The Dangerous Sex

First published in 1966, The Dangerous Sex shows how the irrational concept of the "dangerous sex" evolved and how it was – and is – used by man to maintain his dominance. He examines sexual practices and beliefs, marriage customs and rituals, and social behaviour in every society and every age from pre-historic times to the present day. The result is a revealing picture of the deep-seated male hostility that generates the way of the sexes and has fed it throughout human history. It is also a blazing indictment of this ingrained psycho-social pattern, as it unconsciously destroys and disrupts huge areas of human happiness. In this enquiry into misogyny, H. R. Hays suggests that men must face their own compulsions before a true and balanced relation between the sexes is achieved. This book therefore throws a new light on the problems of feminism, the feminine mystique and the whole controversy concerning the place of women in society, and will be of interest to students of literature, gender studies, anthropology and psychology.