Neil Lyndon

Neil Alexander Lyndon (born 1946) is a British journalist and writer who has written for every "quality" newspaper in Britain. He is currently the motoring correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph.

Early life

Born in 1946, Lyndon grew up in the Sussex Weald, a rural area.^[1] He attended Collyer's school, Horsham.^[2]

In 1965, Lyndon became the first student from a comprehensive school to be awarded an unconditional place at Cambridge University. At university he took a job in a scrap yard and later in light engineering.^[3] Having flirted with communism as a teenager and having been a committed member of CND he rapidly became involved with radical left-wing politics at Cambridge. He took part in many demonstrations and sit-ins and after his graduation he co-founded of The Shilling Paper, a radical weekly.^[4] In 1969, he joined the editorial board of the underground paper The Black Dwarf.^[5] Years later, in 2007 he wrote in The Sunday Times of his shame at how he had "once toasted mass murderers, torturers and totalitarian despots", particularly as he had distant relatives in Czechoslovakia.^[6]

1980s journalism

Lyndon was a successful journalist in the 1980s, writing for the "Atticus" column in The Sunday Times, as well as for The Times, The Independent, the Evening Standard and others. He wrote columns, profiles and feature articles covering a wide variety of issues such as politics, sport, music and books ^[7]

Early writings on feminism

Lyndon first focused on gender issues in a 1990 essay for the Sunday Times Magazine entitled "Badmouthing". The 5,000 word piece argued that, in advertising, entertainment, the news media, family law, education and health research, "an atmosphere of intolerance surrounded men", blaming this intolerance on "the universal dominance of feminism".^[5] It later emerged that female writers at The Times had attempted to have the article censored, although this was unsuccessful they instead wrote a derogatory article about Lyndon in the magazine's "Style" section.^[8]

No More Sex War

The following year he wrote his book, No More Sex War: The Failures of Feminism,^[9] published in 1992, in which he expanded on these arguments.

Reception

The work received a large amount of attention in the media,^[10] most of it hostile and abusive, vilifying Lyndon.^[11]

Rather than addressing the issues and arguments raised by Lyndon, most critics instead chose to abuse him personally. They suggested he was sexually inadequate, questioned the size of his penis, his masculinity, his ability to attract women and even the smell of his breath.^[11] Almost two decades later feminist writer Julie Burchill continued the attack, suggesting he was a "sad-sack" and "the opposite of a man".^[12] In a review of book of the year, Helena Kennedy refused to even discuss the publication, simply instructing people not to buy it.^[11]

Even more serious abuses of Lyndon were to come such as an assault at Heathrow Airport.^[11] At Cambridge university, Lyndon's Alma-mater, the female president of the student's union encouraged students to burn his writings and a don told her pupils that she would like to see him shot.^[7]

Impact

The book did sell well but Lyndon's work in journalism dried up. In August 1992 he was declared bankrupt.^[13] Before the publication of No More Sex War, Lyndon's marriage had broken up and his wife had abducted their child to Scotland where she obtained an order of custody without Lyndon knowing the case was being heard.^[5] In the subsequent divorce, his media notoriety was used against him in court, and he lost all access to his son. He rebuilt his career in journalism during the 1990s, and was later reunited with his son, who lived with him in Scotland before going to university.^[6]

Eight years after the controversy, Lyndon revisited some of the issues in his book and discussed his story. He highlighted the issues in relation to "the treatment of dissidents in what is supposed to be an open society". Whilst not comparing his plight to the coetaneous case of Salman Rushdie, he suggested it was "paradoxical that many of the people who defended Rushdie's right to write whatever he wanted should be so censorious and destructive about wanting to limit my freedom to do the same".^[11]

Other works

Lyndon has also co-written a musical, Hail to the Chief, now renamed "Men of Respect", about America between the inaugurations of John Kennedy and Richard Nixon.^[14]

Personal life

Lyndon is married to Linda, they have two daughters and live in Fife, Scotland. Lyndon also has a son from a previous marriage.^[15][16]

Publications

• No More Sex War: The failures of feminism, by Neil Lyndon, 1992, Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd ISBN 978-1-85619-191-3
• A Boyhood in the Weald, by Neil Lyndon, 1998, Pomegranate Press ISBN 978-0-9519876-8-1

References

v t e Masculism Men Boys Masculinity Concepts/subjects Theory Men's rights Fathers' rights Gender equality Gender inequality Men and feminism Pro-feminism Anti-feminism Men's movement Mythopoetic men's movement Philandry By country Men's rights India Fathers' rights Australia Italy United Kingdom United States See also Masculism Topics International Men's Day Domestic violence against men Masculism (men's rights) portal

See also

• Warren Farrell
• David Thomas