Book SummaryEntitled, by Kate Manne

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Entitled

In Entitled (2020), Cornell University professor of philosophy Kate Manne argues that we live in an inequitable society that teaches men to believe they are entitled to women’s compliance with traditional gender norms—and are also entitled to punish women who defy those norms.

Manne argues that the social and cultural mores of our still male-dominated society condition men to feel entitled to having women perform traditionally “feminine” services, such as taking care of others, doing domestic work, and providing men with sex and children. On...

Entitled Summary Introduction to Key Concepts

Manne uses the example of the 2018 Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to demonstrate the concepts of male entitlement, “himpathy,” misogyny, and sexism.

(Shortform note: US Supreme Court Justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. As part of the confirmation process, the Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearings to examine the nominee’s background, legal qualifications, and views on constitutional issues. The committee may also hear testimony from outside witnesses supporting or opposing the nomination. It then makes a recommendation to the full Senate, which must confirm or reject the nominee by a majority vote.)

Entitlement

During Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her. Manne writes that the hearing demonstrated the concept of male entitlement: the perception that men are owed something simply because they are men. Kavanaugh’s demeanor during the hearing seemed to demonstrate resentment at having to respond to Blasey Ford’s allegations at all—as if he expected his...

Entitled Summary Entitlement and “Feminine” Gender Roles

Manne contends that misogynistic social structures teach men to feel entitled to women’s compliance with traditionally “feminine” gender roles. Society expects women to provide—and entitles men to receive—attention and admiration, sex, children, and care.

Entitlement to Attention and Admiration

Manne uses the example of incels to show how some men feel they’re entitled to sex and attention from women—and believe they’re justified in reacting with violence when they don’t get what they’re “owed.” Manne focuses on Elliot Rodger, a self-proclaimed incel who murdered six people and injured 14 others in Isla Vista, California, in 2014. Rodger wrote extensively about his incel beliefs and how they justified his actions.

Incels are self-identifying “involuntary celibates”: heterosexual men who can’t find sexual partners. Incels often frequent online forums dedicated to their belief that women who don’t want to engage in sex or have a relationship with them are depriving them of a “good” they’re entitled to. Manne says that in addition to receiving the sex they feel they’re denied, incels believe that female attention will let them advance up the hierarchy of male power....

Entitled Summary Entitlement and “Masculine” Gender Roles

Just as society expects women to provide men with certain “feminine” services, says Manne, so too are women excluded from the traditionally “masculine” domains of knowledge and power.

Entitlement to Knowledge

Manne argues that some men believe they are the exclusive repository of knowledge on any given subject. They take the approach that not only are women’s thoughts or opinions wrong, but women shouldn’t be speaking (or writing) at all. To illustrate this point, Manne points to the behaviors of mansplaining and gaslighting.

Mansplaining is a term that became popular following the publication of author Rebecca Solnit’s essay, “Men Explain Things to Me.” In it, she describes an incident in which, upon learning that she’d written a book about photographer Eadweard Muybridge, a man she’d just met pontificates at length concerning an important book about Muybridge. When he finally realizes that Solnit is the author of the very book he’s explaining to her, he’s shocked. This is **mansplaining: when a man explains something to a woman in a way that presumes she knows nothing about a topic she’s...

Entitled Summary Valid Entitlement

Manne says that while she’s focused on men’s unjustified entitlement to women’s services, there are forms of valid entitlement that she hopes women and girls can reclaim. Inspired by the imminent birth of her daughter, Manne writes that she wants her daughter to feel entitled to:

• Being believed and cared for when she expresses her needs or desires, whether emotional or physical/medical
• Bodily autonomy, including consent to being touched, consent to sex, and reproductive choice
• Shared domestic labor
• Feeling...

Shortform Exercise: Further Gender Equality in Your Own Life

Whatever your gender identity, Entitled suggests that we’re all influenced by and participate in sexism and misogyny to varying degrees. Consider the areas of your own life in which you might be unconsciously enacting gender inequity, and identify what you could do differently to further equality.

Consider the areas of your life in which entitlement to compliance with traditionally “feminine” gender roles may arise: dating, marriage, reproductive decisions, home life, medical care, and work. Identify one area in which your actions might be contributing to gender inequity, and describe those actions. (For example, if you’re a woman, you might be doing all of the housework because it seems easier than trying to delegate some of it to your male partner or your son. If you’re a man, you might be allowing your female partner to do all the domestic work because it’s easier than having to do any of it yourself.)