Richard Reeves describes himself as a feminist yet positions himself as an advocate for men and boys. It’s a ridiculous position because feminism is (as we all know) the pursuit of female supremacy and inevitably results in harm to men and boys (and most women and girls, come to that).

In 2022 Janice Fiamengo published an excellent article on her Substack channel, a critique of Reeves’s then recently-published Of Boys and Men. It was titled, Saving Men from Feminism in order to Save Feminism Is a Lousy Idea. An extract should give you a flavour of her piece:

“What is required, according to Reeves, “is a simple change in mindset, recognizing that gender inequalities can go in both directions.” While acknowledging that such a change will not be easy, Reeves calls on those he claims to be “the strongest advocates for gender equality, many of whom are on the liberal side of the political spectrum, to take a more balanced view.” Ouch. Here the woeful inadequacy – even incoherence – of Reeves’ blinkered perspective becomes sadly evident. While I heartily commend Reeves for his compassion for boys, his inability or unwillingness to admit that feminism and progressivism are the problems – not the solutions, as he suggests – is an all-too-familiar fatal flaw.”

Which brings me to Is there hope for gender equality? A conversation with Richard V. Reeves and Gloria Steinem. It’s just been published on the website of the innocuous-sounding American Institute for Boys and Men, of which Reeves is the President.

Against my better judgement I started to read the typescript of the discussion between Reeves and Steinem but gave up after this:

Richard Reeves: Yeah. Stephanie Stan Cheever’s work suggests a rise in zero-sum thinking. In other words: if one group rises, that must mean another group falls. So if you want women to do better, then it means you have to be indifferent to—or even celebrate—the struggles of men, because it’s like one or the other, right? And then the same the other way around.

And that’s not the spirit of the women’s movement that you’re the leader of.

Gloria Steinem: No, absolutely not.

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