ABSTRACT
The destructive belief systems, pronounces Abramovitz, view women as the property of men while contributing to women's subjugation. Being white and male confers an implicit legitimacy that requires no explanation. Faludi speaks of the wrath against American women by the likes of academic Michael Levin, also during the late 1980s, who rails against what he believes is wrong with feminism. Levin classifies the movement as antidemocratic and totalitarian in its premise and goes on to prescribe what are the natural inclinations of women and men. Likewise, as Grimes claims, unlike other groups in America and by inference white men, white men need not prove their citizenship for they are the 'true' Americans while nonwhite groups and women are suspect. As social transformations have taken place, such as with the family and the economy, institutions like the military that are defined by masculinity have been forced to respond in kind.
