ABOUT
From Harvey Weinstein and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings to “Cat Person” and the political misfortunes of Elizabeth Warren, this book shows how privileged men’s sense of entitlement—to sex, yes, but more insidiously to admiration, care, bodily autonomy, knowledge, and power—is a pervasive social problem with often devastating consequences.
In Entitled, I argue that male entitlement can explain a wide array of phenomena, from mansplaining and the undertreatment of women’s pain to mass shootings by incels and the seemingly intractable notion that women are “unelectable.” My intersectional feminist framework implicates each of us in toxic masculinity: It’s not just a product of a few bad actors; it’s something we all perpetuate, conditioned as we are by the social and cultural mores of our time.
The only way to combat these ills, I believe, is to expose the flaws in our default modes of thought while enabling women to take up space, say their piece, and muster resistance to the entitled attitudes of the men around them.
Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women was published in August 2020, in both the US and the UK, and released as a paperback in August 2021. It is also available as an audiobook, and you can see the UK cover here:
In Entitled, I argue that male entitlement can explain a wide array of phenomena, from mansplaining and the undertreatment of women’s pain to mass shootings by incels and the seemingly intractable notion that women are “unelectable.” My intersectional feminist framework implicates each of us in toxic masculinity: It’s not just a product of a few bad actors; it’s something we all perpetuate, conditioned as we are by the social and cultural mores of our time.
The only way to combat these ills, I believe, is to expose the flaws in our default modes of thought while enabling women to take up space, say their piece, and muster resistance to the entitled attitudes of the men around them.
Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women was published in August 2020, in both the US and the UK, and released as a paperback in August 2021. It is also available as an audiobook, and you can see the UK cover here:
SELECT REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS
The New York Times
Publishers Weekly (plus an interview with me here)
The New Yorker (review)
The New Yorker (interview)
The Atlantic (as one of their best 15 books of 2020)
The New Statesman
The Guardian
Times Higher Education
The Chicago Tribune
Salon (interview)
Vanity Fair (interview)
NBC (interview)
High Profiles (interview)
The Irish Times (interview)
Signs
Forbes
Prospect
Mother Jones (interview)
Boston Globe (interview)
The Financial Times
Uncommon Sense (podcast)
Philosophy Bites (podcast)
The Panpsycast (podcast)
Chronicle of Higher Education (2019 interview)
PRAISE FOR ENTITLED
“One of the qualities that makes Manne’s writing bracing and even thrilling to read is her refusal to ingratiate herself by softening the edges of her resolve. . . . She’s like a pathologist wielding a scalpel, methodically dissecting various specimens of muddled argument to reveal the diseased tissue inside.”—The New York Times
“Manne’s concept of entitlement is versatile and useful; like the theory of gravity, it has equal power in explaining phenomena both big and small.”—The New Yorker
“With perspicacity and clear, jargon-free language, Manne keeps elevating the discussion to show how male privilege isn’t just about securing and hoarding spoils from women, but an entire moral framework.”—The Guardian
“With wincing clarity, Manne explains how a society that organizes itself around the wants and whims of men will radiate that bias into every area of life. . . . Her observations offer that rare brand of insight: the kind so ingenious that it quickly begins to seem obvious.”—The Atlantic
“A precisely arranged anatomy of modern misogyny... I want to press it on every schoolgirl who thinks that feminism is uncool, any woman who thinks the most important gender battles are won, pretty much every man I know, and say, have you thought about this?” —The New Statesman
“[A] clear-eyed analysis of misogyny [with] an element of timeliness that translates to something of a gut punch . . . Reading the book is in fact a bit like taking a sweeping tour, a la It’s a Wonderful Life, of one’s history experiencing misogyny, except Manne is a sharper, more astute Clarence. . . . Cathartic.”—Mother Jones
“Manne’s interweaving of the familiar with her own arguments bolstered by copious examples from empirical research ultimately prosecute an airtight case... Entitled helps us better understand all of the things that we should get busy not accepting.”—The Chicago Tribune
“Entitled is the perfect guide to fight an imperfect world.”—Times Higher Education
