Book review: ‘No More Sex War’ and ‘Sexual Impolitics’ by Neil Lyndon

Book review

Jan 6

Book review: No More Sex War (1992), Sexual Impolitics (2014). Review by John Barry.

If you were asked to name the most controversial books of the late 20th century, you would probably choose The Satanic Verses, American Psycho, and a few others. But your list wouldn’t be complete without No More Sex War: The Failures of Feminism by journalist Neil Lyndon. (You can my interview with the author here). 2022 is the 30th anniversary of the publication of this book. Is it as controversial as ever, or have the times adapted to the message?

In 1991, Neil Lyndon was employed by The Times and wrote regularly for the leading newspapers and magazines of the time. In the summer of 1992, his forthcoming book was being advertised on the side of buses on hoardings around London. Upon the publication of his book, his career and life took a spectacular nosedive, and received criticism the like of which was seldom seen in literary or academic circles. As a result of this and attacks on his character, Lyndon was bankrupted and lost his home, which coincided unfortunately with the abduction of his nine year-old son by his estranged wife.

This negative attention killed off sales of No More Sex War, and it was never published in Europe or the USA. To this day it isn’t available in libraries or universities, but the good news is that it has been revised and republished as part of a collection called Sexual Impolitics (2014). This book review will assess the revised version of No More Sex War, compare it to the original, and evaluate it along with the other articles that make up Sexual Impolitics.

Sexual Impolitics consists of several published articles and transcripts of speeches, and of course No More Sex War. It begins with two Sunday Times articles, Return of the Heretic (Parts 1 and 2). Chronologically these come after No More Sex War, so I will discuss them after discussing the main section of the book, No More Sex War.

No More Sex War: The Failures of Feminism was the world's first thorough evaluation of feminism from an evidence-based egalitarian perspective. It debunked many claims regarding feminist claims to equality, and showed the ways in which it was damaging for men, women, children and society.

Those who are new to the book will find difficult topics dealt with in a reasonable but forthright way. Those who have read the original version will be pleased with the changes. The revamping of No More Sex War undoes some editing that Lyndon wasn’t happy with, so the version in Sexual Impolitics can be thought of the definitive ‘director’s cut’. This includes the inclusion of quotations that were withdrawn from the original at the last minute because some authors who were to be quoted – including radical feminists Andrea Dworkin and Kate Millet - refused permission for their use. This meant that Lyndon at the last minute had to rework the quotations as reported speech, to the detriment of the flow of the writing.

No More Sex War covers a range of key issues, drawing on material from academia and the media, and anecdotes from the author’s personal experiences, to paint a vivid image of the cultural crisis imposed on men and boys since the 1960s. Examples of everyday misandry are given and feminist falsehoods are exposed e.g. the idea that violence is something done only by men is debunked by reference to high rates of domestic violence by women against men and children. One of the most original insights is that although women’s educational, sexual and workplace opportunities have been claimed as the results of feminist campaigning, Lyndon suggests that these social changes were already on their way, and were open doors by the time second wave feminists started pushing at them. For example, two key inventions - the birth control pill, which became widely available in the 1960s, and then the vacuum curettage abortion - gave almost total control of reproduction to women, revolutionising relations between men and women. In other words, the inventions and circumstances that caused this sexual revolution were capitalised upon by second wave feminists, not created by them.

Lyndon also debunks the idea of patriarchy, giving so many examples of how fathers are disenfranchised from their children and the family that one wonders how anyone could call the modern West a patriarchy, unless in an intentionally ironic way. Towards the end of the book he laments how the idealistic and radical young men and women of the 1960s had potential romantic relationships soured by feminism, and their futures as parents of happy families made less and less likely.

Perhaps surprisingly to some people, Lyndon reveals himself to be emphatically egalitarian (in fact a former supporter of feminism). For example, at the time of writing there were 15 men for each woman in parliament, and Lyndon suggested that the numbers of men and women in government should be more equal. Lyndon doesn’t argue that women should have fewer rights than men, simply that men’s rights should not be trodden underfoot.

