Warren Farrell

Warren Farrell (born in New York in 1943) is an American political scientist, educator and writer who has spent much of his career examining gender, with a focus on the problems faced by men. His path is unusual: he began as a supporter of second-wave feminism and later became one of the most visible voices in the men's rights movement, a position that keeps him at the center of ongoing debates about gender equality.

Farrell grew up in New Jersey as the eldest of three children, and as a teenager he spent time in Europe, an experience he has said taught him to question received ideas. He earned a degree in social sciences at Montclair State University, a master's at the University of California, and a doctorate in political science from New York University in 1974. In the early 1970s he sat on the board of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women, where he argued that women could not be liberated while men stayed trapped in rigid ideas of masculinity. From that position he wrote The Liberated Man (1974), which described the pressures men face as breadwinners and introduced the idea of men as "success objects," paralleling women's status as "sex objects."

His break with feminism came later in that decade, largely over disagreements about child custody after divorce. His work then turned toward men's issues. In the 1980s and 1990s he published books such as Why Men Are the Way They Are (1986) and The Myth of Male Power (1993), arguing that men are disadvantaged in areas including family law, education, health and military conscription. Later he wrote about communication in relationships, fatherhood and the pay gap, with titles such as Why Men Earn More (2005) and, with James Sterba, Does Feminism Discriminate Against Men? (2008).

His legacy is contested. Some regard him as an intellectual father of the men's rights movement, a label he rejects. Others credit him with drawing attention to the costs of traditional masculine roles, while critics challenge his conclusions. Either way, his books remain a frequent reference point in discussions of men, gender and equality.