Helen's Thoughts on Masculinity

Taken from the 2007 edition of Fascinating Womanhood.

"The feminine nature awakens a man's chivalry for a woman, his impulse to protect her and provide for her. One of the most pleasant sensations a real man can experience is his consciousness of his power to give his manly power and protection. Rob him of this sensation of superior strength and ability and you rob him of his manliness. A man delights in protecting and sheltering a feminine, dependent woman. The bigger, manlier, and more sensible a man is, the more he seems to be attracted to this quality."

Stephanie Coontz Profile

Dr. Stephanie Coontz is a professor and author, most recently of A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960’s (2011), and frequent contributor to The New York Times. Her research focuses on American society's changing values and ideals about men, women, and family.

In Fascinating Womanhood the Documentary she supplies historical context that leads up to the Second Wave of Feminism to help contextualize Helen's book.

View her recent appearance on The Colbert Report here.