How to lead a woman out of feminism

Practical tips from Shakespeare most anti-feminist play

The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays because it’s so anti-feminist, but the ways in which it criticises male feminism are rarely mentioned. Most men today who think of themselves as traditionally masculine and anti-feminist are anxious to “vet” women to find “red flags.” As Shakespeare shows, however, that’s not traditionally masculine; indeed, it’s effeminacy and another symptom of the contemporary crisis of masculinity.

Western culture has two archetypal love stories. One involves love at first sight, and the lovers struggle only against forces external to them (parents, wider society, etc.). This is the kind of story women tend to fantasise about. Think Romeo and Juliet. But the other story begins in enmity. The lovers struggle against each other, and the man must be assertive and persistent to win the woman. She might even hate him to begin with. This story — more of a hunt — is more masculine, and it’s what Shakespeare shows in The Taming of the Shrew.

Here’s the controversial lesson: a masculine man can make a stridently independent and bold woman submit. He can make a feminist accept his frame. Men waiting for women to give them authority are in fact feminism’s last laugh. That’s also why it’s essential that modern men know this play — but not in the way it’s taught today.