Neil Lyndon
Neil Lyndon | |
---|---|
Born | Neil Alexander Barnacle 12 September 1946 |
Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge |
Occupation(s) | Writer and journalist |
Years active | 1968 to present |
Known for | Critique of feminism |
Notable work | No More Sex War: The Failures of Feminism |
Spouse(s) | Monica Foot m.1971 div.1976 Deirdre m.1977 div.1992 Linda Lyndon |
Children | 2 daughters, 1 son, 1 step-son |
Neil Alexander Lyndon (born Neil Alexander Barnacle; 12 September 1946)[1][2] is a British journalist and writer. He has written for The Sunday Times, The Times, The Independent, the Evening Standard the Daily Mail and the Telegraph
Lyndon is known for his book No More Sex War: The Failures of Feminism (Sinclair-Stevenson 1992), which he claims was "the world's first egalitarian, progressive, non-sexist critique of feminism in its own terms".[3]
Early life
Born in 1946, Lyndon grew up in the
According to a newspaper article written by Lyndon, he became, in 1965, the first student from a
Career
In the 1970s Lyndon worked in various divisions of the BBC, including for The Listener[14]
Lyndon was a journalist in the 1980s, writing for the "Atticus" column in
On gender issues
Lyndon first focused on gender issues in a 1990 essay for The Sunday Times Magazine entitled "Badmouthing". The 5,000-word piece argued that, in advertising, entertainment, the news media, family law, education and health research, "an atmosphere of intolerance surrounded men", blaming this intolerance on "the universal dominance of feminism".[12] Lyndon concluded the piece stating:
"If relations between men, women and children are to improve, attitudes to men and manhood must change. It wouldn’t be a bad start if men caused to be the butt of casual prejudice expressed in half-witted habits of speech. But the most important job our legislators face must be to remove some of the systemic disadvantages of life for men to improve their position within the family and within society at large. There is one sense in which men, as a group and a whole, can be described as a class in Britain: in a host of vital ways they second class citizens."
It later emerged that female writers at The Times had allegedly made an unsuccessful attempt to have Lyndon's article censored, so the women instead wrote a derogatory article about Lyndon in the Sunday Times Magazine's "Style" section.[17]
No More Sex War
The following year he wrote his book, No More Sex War: The Failures of Feminism,[18] published in 1992, in which he expanded on these arguments.
Reception
The work received a large amount of attention in the media,[19] some of it hostile and abusive, vilifying Lyndon.[20]
Rather than addressing the issues and arguments raised by Lyndon, many critics instead chose to make verbal personal attacks. They suggested he was sexually inadequate, questioned the size of his penis, his
Impact
The book sold few copies and Lyndon's work in journalism dried up. In August 1992 he was declared
Eight years after the controversy, Lyndon revisited some of the issues in his book and discussed his story. He highlighted the issues in relation to "the treatment of dissidents in what is supposed to be an open society". Whilst not comparing his plight to the coetaneous case of Salman Rushdie, he suggested it was "paradoxical that many of the people who defended Rushdie's right to write whatever he wanted should be so censorious and destructive about wanting to limit my freedom to do the same".[20]
Personal life
Lyndon married his first wife Monica Foot in 1971 and they divorced five years later. He married his second wife Deirdre in 1977[24] with whom he had a son and gained a step-son.[25] Following his separation from Deirdre she abducted his son [citation needed] and took him to Scotland and he was denied access [citation needed] to his child for two and a half years. Eventually, at age 15, Lyndon's son ran away from his alcoholic [citation needed] mother to live with his father.[26]
He married his third wife Linda, a teacher.[citation needed] They have two daughters and live in Fife, Scotland.[27][28]
Publications
- No More Sex War: The failures of feminism, by Neil Lyndon, 1992, ISBN 978-1-85619-191-3
- A Boyhood in the Weald, by Neil Lyndon, 1998, Pomegranate Press ISBN 978-0-9519876-8-1
- Sexual Impolitics: Heresies on sex, gender and feminism, 2014
- Men of Respect (formerly Hail to the Chief), a musical about America between the inaugurations of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, co-written by Lyndon.[29]
See also
References
- ^ Lyndon, Neil (10 May 2016). "From Trump to Ranieri: is this the era of the older man?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Old Collyerians Newsletter" (PDF). Oldcollyerians.org.uk. 1999. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- Daily Telegraph, 10 November 2014.
- Daily Telegraph, 10 November 2011.
- ^ Neil Lyndon (1998) A Boyhood in the Weald
- ^ My #metoo story shows that men are the victims as well as the culprits
- ^ "Origins of the School". Gillingham-dorset.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2017.; Lyndon, Neil (3 June 2014). "Boys need help to break the cycle of crime". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ Lyndon, Neil (21 April 2019). "Finding honey in the shitstorm: personal crisis, faith, and mental health". Male Psychology Network.
By the age of 16, I was carrying a membership card for the Young Communist League, though I never actually signed it.
- ^ "Queens' College: 1968–1969" (PDF). Queens.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ Neil Lyndon That Summer: The hitch-hiker's guide to the fallacy: Seduced by his friends' tales of laughing peasants and lively girls, Neil Lyndon hit the road for the summer of love. The road it back The Independent, 20 August 1994.
- ISBN 9780415007283– via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Neil Lyndon, "The return of the heretic", The Sunday Times, 3 December 2000
- ^ a b Neil Lyndon, "I was stupid too – but at least I admit it, comrade", The Times, 28 October 2007
- ^ "Should I be worried about how I behaved in the 1970s?". 8 July 2014.
- ^ a b Neil Lyndon The return of the heretic. originally published in The Times, 3 December 2000. archived at Fathers Are Capable Too.
- ^ Murray, Scott (16 June 2009). "Joy of Six: Broadcasting under the influence – Scott Murray". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ London Charivari, (Punch), Volume 300, 1991
- ISBN 9781856191913– via Google Books.
- ^ Christina Hardyment, "Book Review: A wounded Apollo lashes back: No more Sex War – Neil Lyndon", The Independent, 3 October 1992
- ^ a b c d e White, Jim (15 December 2000). "Neil Lyndon takes on the feminists". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ Bindel, Julie (12 May 2009). "Julie Bindel talks to fellow feminist Julie Burchill about marriage, militancy and men's lib". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ Jim White, "Back in the fray", The Guardian, 15 December 2000
- ^ "Mens' champion admits he has lost the sex war". Highbeam.com. 11 July 1999. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "The return of the heretic". Fact.on.ca. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Who's Who in the Sex War: A guide to the seminal – or rather ovular -". Independent.co.uk. 27 September 1992. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ Lyndon, Neil (17 December 2014). "I know how 'Kafkaesque' the Family Court can be". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ Lyndon, Neil (12 July 2010). "VW California campervan put to the test". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Am I completely mad?". Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Neil Lyndon's contributor profile at The First Post". Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2010.