Defying Cultural Assault, Men More Likely Than Women to Embrace Family Values

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Contact: Robert Thompson

Telephone: +1-301-801-0608

Defying Cultural Assault, Men More Likely Than Women to Embrace Family Values

WASHINGTON / September 10, 2025 – In the 1960s, feminist Kate Millett convened consciousness-raising sessions for liberal women. The back-and-forth recitations went like this (1):

“And how do we make Cultural Revolution?” Millett asked the group.
“By destroying the American family!” the women answered.
“How do we destroy the family?” Millett came back.
“By destroying the American Patriarch,” they cried exuberantly.
“And how do we destroy the American Patriarch?” Millett replied.
“By taking away his power!”

In response, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, wrote a searing exposé about our nation’s long-standing cultural assault on fathers: “America has spent about 60 years exhausting the alternatives to fatherhood—and the collateral damage is all around us.” (2)

Despite this long-standing cultural attack, men remain — perhaps miraculously – more likely than women to embrace a broad range of pro-family values and beliefs:

Commitment to the Goals of Marriage: Men are more likely than women to agree that married persons are more likely to find happiness: Men: 38%; Women: 22%. (3)
Parental Aspirations: Single young men are more likely than their female counterparts to aspire to become a parent. Men: 57%; Women: 45%. (4)
Ideal Family Size: Men desire to have a larger number of children. In response to the question, “What do you think is the ideal number of children for a family to have?”, the percentage of persons who responded, three or more children: Men: 48%; Women: 37%. (5)
Pro-Life: Men are more likely to identify as being “pro-life.” Men: 47%; Women: 44%. (6)
Intimate Partner Violence: Men are less likely than women to engage in domestic violence. Number of domestic violence victims in the past 12 months: Male: 5.5 million; Female: 4.8 million (7). The great majority of domestic violence perpetrators are opposite-sex partners.
Child Abuse: Fathers are less likely than mothers to engage in child abuse: Father-only abuse: 125,493 child-victims; Mother-only abuse: 189,635 child-victims. (8)
False Allegations of Abuse: Men are less likely to make false allegations of abuse, compared to women: Male: 39%; Female: 61%. (9)
Infidelity: Only 11% of husbands, compared to 14% of wives, had been involved in an extramarital affair, as of 2021-2022. (10)
Divorce: Husbands initiate 31 % of all divorces, while wives seek 69% of divorces. (11)

Kevin Roberts concluded his commentary by taking a jab at the old feminist adage about fish and bicycles. He wrote: “A fish may or may not need a bicycle, but women and children very much need men.” The time is long-overdue to celebrate men’s interest, capacity, and participation in healthy family life.

SAVE – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – is a 501(c)3 organization working to assure due process, fairness, and equal opportunities for men.

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