“Entitled is not just timely, but timeless—sure to be part of the feminist canon.”—Jessica Valenti, columnist for GenMag and author of Sex Object: A Memoir
“Kate Manne weaves feminist theory through a multitude of incidents that reveal patriarchy’s spellbinding matrix, giving us the vocabulary and the stories to pass along to those, like her daughter, who will push for a more equitable world. Entitled is essential reading.” —Kimberlé Crenshaw, Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, UCLA School of Law and editor of Critical Race Theory
“Kate Manne continues to be a thrilling and provocative feminist thinker, who helps readers make sense of how power and privilege is distributed along gendered lines. Her work is indispensable.” —Rebecca Traister, author of Good & Mad
“Kate Manne tackles the kaleidoscopic manifestations of male entitlement with insights as invigorating as her subject matter is frustrating. Her thinking is so elegant and her theory of male entitlement as a symptom of a moral economy in which women are perpetually in men’s debt is so groundbreaking that the book is sure to spark and inspire other feminist writers. Entitled is the work of a once-in-a-generation mind, and as always, Manne succeeds in leaving feminism richer and more robust than when she found it.”—Moira Donegan, columnist for The Guardian
“Kate Manne has a special talent for articulating and expanding on the implicit norms of patriarchal society—and the damage those norms wreak on its citizenry. Entitled is electric.”—Darcy Lockman, author of All the Rage
“Kate Manne is among the greatest political philosophers of her generation. Her work is clear, compelling and intellectually devastating, and it matters to everyone who cares about thinking a way through to a better future.”—Laurie Penny, author of Unspeakable Things
“In Entitled, Kate Manne gets right to the heart of gender, power, and inequality: What men presume they deserve, and what women learn we owe. The result is an unflinching indictment of male entitlement in nearly every aspect of modern life. Entitled is exactly what we need to understand our current moment—and to imagine something better.”—Jill Filipovic, author of The H-Spot
“Kate Manne is the Simone de Beauvoir of the 21st century. In Entitled, she compellingly lays out the stubborn social assumptions behind our still-sexist cultural norms. Manne’s writing is as breezy as it is sharp and unflinching, and will give any patriarchy-fighter the ammo she needs to keep fighting.”—Amanda Marcotte, author of Troll Nation
“Entitled is a clarion call to undo the intimate ravages of patriarchy. With probing clarity, Manne analyzes both the explicit and implicit ways that advantage and preference are granted to elite men, to the detriment of our families, communities and democracy, and makes it strikingly clear that we all have a direct role in pursuing a feminist future.”—Imani Perry, author of Looking for Lorraine, Breathe and Professor of African American Studies, Princeton University
“Kate Manne’s brilliant breakdown of male entitlement is essential to understanding the world we live in. Her thinking about this critical and complex topic is characteristically incisive, perceptive, and profound. Now, more than ever, Entitled is an absolute must-read!”—Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her
“Entitled is a painful book that sets things right. Manne guides us through some of the most violent traumas our culture has to offer women, starting with #MeToo creeps and murderous incels and descending from there through just about every level of female Hell. Yet Manne’s marvelous clarity and cool in the face of the unthinkable, her habit of crystallizing unspeakable problems into simple sentences that stay with you for years, makes her the most trustworthy possible guide through this house of horrors. One of the most essential voices of our times.” —Jude Doyle, author of Trainwreck and Dead Blondes & Bad Mothers
“In lucid prose, Kate Manne illustrates how male entitlement—to sex, power, and knowledge; to women’s care, doctors’ attention, and the benefit of the doubt—undergirds misogyny. Examining the special effects of misogynoir and transmisogyny alongside hostile behaviors that keep all women and non-binary people ‘in their place,’ Manne provides a thorough (if by no means exhaustive) look at the ways we prioritize cis men’s needs and desires, to the detriment of half the population.” —Kate Harding, author of Asking for It and co-editor of Nasty Women
“Entitled is a brilliant analysis of the systematic advantages and prerogatives awarded to men for nothing more than being men. Its deep engagement with real-world examples, eloquent prose, and compelling arguments provide a corrective lens through which to view the world without the blur and distortion that we don't even notice. This is the world we live in, and although the clarity can be painful, Manne also provides reason for hope.” —Sally Haslanger, author of Resisting Reality and Professor of Philosophy and Women’s & Gender Studies, MIT
