Features - Irish Independent newspaper
'Bitch' book has women up in arms
Sunday September 30 2007 . Irish Independent newspaper
A controversial new book which details the dark side of women, describing them as malicious abusers who prey on "innocent gentle men" has dismayed women's groups.
The provocatively entitled 'That Bitch' describes a vindictive side of women who skillfully and covertly inflict physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse on others and offers readers a checklist of telltale signs to recognise a 'bitch' in their lives.
Men are given tips on the type of women who 'trap' men into marriage; advice on what to do if a woman refuses to sign a prenuptial agreement and guidance on how to get a higher settlement if a woman files for divorce.
A chapter is also dedicated to women who use children as so-called 'Weapons of Male Destruction' and describes how malicious mothers learn to hate their former partners more than they love their children.
The book has been written by Mary Cleary, founder of Amen -- a support and information service for male victims of domestic abuse -- and Roy Sheppard, a writer with the lads magazine Loaded [This is factually incorrect. Roy Sheppard is not a writer for this magazine – nor has he ever been. He was once interviewed by a reporter from this publication.]
The provocative text state that many women "are nothing short of domestic terrorists: Al-Qa'ida in high heels and lipsticks. These pampered predators routinely pretend to love their prey". Author Mary Cleary denies it is a "women-hater's charter".
"It's not woman-hating. It's not saying all women are bitches, by any stretch of the imagination. However, it is saying that some women behave badly and thankfully it's only a small minority of women who do this. I also come from a family of seven girls, I have three daughters, I ran a women's group and I would not be involved in anything that is anti-woman."
But she says it is undeniable that some women trap men into marriage.
"One of the ways of doing it -- their wives would have been pregnant when they met them. The [women] will also have had children from other relationships. And remember that a lot of these women are manipulative and controlling. Some of them will be quite sexually proactive, if you know what I mean, so the guys will think that all their Christmases have come at once."
She also explains how some women use children.
"It can happen while men are still in the home. The children are alienated from them, they are told not to have anything to do with their father and in many situations the children can be used as pawns. They can also be used as bartering tools for money, so it's 'you can see the kids if you pay a certain amount of money every week' that type of thing."
Speaking in reaction to the books release, Sharon O'Halloran, Director of the National Network of Women's Refuges and Support Services (NNWRSS) said she is dismayed at the controversial nature of the text.
"I have not seen a copy of this book but my immediate response is that the title is not helpful and it is designed merely to be sensationalist and controversial. The title in itself is aggressive."
She continued; "Our understanding and knowledge of domestic violence is based on (in this country) 35 years of credible research and data backed up by International research on the issue."
In the interest of fairness, the authors of 'That Bitch' have stated that a book entitled 'That Bastard; Protect Yourself Against Men with Malicious Intent' could be a possible follow-up.