Susan Faludi

Susan Faludi is a feminist and author of two well-known books:

• Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (1992; ISBN 0385425074)
• Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man (1999)

Backlash argued that the 1980s saw a backlash against feminism, especially due to the spread of negative stereotypes against career-minded women. Faludi shows that many who argue that "a women's place is at the home, looking after the kids" are hypocrites, since they (or their wives) are exactly like the women they are criticising.

In Stiffed Faludi analyzes the American man. She found that while many of those in power are men, most men have little power. American men have been brought up to be strong, support their families and work hard. Many men who followed this now find themselves underpaid or unemployed, disillusioned and abandoned by their wives. Changes in American society have affected both men and women. It is wrong to blame individual men for problems they did not cause and from which they suffer as much as women.

See also: Rule of thumb