The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men

Table of Contents

Reviews

5 stars. A clear, concise argument supporting radical feminists’ demand that we must end institutionalized male dominance if we hope to achieve a just society….I was impressed with Jensen’s approach to radical feminism.  I was familiar with much of what he had to say, and I like how he summarized complex issues.  I wish all the women and men with whom I discuss feminist issues would read this small book.  I am glad to recommend it to a wide range of men and women who are interested in the cutting edge of feminist theory today. Read more here.

— Marilyn Brady, Me, You and Books Blog

Patriarchy is the water that we swim in, and it is poisonous and rank. Unless we see that, how can we ever escape into fresh clean air? In this lucid, balanced and immaculately argued book, Robert Jensen builds his case inexorably towards answering the biggest questions of our lives. Can we re-discover an equal society for humans? Can we live on this earth? We did once, and we can again. This is a book of hope.

— Steve Biddulph AM, author of The New Manhood

At a time when much of what passes for feminism is actually a neo-liberal approach that privileges individual empowerment over revolutionary social change, Robert Jensen comes out with a much-needed book that is bound to put the radical back in feminism. His insightful analysis, unflinching commitment to radical feminism, and his courageous call to eradicate patriarchy makes The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men a refreshing and bold text. 

— Gail Dines, Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, Wheelock College, and author of Pornland: How Porn has Hijacked our Sexuality

Drawing on his many years of work, challenging toxic masculinity and the 'pathology of patriarchy', Robert Jensen shows what it really means — in both political and deeply personal ways — for men to support an end to systems of male dominance. Any man who considers himself an ally of the feminist movement should read this book. And then they should encourage every man they know to read it too.

— Meagan Tyler, PhD, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, RMIT University, and co-editor of Freedom Fallacy: The limits of liberal feminism.

Read this book. Reckon with it. In a culmination of his life’s work to understand, address, and resist inequality, Robert Jensen offers us a critical interrogation of patriarchy and male dominance and also a call to action. This book is important and uncomfortable, and it is both of these things because of Jensen’s unflinching radical analysis and deep emotional honesty.

— Matthew B. Ezzell, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology, James Madison University

The End of Patriarchy is a must-read book for men — and women — who know in their gut that men's economic, social and political dominance does terrible harm to women and men, but who lack the cogent arguments or words to express how. With his trademark style that manages to convey both heartfelt humility and breathtaking moral clarity, Robert Jensen expresses the fear that so many men have of engaging deeply with feminist ideas — as well as the incalculable rewards for those willing to take the leap.

— Jackson Katz, PhD, author of The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women

To end patriarchy, men must confront male domination and stop it. That might seem like too tall of an order, but in The End of Patriarchy Robert Jensen turns that personal challenge into a political call to action. He daringly shows that radical feminist thought and action is essential to our survival as a species and planet. Through his self-reflection and critical thinking, we discover a man who is a role model for men and boys, students and activists, in the struggle to create a genuine society free from misogyny and inequality.

— Kathleen Barry, Professor Emerita, author of The Prostitution of Sexuality and Unmaking War, Remaking Men

Women will be grateful for this book because Robert Jensen will be heard by men in a way that women are not. If men will open their minds to it, it will change their lives.

— Betty McLellan, PhD, author of Unspeakable: A feminist ethic of speech.

The End of Patriarchy poses a bold challenge to both the patriarchal inequalities which brutalise women and limit men and the stunted visions of gender and its transformation visible in contemporary gender politics. In this highly readable and passionate work, Robert Jensen offers an eloquent account of the implications of radical feminist insights for men’s everyday lives and choices.

— Michael Flood, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong

For more than two decades Robert Jensen has been a thorn in the side of patriarchy, pushing us to see how a sexist world both constructs and constrains who we are. He simultaneously dares us to look inside at the damage it's done to us, and to imagine a world beyond its cruel constructs. I don't always agree with him, but I believe it is imperative that I read his work, wrestle with his ideas. Some of his ideas are not ‘nice’ but they are necessary.

— Michael Kimmel, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Stony Brook University, and author of Angry White Men

In The End of Patriarchy, Robert Jensen reveals that far from being an outmoded ideology, radical feminist thought is a political practice that transforms us from the inside out forcing us to confront the painful and profound ways in which patriarchy distorts our collective humanity. He challenges all of us to reconsider how radical feminism can help us to think through the most pressing social issues of the current moment from the persistence of rape culture to patterns of ecological destruction that threaten the future of human life on the planet. This book is an invitation to engage with radical feminism’s insights and the critical strategies for imagining a better and more just social order. A truly powerful and necessary text.

— Courtney Morris, Assistant Professor, The Pennsylvania State University

I recommend this book precisely because it is written by a man who reflects upon patriarchy as a social structure that dehumanizes both men and women, and who does so without asserting a false equivalence between men’s experiences and the threats that women face and the injuries we experience.

— Heather Brunskell-Evans, Dignity

Said simply: Pornography is one way in a patriarchal society that male dominance is eroticised, that male power is made sexually exciting. Yes, women use pornography as well, and yes there are many different kinds of sexually explicit material, including gay male and lesbian pornography. But the pornography industry makes most of its money selling images of objectified female bodies for male sexual pleasure.

— Conatus Review

Though very challenging, this book is an important intervention. It left me with the sense that patriarchy is one of the most profoundly destructive and deeply ingrained forms of oppression today. And yet it also left me with a renewed sense of the importance of working to overcome it, both personally and politically. Highly recommended.

— Jonathan Rutherford, The New International Bookshop

Jensen is highly regarded, through past writings like Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity, for pushing men to be more self-critical of themselves and male privilege. The End of Patriarchy is similarly situated to interrogate men more, and support the organizing for which it advocates.

— Ernesto Aguilar, Feminist Current

The book announces the end of patriarchy and offers radical feminism as a better option, for men as well as for women. Indeed, the patriarchal era is passing away, but the resilience of the domination/subordination paradigm should not be underestimated, as the rarity of feminine presence in institutions of governance worldwide confirms.

— Luis Gutierrez, Mother Pelican

Jensen presents a brilliant and brave analysis of patriarchy and its costs. His thoughts concerning rape, pornography, and transgenderism are deeply insightful and important — and especially compelling in their clarity and honesty. This book is a must-read for men and women who, like Jensen, care passionately about imagining and creating a sustainable, humane, and socially just world.

— Rebecca Bigler, Professor of Psychology and Women's and Gender Studies, University of Texas

This is a terrific, powerful, informative book. There is not one page without an idea worth discussing and exploring. Jensen emerges as a wise and humble man willing to listen to women and to question men. Such men are rare. He does the opposite of mansplaining: man-listening-to-women! I love it!

—Jeffrey Masson, author of Beasts: What Animals Can Teach Us About the Origins of Good and Evil