck--using both hands. At the same time hope it lays a foundation for fresh dialogue between the sexes and a lessening of ideologue diatribes.

Those who are dazzled by the many successful projects (e.g., Stalinist Russia, the Great Cultural Revolution) based on the assumption that human beings are infinitely malleable will object to Tiger's obstinate belief that there is a thing which is usually denominated "human nature." Never mind them, as the ancient Persian Proverb tells us: "The dogs will bark but the caravan moves on." For those of us with sufficient introspection (to mention but one category of evidence) to have noticed that such a thing exists, it will not seem scadalous to suggest that: 1) drastic changes in long-standing customs will have multiple effects; 2) these effects are not all predictable; 3) they are not all necessarily guaranteed to be beneficial; 4) we ought to give them some serious consideration. This seems reason enough to buy the book, but the discomfort of pious correct-thinkers makes a nice garnish.

Lionel Tiger has written an excellent and provocative book--indeed, one that provoked the Kirkus reviewer into a fit of rage. Don't be deterred--he has identified the central social issues of our time and makes you see everyday life in a very different perspective.

I would put this book alongside Diamond's "The third chimpanzee" , "Guns, germs and steel", Wright's "The moral animal" and Sulloway's " Born to Rebel" as recent works that have changed forevermore my worldview (you can't really ask more for [the money]). His conclusions are dead on and very timely for humanity as it stumbles blindly into the brave new world of the 21th century. It is unfortunate that the book is badly in need of a good editor; many of the points which he is trying to bring across are blurred by fuzzy writing. I give Dr Tiger a C for style and an A+ for substance which is fine with me since I'd rather read Proust for style anyway.

Lionel Tiger's insightful new book focuses on changes that are influencing virtually every facet of American society. It is no secret that, since the introduction of birth control, elemental patterns of dating, mating and sexuality have undergone a revolution. Gender barriers that seemed insurmountable two generations ago have greatly diminished if not vanished completely (in 1920, who would have thought that roughly half of Ivy League undergraduates would be women?) Not all the consequences of these changes have been expected or understood. Tiger forces us to confront many of them that have escaped previous analysis. Some people, of course, would rather not think about the facts and issues that now confront us. To see how explosive Tiger's work can be, you need only read the outraged reaction of the Kirkus reviewer. It's not hard to see why highly ideological feminists, with a vested interest in ideas not facts, might be outraged by the book. But for the rest of us, The Decline of Males is must reading.