Maybe, but it is a long way from being the first book to examine male-female relationships and to conclude that the problem lies with men. Many of D s thoughts seem to have come straight from the pages of Cosmopolitan magazine in the 1960s, with a nod toward American writer Nancy Friday and her Women On Top. D describes Surviving Men as a fun book with wicked and naughty generalizations. It is not a declaration of war, but more an invitation to a summit. Still, there is plenty of apparent anger and disappointment with men, though generous use of overstatement makes it hard to believe she is completely serious.
Men are lowdown, sneaky, sons of bitches when it comes to love and commitment, D writes.
Ask a woman and she ll promptly use the dreaded F word, she responds. The trouble, she says, is that for many men, it gets in the way of the action. However, to get them going is an important first step that most men would prefer to skip. D is particularly amusing on the different expectations she says men and women have of a holiday. For the male, she says, it is an excuse for endless coupling.