“With eloquent prose and irrefutable evidence, Kate Manne gives voice to a twenty-first century rage. Entitled builds on Manne’s earlier work on the forces of systemic patriarchy and the eternal frustration felt by generations of women forced year after year to fight for egalitarianism at the most fundamental levels. One of our most prophetic and gifted feminist voices today, Manne’s work is as necessary as sunlight. Your anger may not be quelled by the final page, but at least you’ll feel less alone.” —Rachel Louise Snyder, author of No Visible Bruises
“Challenging, controversial, wide-ranging, and powerful, the eminent young philosopher Kate Manne brings to bear her well-known theory of patriarchy and misogyny on a range of contemporary issues, providing powerful evidence of its ubiquity and pervasiveness on everything from our ordinary interchanges with one another to our health care systems and elections.” —Jason Stanley, author of How Fascism Works, How Propaganda Works, and Professor of Philosophy, Yale
“I wish this book didn't have to exist. I wish there was no need for a clear-eyed, razor-sharp deconstruction of male entitlement, and how that entitlement is killing us. But it is necessary, and Kate Manne is exactly the intellectual powerhouse I want to have written it.” —Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties and In the Dream House
“Manne’s concept of entitlement is versatile and useful; like the theory of gravity, it has equal power in explaining phenomena both big and small.”—The New Yorker
“With perspicacity and clear, jargon-free language, Manne keeps elevating the discussion to show how male privilege isn’t just about securing and hoarding spoils from women, but an entire moral framework.”—The Guardian
“With wincing clarity, Manne explains how a society that organizes itself around the wants and whims of men will radiate that bias into every area of life. . . . Her observations offer that rare brand of insight: the kind so ingenious that it quickly begins to seem obvious.”—The Atlantic
“A precisely arranged anatomy of modern misogyny... I want to press it on every schoolgirl who thinks that feminism is uncool, any woman who thinks the most important gender battles are won, pretty much every man I know, and say, have you thought about this?” —The New Statesman
“[A] clear-eyed analysis of misogyny [with] an element of timeliness that translates to something of a gut punch . . . Reading the book is in fact a bit like taking a sweeping tour, a la It’s a Wonderful Life, of one’s history experiencing misogyny, except Manne is a sharper, more astute Clarence. . . . Cathartic.”—Mother Jones
“Manne’s interweaving of the familiar with her own arguments bolstered by copious examples from empirical research ultimately prosecute an airtight case... Entitled helps us better understand all of the things that we should get busy not accepting.”—The Chicago Tribune
“Entitled is the perfect guide to fight an imperfect world.”—Times Higher Education
“Entitled is not just timely, but timeless—sure to be part of the feminist canon.”—Jessica Valenti, columnist for GenMag and author of Sex Object: A Memoir
“Kate Manne weaves feminist theory through a multitude of incidents that reveal patriarchy’s spellbinding matrix, giving us the vocabulary and the stories to pass along to those, like her daughter, who will push for a more equitable world. Entitled is essential reading.” —Kimberlé Crenshaw, Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, UCLA School of Law and editor of Critical Race Theory
“Kate Manne continues to be a thrilling and provocative feminist thinker, who helps readers make sense of how power and privilege is distributed along gendered lines. Her work is indispensable.” —Rebecca Traister, author of Good & Mad
“Kate Manne tackles the kaleidoscopic manifestations of male entitlement with insights as invigorating as her subject matter is frustrating. Her thinking is so elegant and her theory of male entitlement as a symptom of a moral economy in which women are perpetually in men’s debt is so groundbreaking that the book is sure to spark and inspire other feminist writers. Entitled is the work of a once-in-a-generation mind, and as always, Manne succeeds in leaving feminism richer and more robust than when she found it.”—Moira Donegan, columnist for The Guardian
“Kate Manne has a special talent for articulating and expanding on the implicit norms of patriarchal society—and the damage those norms wreak on its citizenry. Entitled is electric.”—Darcy Lockman, author of All the Rage
