Why are men afraid of women? asks Jean Cournut. And why does this fear seem to have as its corollary the domination of women by men? We are familiar with Zarathustra's warning: ‘You are going to see women? Don't forget the whip!’ The whip is needed to defend oneself against the figure of the shrew, who is not always tamed, or against the no less dangerous figure of Jocasta. Is not sadomasochism—said to be the best cement for couples—also an indirect consequence of this fear?

At the beginning of his book Jean Cournut points out that the thing about which there is most consensus in this world—much more than the notion of common sense—is