men as more oppressed than women, a belief he articulated inWhy Men Are the Way They Are, arguing that women had been excessively venting their frustrations on men and wielding undue influence. At the University of California School of Medicine at San Diego, he began teaching courses on men's issues.

Geraldine Ferraro

Geraldine Ferraro, a trailblazing member of Congress, made history when Democrat Walter Mondale tapped her as his vice-presidential running mate in 1984. Faludi documents how Ferraro's groundbreaking nomination drew fierce criticism from conservative circles, with accusations that the Democrats had "surrendered" to feminist pressures in selecting her.

Betty Friedan

Once a towering figure in American feminism, Betty Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women and penned the seminal 1963 work, The Feminine Mystique. Faludi reflects on Friedan's 1981 book, The Next Stage, which posits that the women’s movement leaders of the 1960s and 1970s were too confrontational and had neglected the essential issues of motherhood and family.

George Gilder

Initially an advocate for women’s rights and feminism, George Gilder eventually rebranded himself as a staunch conservative commentator. Proclaiming himself as "America’s number-one antifeminist," he authored works such as Wealth and Poverty, Sexual Suicide, Men and Marriage, and Naked Nomads, advancing a conservative critique of feminist ideologies.

Carol Gilligan

The 1980s saw the publication of numerous books exploring gender differences and extolling "women’s extraordinary capacity for kindness, service to others, and collaboration," according to Faludi. Amidst this landscape, Carol Gilligan's In a Different Voice emerged as "one of the most influential feminist works of the '80s." Though Gilligan intended to highlight how men downplayed women’s moral growth, anti-feminist factions misappropriated her work to further discriminatory agendas against women.

Sylvia Ann Hewlett, an esteemed member of the Council on Foreign Relations and various influential think tanks, launched a scathing critique of the women's movement in her book A Lesser Life: Myths of Women’s Liberation in America. Her argument unfolded with the view that feminism, while a boon to upper-class career women, has inflicted damage upon those she terms "ordinary women."

Saul Hoffman

Intrigued by the intricacies of divorce statistics, economist Saul Hoffman from the University of Delaware, alongside Greg Duncan, took a bold stance against Marlene Weitzman’s perspective on the impoverishing effects of divorce on women. Their research, juxtaposed with Weitzman’s data, uncovered that although women initially face a dip in their living standards post-divorce, this decline is a fleeting one. Remarkably, Hoffman and Duncan asserted that within five years, these women enjoyed a higher standard of living than before the divorce.

Christian Lacroix

Renowned fashion designer Christian Lacroix captivated the fashion world by introducing a style he dubbed "High Femininity," where women's bodies were tightly cinched into waist-defining corsets and reshaped by provocative push-up bras. Lacroix, in his own words, crafted these garments for women who enjoy "dressing up like little girls." As Faludi notes, Lacroix, along with his contemporaries, engaged in the backlash against feminism by championing clothing that imposed "punitively restrictive" constraints.

Beverly LaHaye

Beverly LaHaye embodied a striking paradox for Faludi: a powerhouse career woman who managed both a family and a firm belief in the New Right’s assertion that such a life is neither attainable nor suitable. She founded the anti-feminist group Concerned Women for America in 1978. In Faludi's portrayal, LaHaye insists that her authority did not undermine the doctrine that men should lead households, as women like her sought "spiritual power" rather than worldly power. LaHaye articulated this philosophy in her book, The Spirit-Controlled Woman, and co-authored The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love, described by Faludi as "the evangelical counterpart of The Joy of Sex."

Sherry Lansing

In the realm of cinema, Sherry Lansing emerged as a commanding force, overseeing the release of influential films like Fatal Attraction and The Accused during the 1980s. Faludi posits Fatal Attraction—depicting a single career woman’s obsessive affair with a married man—as a testament to the cultural and societal backlash against women’s rights prevalent in that era. Lansing’s decision to release The Accused, a harrowing tale of gang rape where bystanders remain passive, was seen by Faludi as a superficial attempt to "burnish her feminist credentials," questioning the need for audiences to be reminded that rape victims deserve empathy.

Margarita Levin

Margarita Levin, a distinguished philosophy professor at Yeshiva University with expertise in the philosophy of mathematics, was portrayed by Faludi as "an intellectual ally" in her husband Michael Levin’s "antifeminist essays." Amusingly, Faludi notes that within the Levin household, traditionally female duties, such as child care, were performed by Michael Levin as much as by his wife.

Michael Levin

Michael Levin, another philosopher, penned Feminism and Freedom, a controversial book that argued for the innateness of gender roles, asserting that women juggling both career and family defy these inherent roles. Married to Margarita Levin, he shared domestic responsibilities traditionally assigned to women, blurring the lines in their household.

Adrian Lyne

Adrian Lyne, director of the 1987 cinematic sensation Fatal Attraction, explored the dark narrative of a career woman’s relentless pursuit of a married man who spurns her. Faludi cites this film as emblematic of the cultural backlash against women’s rights in the 1980s, with Lyne contributing to the portrayal of single women as "the Dark Woman." Lyne controversially remarked that single women might be "overcompensating for not being men."

John T. Malloy

Former English teacher John Malloy penned the 1977 bestseller The Woman’s Dress for Success Book, urging women to adorn themselves for the careers they aspire to. Faludi observes that Malloy was a "proponent of rising expectations for women," advising them to leverage intellect over appearance to ascend professionally. The "High Femininity" fashion trend of the 1980s, she argues, was a counter to Malloy's empowering message.

