Scott Galloway’s new book “Notes on Being a Man” has critics seething.
He’s a “gender essentialist” and a “women-are-here-for-men’s-pleasure misogynist in polite disguise.” While, according to journalist Taylor Lorenz, “Scott Galloway is a raging misogynist” who pushes a “toxic worldview.”
What has invited this liberal pile-on? Simply advising on how to be better men, better citizens, better mates, and better fathers.
That young men are falling behind their female peers in their education, careers, and social lives is no longer up for debate. Why, then, is a successful older man reaching down with advice so offensive?
Love him or hate him, it’s a relief that Galloway, 61, is rising in the ranks of young male punditry. If we shame productive, moderate voices, we risk leaving the door open to toxic influencers leading insecure young men towards victimhood instead of empowerment.
“What I’m trying to do here is give a population that’s struggling an aspirational framework,” Galloway, a self-made entrepreneur, NYU Stern professor, and podcaster, told The Post.
“Everybody needs a code. Some people get it from religion, from family, from the military, from the workplace, but I would say there are a lot of young men right now who are codeless.”
Galloway provides them straightforward, fatherly advice.
“Don’t follow your passion professionally. Find out what you’re good at — and follow your talent. The rewards and recognition that stem from being great at something will make you passionate about that something,” according to one “note on being a man,” which are interspersed throughout the book.
Another, “If you’re in your twenties, be mentally and physically a warrior.” And a third, “Men should always strive to make women feel safe.”
Essentially, work hard, take care of yourself, and take care of others. It’s a model of masculinity that is self-aware but not self-conscious — that embraces aspects of tradition but is reactive to our evolving social realities.
Galloway’s work is somewhat evocative of Jordan Peterson’s 2018 book “12 Rules for Life,” in that it’s a resounding success for providing advice as simple as “clean your room.” That’s how rudderless young men are. Give them the basics, and they’ll send your book to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list.
And yet predominantly female critics are offended that the book is not for them. “Why make this about manhood? Even the Boy Scouts have gone coed,” Jessica Winter complained in the New Yorker.
We’ve adopted an inflexible worldview, in which women are always suffering under a patriarchy. We insist that girls are in need of help, and boys are just fine. It’s time to update our priors.
American women are earning the majority of degrees at every educational level up through doctorate degrees, they’re dominating more white-collar sectors, they’re living longer, and they’re far less likely to die from drug overdose or suicide.
It’s unclear where Galloway’s critics suggest young men facing this reality turn. Do they just want them to go away, to suffer silently in a haze of porn and weed smoke?
“I may be the wrong messenger for this message,” Galloway told me. “People see a 61-year-old white guy start advocating for men, and they recognize a pattern that usually means they’re about to blame women for men’s problems.”
This is just the opposite of what he’s doing, as he speaks to his overwhelmingly young and male audience. In fact, Galloway says young men are “unsaveable” when they “start blaming women for their romantic problems or immigrants for their economic problems.”
His message is one of agency. Think you can’t get ahead? You’re probably not working smart enough. Think you’re an incel? There’s no doubt room to improve yourself.
“If you work out regularly, you’re willing to take risks and approach someone and express romantic interest while making them feel safe, and you have a job, you’re already in the top half of men,” he explained.
Perhaps Galloway isn’t your cup of tea — whether it’s his X-rated jokes or his anti-Trump views that turn you off. But it’s a godsend that he’s managed to break through to aimless young men.
Galloway complains in his book about “fake men selling distorted versions of what it means to be a man,” without naming them. I will: Nick Fuentes, Hayden McDougall, Sneako and their fellow extremist streamers.
“Men are facing challenges, but I think some of them feel entitled, so they get angry,” Galloway said. “If he isn’t making millions of dollars by the time he’s 25, he feels like he’s a failure, because he’s constantly getting people’s wealth vomited on him 210 times a day, through notifications.”
This is where toxic streamers come in, speaking to the same target demo as Galloway, but delivering a message of resentment rather than resolve. We need politically sane people to speak truth about modern masculinity, so that extremist influencers don’t take advantage by dishing out “forbidden knowledge” when they appeal to male struggles.
“They’re parasites trolling off of despair and anger, and it would be difficult for me to imagine a more unhealthy influence,” Galloway said. “Your blessings minus your envy is your happiness.”
Do I agree with everything Galloway says? No. Was all his advice relatable to me? No. And that’s the point. I’m not a young man in need of help. And neither are the vast majority of Galloway’s critics.
I simply don’t know what it is to be a young man of my generation — but I do know that I’d rather a confidently masculine, self-made businessman be their role model than a misogynistic streamer, or no one at all.
It speaks volumes that, according to Galloway, the biggest supporters of his book have been single mothers of sons, women whose households lack a positive male influence. But we all have a vested interest in forging better men — whether it’s a matter of our sons flourishing, our dating pool widening, or our economy booming.
For his part, Galloway isn’t deterred by the criticism, and he says more men like him need to step up for young men who aren’t their sons.
“I can tell you [mentoring young men] is one of the easiest things in the world. These guys make such bad decisions left to their own devices. Just being present, just taking interest in their life, is a huge value-add,” he said.
“If we want better men, we have to be better men.”
