Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
In true woke-brained female fashion, some leftist women are complaining about a role women have played in society for centuries.
The term “mankeeping” was coined by Angelica Puzio Ferrara, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, to describe the emotional labor that women perform for the men in their lives. This supposed phenomenon was detailed in a report by The New York Times, which included the excerpt: “As male social circles shrink, female partners say they have to meet more social and emotional needs.”
The New York Times reached out to a male therapist to explain what he is seeing in his male patients.
“Justin Lioi is a licensed clinical social worker in Brooklyn who specializes in therapy for men. When he sees a new client, one of the first things he asks is: Who can you talk to about what’s going on in your life?” the outlet said. “Much of the time, Mr. Lioi said, his straight male clients tell him that they rarely open up to anyone but their girlfriends or wives. Their partners have become their unofficial therapists, he said, ‘doing all the emotional labor.’”
Why Women Are Weary of the Emotional Labor of ‘Mankeeping’ https://t.co/qJIQC6ocSj via @NYTimes
Last year’s problem: He doesn’t tell me about his feelings!
This year’s problem: He tells me about his feelings!
— Caitlin Flanagan (@CaitlinPacific) July 28, 2025
But when you ask these women what they are doing to help men have the opportunity to hang out with other men, so that their “emotional labor” is outsourced to their male friends, they stare blankly at the wall, reciting the mantra: men don’t need male friends. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
When broken down by party, female Democrats were significantly more likely to say that female-only groups were a positive force in society. In contrast, they didn’t view male-only groups as such, according to Pew Research. The poll found that 76% of Democratic women agree that all-female groups have a positive impact on women’s overall well-being. However, when asked whether all-male groups have a positive impact on society, only 34% of Democratic women responded affirmatively.
What’s crazy is that Democrat women, the group most likely to adopt and use the new term “mankeeping,” are also the group least likely to support all-male groups/spaces or view them as having a positive impact on society, as I mentioned a few weeks ago. It’s just… 🤦🏼♀️ pic.twitter.com/q9zA92s8ka
— Lisa Britton (@LisaBritton) July 29, 2025
Apparently, Democrat women hate that they are the ones their boyfriends and husbands go to for support for their challenges and inner turmoil. But they equally hate the idea that if they aren’t willing to provide them emotional support, it would require them to confide in other males.
If you feel insane because of the hypocrisy displayed here by woke women, you aren’t alone. Growing up, I used to quote a line from the movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” when the mother tells her daughter that while the man is the head, the woman is the neck and can turn the head anyway she wants.
My dad would laugh at this part, telling us it’s true and that women should use this power to help their men be better for the sake of their families. When I look at how many women don’t see that their responsibility is to help foster the emotional needs of their men and actively complain about the power given to them, it makes me see red. (ROOKE: The Strange Tension Of Raising Adults While Holding Onto Children)
Maybe if society hadn’t shut down every male-only activity by forcibly including women in their spaces, they would have male friends to hang out with and help carry this load. But you can’t say with one breath that you are annoyed about caring for the emotional needs of your husbands, while with the other espousing negative thoughts about men congregating with other men.
Women should want their men to confide in them and look to them for emotional support. Having this gives the two of you a chance to become closer. It’s also a sign he trusts you implicitly. Men, at least masculine men, are not going to be emotionally vulnerable unless they feel they can trust you with their inner turmoil. These women are essentially saying that they have a man who sees them as their closest confidant, but instead of viewing this as a sign that they are in a healthy relationship, they are using it to score points on the victimhood scale. It’s an incredibly selfish way to live and be in a relationship.
This is simply another way for leftist women to attack and demonize men. After years of pleading with men to be more open with them, they are now complaining that men are listening to their pleas and are doing just that.
These women need someone in their life to slap them and shake them while screaming in their face: GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF. Good wives want their husbands to be the best version of themselves the moment they walk out of their home. And sometimes that means completing at least some of the emotional work. This is a blessing, not a sign of your victimhood. And if you think this is a burden, you are the problem.
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