Warren Farrell on the rise of the Warrior Father

Are we currently going through a major shift in the way that men and women relate to each other? And how are men to find their place in this shifting gender landscape?

I spoke to Dr. Warren Farrell, often called “The Father of the Men’s Movement”, about gender, the challenges boys and men are facing in contemporary society and how to deal with these in a way which is beneficial for men and women.

Certainly in Europe we are increasingly seeing men getting in touch with their feelings and developing their ability to empathise, listen and be sensitive. And at the same time however, the number of singles is skyrocketing as is the number of women deciding to become a single parent. Many women simply fail to find a male partner who they think has anything valuable to contribute to a family.

At Maniphesto we believe that men and women are different, and that we can appreciate these differences – once we understand how to appreciate the value of our respective contributions. We do not believe that men men are in any way more inherently “bad” than women, nor that men should become more like women to be ok.

Dr. Warren Farrell posits the archetypal model of the “Warrior Father” as a possible solution. I asked him if he believed that human attraction is likely to change, or whether it is hard-wired into our system. Dr Farrell answered: “When the Soviet Union was agriculture-based, the ideal woman was Rubenesque. As they became industrialized, quasi-anorexic women were seen as increasingly appealing. Who we find appealing is adaptable. Even more so by women for men. If the culture begins to praise men as “father warriors”, and status is associated with that, a certain percentage of women–usually women who are economically secure and ambitious– will make a shift, and the shift will inspire an increasing shift. ”

Listen to the rest of our conversation in the video above, where we cover issues faced by boys and men in a society marked by shifting gender roles and increasing digitalisation such as:
– differences between mother and father parenting
– boys in the education system
– relationships and marriage
– finding purpose

Maniphesto is an open source, collaborative network for men who, amongst other activities, organise the European Men’s Gathering, happening on the 12th – 15th Sept in 2019.

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