Going back now to the start of Sexual Impolitics, the two articles Return of the Heretic (Parts 1 and 2) describe the long fallout from the publication of No More Sex War. One example is the Cambridge don who told her students she would like to see Lyndon shot (luckily this was an academic don rather than a crime boss), and the Cambridge Union president who called for the burning of his book. Interestingly, many of the same people who harassed Lyndon were strenuously opposed to the harassment of Salman Rushdie, another heretical author of that time. The very real suffering endured by Lyndon lasted some years, as described in this inspiring article.

The article Talking About My Generation is a walk down memory lane for Lyndon, all the way back to his undergraduate days in Cambridge as a young – wait for it – communist!

Big Sister’s Memorial: The Legacy of Germaine Greer looks back at the meteoric success of Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch. Lyndon recognises that her seminal book triggered the explosion of modern feminism worldwide. Somewhat bemused, he ponders the success of this book, which in many parts is embarrassing “hippy piffle”. Her key theme of the need for women’s sexual satisfaction, and combines with this slogans influenced by the Black Power movement in the US. “Men are the enemy… The penis is conceived as a weapon” and other phrases that would have sounded completely ridiculous coming from almost anyone else, but somehow Greer had the charisma and chutzpa to carry it off, and this jarring cocktail of ideas somehow or other found massive popular appeal. The effect of her book however was not liberation for women, but “to give potent, educated voice to barbaric simplicities about men” making it socially acceptable to openly express hatred for men.

Fathers Need Feminists is a speech Lyndon gave for the Equal Parenting Alliance in 2006, in which he evaluates the efforts of father’s groups to achieve their goals, and suggests some thought-provoking alternative strategies. Well worth a read.

Poujade to the Rescue is part of a speech Lyndon gave for the Equal Parenting Alliance in 2007, where Lyndon compares the life of his teenage years in the 1960s to contemporary times. He questions the wisdom of the trend at that time towards making it so easy for teenage girls to opt for single motherhood as a lifestyle choice.

The Case for The Family Union, was a speech delivered to Parity in 2013. It presents some interesting ideas that anyone who wants to see true egalitarianism should read.

Overall, Sexual Impolitics offers something of a smorgasbord of intellectual fare, and once you begin reading you find yourself in a comfortable flow, discovering connections between the various parts, revealing a harmonious whole and a journey expertly revealed. Connecting each section is the distinctive voice of the author, always intelligent, fair and compassionate - and also passionate - in his underlying message that we all need to value each other’s differences if we are going to create a more equal world.

When he wrote No More Sex War in 1992, Lyndon believed it was 10 years ahead of a time when there would have evolved a widespread scepticism about feminism. The book is a brilliant achievement, both intellectually and morally. It has stood the test of time – unfortunately - because things haven’t changed that much since 1992, apart from the added divisiveness these days of intersectionality. Back in 1992 some of the kinder reviews said things like “Does Neil Lyndon really think we are all going to say that we were wrong about feminism and think again?” (The Spectator), so perhaps it is no surprise that he has revised his estimate of how far ahead of time his book was… to 50 years.

Given the efforts to kill off this book in the 1990s, I was very lucky to find an original copy of No More Sex War in a second hand bookshop in Wimbledon around 2000. Having since then discovered that the book is a rarity (I am told first editions in good condition can fetch a good price), I now realise what a lucky find this was, and am proud to have had my copy signed by the author.

How much has No More Sex War / Sexual Impolitics changed our cultural view of gender relations? Has it loosened the pincer-like grip on our minds of the stereotypes of ‘women-as-victims’ and ‘men-as-perpetrators’? Writing this review in January 2022, I would say it will take a revolutionary paradigm shift in our thinking, partly because as a species we have evolved to protect women and see men as relatively dispensable, and partly because life is just much easier when you don’t have to be the person – like Neil Lyndon - who stands up and points out that the emperor is naked. Nonetheless, for those who dare think otherwise, No More Sex War / Sexual Impolitics remains a colossal step towards understanding gender relations in a more fair and equal way.

Journalist and author Neil Lyndon is best known for his groundbreaking book, No More Sex War [linked], which was the first-ever intellectual critique of the ideology of modern feminism. He is the founder of the Family Union, which aims to ensure that families should be the focus for political and social organisation.

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