“Kate Manne is among the greatest political philosophers of her generation. Her work is clear, compelling and intellectually devastating, and it matters to everyone who cares about thinking a way through to a better future.”—Laurie Penny, author of Unspeakable Things
“In Entitled, Kate Manne gets right to the heart of gender, power, and inequality: What men presume they deserve, and what women learn we owe. The result is an unflinching indictment of male entitlement in nearly every aspect of modern life. Entitled is exactly what we need to understand our current moment—and to imagine something better.”—Jill Filipovic, author of The H-Spot
“Kate Manne is the Simone de Beauvoir of the 21st century. In Entitled, she compellingly lays out the stubborn social assumptions behind our still-sexist cultural norms. Manne’s writing is as breezy as it is sharp and unflinching, and will give any patriarchy-fighter the ammo she needs to keep fighting.”—Amanda Marcotte, author of Troll Nation
“Entitled is a clarion call to undo the intimate ravages of patriarchy. With probing clarity, Manne analyzes both the explicit and implicit ways that advantage and preference are granted to elite men, to the detriment of our families, communities and democracy, and makes it strikingly clear that we all have a direct role in pursuing a feminist future.”—Imani Perry, author of Looking for Lorraine, Breathe and Professor of African American Studies, Princeton University
“Kate Manne’s brilliant breakdown of male entitlement is essential to understanding the world we live in. Her thinking about this critical and complex topic is characteristically incisive, perceptive, and profound. Now, more than ever, Entitled is an absolute must-read!”—Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her
“Entitled is a painful book that sets things right. Manne guides us through some of the most violent traumas our culture has to offer women, starting with #MeToo creeps and murderous incels and descending from there through just about every level of female Hell. Yet Manne’s marvelous clarity and cool in the face of the unthinkable, her habit of crystallizing unspeakable problems into simple sentences that stay with you for years, makes her the most trustworthy possible guide through this house of horrors. One of the most essential voices of our times.” —Jude Doyle, author of Trainwreck and Dead Blondes & Bad Mothers
“In lucid prose, Kate Manne illustrates how male entitlement—to sex, power, and knowledge; to women’s care, doctors’ attention, and the benefit of the doubt—undergirds misogyny. Examining the special effects of misogynoir and transmisogyny alongside hostile behaviors that keep all women and non-binary people ‘in their place,’ Manne provides a thorough (if by no means exhaustive) look at the ways we prioritize cis men’s needs and desires, to the detriment of half the population.” —Kate Harding, author of Asking for It and co-editor of Nasty Women
“Entitled is a brilliant analysis of the systematic advantages and prerogatives awarded to men for nothing more than being men. Its deep engagement with real-world examples, eloquent prose, and compelling arguments provide a corrective lens through which to view the world without the blur and distortion that we don't even notice. This is the world we live in, and although the clarity can be painful, Manne also provides reason for hope.” —Sally Haslanger, author of Resisting Reality and Professor of Philosophy and Women’s & Gender Studies, MIT
“With eloquent prose and irrefutable evidence, Kate Manne gives voice to a twenty-first century rage. Entitled builds on Manne’s earlier work on the forces of systemic patriarchy and the eternal frustration felt by generations of women forced year after year to fight for egalitarianism at the most fundamental levels. One of our most prophetic and gifted feminist voices today, Manne’s work is as necessary as sunlight. Your anger may not be quelled by the final page, but at least you’ll feel less alone.” —Rachel Louise Snyder, author of No Visible Bruises
“Challenging, controversial, wide-ranging, and powerful, the eminent young philosopher Kate Manne brings to bear her well-known theory of patriarchy and misogyny on a range of contemporary issues, providing powerful evidence of its ubiquity and pervasiveness on everything from our ordinary interchanges with one another to our health care systems and elections.” —Jason Stanley, author of How Fascism Works, How Propaganda Works, and Professor of Philosophy, Yale
“I wish this book didn't have to exist. I wish there was no need for a clear-eyed, razor-sharp deconstruction of male entitlement, and how that entitlement is killing us. But it is necessary, and Kate Manne is exactly the intellectual powerhouse I want to have written it.” —Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties and In the Dream House