Critics Say Pro-Feminist Research “Shabby,” Violation of Standards


by Chad Groening and Jody Brown

(AgapePress) – The research that gave feminists ammunition to push their anti-male agenda — and made a Harvard professor famous — has now been found to be seriously flawed.

The work was done by Dr. William Pollack, a Harvard psychologist, and published in his book, Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood. Pollack's research led the Harvard Medical School to declare in 1998 a national emergency that called for major social reform of boys. But John Haskins, the acting executive director of the Parents Rights Coalition in Massachusetts, says Pollack used shabby research in coming to his conclusion.

According to Haskins, the students used in Pollack's study were coerced into taking part in it. “The boys themselves were obliged to participate and obliged to sign their names,” Haskins says. It is a violation of the ethical standards of the American Psychological Association to force subjects to complete surveys and to sign their names.

“Parents have spoken with us and with the media and said that they're outraged and … that some faculty members are also outraged, that these boys were used to advance what was essentially a feminist argument on the basis of research that was really shabby,” Haskins says.

Haskins notes the questions used in the research were designed to lead to only one conclusion. “For example, [the boys were asked] how often they think of killing themselves,” he says. “I think the choices were something like everyday, once a week, once a month, once a year. The question wasn't 'Do you think of killing yourself?' it was 'How often?' ”

In addition, Haskins says the book resulting from the research was overtly feminist and anti-male. “I believe that boys should be raised as boys,” he says. “They're not the same as girls … they definitely need the influence of their fathers. If feminism relates to a crisis of boys and masculinity, feminism is at fault — it's not the answer.”

Haskins says he has also learned that the participants did not take the study seriously, and thought it was a complete farce. “We just want to see people become aware that [Pollack's book] … has been revealed, so far as we can tell, as having been based on very, very shoddy research.”

The Massachusetts News has published a series of articles on Pollack's allegedly flawed research. Pollack has threatened to sue the newspaper, but has not yet done so.


(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)

Newsweek Details Spread of “Christian Pop” Music

by Allie Martin and Jim Brown

(AgapePress) – A cover story this week in a national news magazine looks at the booming business of “Christian pop” music and examines what many say is a blurring of the lines between the secular and Christian entertainment industries.

This week’s cover story in Newsweek is titled “Jesus Rocks” and takes readers to the first “Christian” alternative rock tour, the “Festival Con Dios,” during a stop in South Bend, Indiana. The magazine reports 60% of the crowd at the festivals come with their church youth groups. The article describes concert scenes familiar at most secular rock events — teenagers body surfing through the crowd as bands such as Audio Adrenaline and the Newsboys play to a backdrop of lasers and pyrotechnics.

Also, the Con Dios festival features a mosh pit where teen boys with spiky hair slam dance into one another while music blares from the stage.

According to Newsweek, the thirty-city tour involves performances by the ska band OC Supertones, a group which claims to dedicate its music to Jesus Christ while “goofing” around the stage in giant Afro wigs. Lyrics from “Adonai,” a song from their 1996 Adventures of the OC Supertones CD, further reveal the band’s attitude towards hair and dress.

“I don’t care about your haircut, can’t we all just get along? Not just get along, but really love and care. If your eyes are on the Lord you can’t see nobody’s hair,” the song reads.

The OC Supertones’ newest CD will be produced by Garth Richardson, who has worked with secular rock bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Voodoo Glow Skulls.

The lengthy magazine article points out that contemporary Christian music is now the hottest genre in the entire music industry, generating $747 million in sales last year alone.

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