When Men Behave Badly: The Hidden Roots of Sexual Deception, Harassment, and Assault

by David M. Buss

Masculinity does indeed have toxic elements. It is no secret that men have a virtual monopoly on sexual harassment, sexual assault, and crass sexual objectification of women. Patriarchal institutions such as laws that give husbands control over their spouses’ sexuality, for example, are still on the books in some countries and have lingering pernicious effects in others. On the other hand, it is also true that women, as many in the manosphere claim, tend to be attracted to men who have power, status, influence, and resources.2 Some women spurn or ignore men lacking high-status attributes; some men feel invisible when it comes to women. Missing from these manosphere accounts, however, is that women’s mate preferences are enormously complex and include qualities such as honesty, intelligence, dependability, moral character, sense of humor, and many more.