The Man-Made World

The Man-Made World (1911) is a sociological study by American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Inspired by her work as a social reformer and advocate for women’s suffrage, Gilman sought to write a work of nonfiction that explained the effects of patriarchy not only on the lives of women, but on the structure and health of society at large.

In the beginning, Gilman observes that though biology naturally attributes motherhood and fatherhood to women and men respectively, there is no evolutionary explanation for the widespread control of men over all other human activities. This inequity, Gilman explains, is what she means by the term “Androcentric Culture,” a culture organized by men, for men. Having established her thesis, Gilman dedicates chapters to such topics as the family, health, art, sports, religion, education, government, economics, and warfare in order to observe the impact of male domination on each. Ultimately, Gilman asks what, if anything, will men lose if women are granted the rights and responsibilities they have no reason not to share. The Man-Made World is a thorough and powerful experiment in sociological thought and a groundbreaking work of feminist nonfiction.

This edition of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Man-Made World is a classic of American literature and nonfiction reimagined for modern readers.

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