Paul Marciano

In the early 1980s, Paul Marciano, alongside his brothers, launched the iconic Guess clothing line. Faludi contends that Guess adeptly capitalized on the backlash, crafting advertising campaigns depicting passive women alongside assertive men. Marciano claimed these designs were inspired by his admiration for the American West and 1950s, eras where women "knew their place, which was supportive, and their role, which was decorative."

Connie Marshner

Connie Marshner, an influential executive with conservative organizations like the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation and the Heritage Foundation, was raised by liberal parents who championed education and career for her. Ironically, Faludi paints her as a beneficiary of feminism, enjoying both a flourishing career and family, yet advocating New Right ideologies that deny the coexistence of career and motherhood.

Jeanne Moorman, a dedicated demographer within the realm of marriage and family statistics at the U.S. Census Bureau, first encountered whispers of the Harvard-Yale marriage study through a deluge of inquisitive reporters seeking her insights. Driven by curiosity, Moorman embarked on her own quest to replicate the study's findings. Her analysis revealed a stark contrast, painting a far more optimistic picture for college-educated, never-married women over thirty: their chances of tying the knot were significantly higher than previously suggested. Moorman's research illustrated that these women were not avoiding marriage but merely postponing it. Despite her efforts to connect with the Yale and Harvard researchers, her initial attempts were met with silence. When they eventually engaged, Moorman found them to be unyielding and uncooperative, as Faludi recounts.

Faith Popcorn

Faith Popcorn, an advertising maven and celebrated "leading consumer authority," rose to prominence in the 1980s by forecasting social whims. Candidly, she confessed that her foresights were often gleaned from the pages of popular magazines, television dramas, and blockbuster books, rather than from rigorous consumer studies. Popcorn famously heralded "cocooning" as the decade's defining trend, a shift where individuals increasingly preferred the comfort of home and the nostalgia of "Mom foods" like meatloaf and chicken potpie. However, Faludi criticizes how the media skewed Popcorn's ostensibly gender-neutral concept into a portrayal of women retreating from the workforce, transforming "cocooning" into a narrative of women abandoning careers for domestic life.

Ronald Reagan

In 1980, Ronald Reagan ascended to the presidency of the United States on the wings of a staunchly conservative social and economic manifesto. Faludi highlights a 1982 speech where Reagan attributed the nation's economic woes to the influx of working women, asserting that the burgeoning female workforce exacerbated unemployment statistics.

Charles Revson

Charles Revson, the visionary frontman of Revlon, envisaged a fragrance that would encapsulate the spirit of women's liberation and independence in the early 1970s. Enter "Charlie," a perfume that swiftly became a sensation. However, by the late 1980s, a representative from Revson announced a recalibration of the Charlie campaign, acknowledging that they may have overstepped in their embrace of women's liberation.

Phyllis Schlafly

Phyllis Schlafly emerged as a formidable force within the conservative New Right movement of the 1980s, fervently opposing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution. A Harvard-educated lawyer and prolific author, Schlafly also ran for Congress twice. She crusaded against the ERA, claiming it would strip women of their cherished legal rights to be full-time homemakers and mothers, sustained by a husband's income.

Aaron Spelling

Television titan Aaron Spelling brought to life the late 1980s show Angels ‘88, a modern-day revisit of his earlier success, Charlie’s Angels. According to Faludi, the original series showcased "three jiggle-prone private eyes," who answered to the enigmatic Charlie, often seen cavorting in bikinis. Spelling assured audiences that his new venture was a step forward, as it featured a woman as the authoritative figure—a nurse at that.

Ben Wattenberg

Ben Wattenberg, a syndicated columnist and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, sparked discussions with his 1987 publication The Birth Dearth. In his book, Wattenberg warned that American women opting for smaller families would ultimately undermine the nation's economic and cultural fabric. Faludi asserts that Wattenberg and his contemporaries urged women to embrace motherhood, driven by "society's baser instincts" like xenophobia, militarism, and bigotry. They argued that if white, educated, middle-class women didn't procreate, "paupers, fools, and foreigners would." Wattenberg attributed the decline in traditional roles to the women's movement and feminism.

Lenore Weitzman

Lenore Weitzman made waves with her 1985 work, The Divorce Revolution: The Unexpected Social and Economic Consequences for Women and Children in America. Faludi notes that Weitzman's revelations about the adverse economic impact of no-fault divorce laws on women and children fueled debates against divorce law reform throughout the 1980s. Though Weitzman herself refrained from targeting feminists for such legislation, Faludi observes that her book's proponents often did so.

Paul Weyrich

Leading the charge of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, Paul Weyrich earned the title of "Father of the New Right," a conservative faction that propelled Ronald Reagan's rise in the early 1980s and ushered many Republicans into Congress. In Faludi's analysis, Weyrich declared that the late 1980s exposed a stark truth: "women are discovering they can't have it all," warning that professional ambitions could erode family life. He contended that the New Right differed from other conservative movements, aiming not merely to "preserve the status quo" but to "overturn the present power structure of the country." Among the key legislations he championed at the dawn of the 1980s was the Family Protection Act, which, according to Faludi, sought to dismantle federal laws advocating for equal education.