The Man-Made World

In this probing critique of "androcentric culture," pioneering feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) analyzes with wit and insight the many negative effects of male domination, not only on women in particular but on the welfare of the human race as a whole.

Society's long history of male hegemony and female subservience has not enhanced the natural qualities of the human race, but rather distorted them, says Gilman. In separate chapters she discusses each of the major institutions of society--including the family, art, literature, religion, education, law, government, politics, and industry--to show how the domineering male influence has caused grievous problems. In conclusion, Gilman looks to a more egalitarian age, when the "change upon us" will be more fully realized.