Forget ‘Heterofatalism,’ ‘Mankeeping’ Is What’s Keeping Women From Dating – Twitchy

This summer, Jean Garnett had a piece in The New York Times Magazine called “The Trouble With Wanting Men.” She even had a word for it: “heterofatalism.” Garnett is now divorced and dating, so if it sounds like you’re her type, get help:

I haven’t been dating long (just the other day my ex-husband and I received our Judgment of Divorce as an email attachment), but long enough to discover that I have a type. He is gentle, goofy, self-deprecating, rather deferential, a passionate humanist, a sweet guy, a “good guy.” He tends to signal, in various ways, his exemption from the tainted category of “men,” and it is perfectly understandable that he would wish to do so. It must be mildly embarrassing to be a straight man, and it is incumbent upon each of them to mitigate this embarrassment in a way that feels authentic to him.

He tends to signal his exemption from the tainted category of “men.” Boy, she sounds like a catch.

Heterofatalism is so last summer. The reason more and more women are done with dating, according to VICE, is all of the hard work of “mankeeping”: 

Managing his stress. Interpreting his moods. Holding his hand through feelings he won’t share with anyone else. All of it unpaid, unacknowledged, and often unreciprocated. Is it any wonder women are fed up? pic.twitter.com/Fh3xSVNiba

— VICE (@VICE) November 14, 2025

So if it were paid, it would be OK?

Ashley Fike writes for VICE:

Researchers at Stanford have finally given a name to something many women have been dealing with for years. It’s called mankeeping. And it’s helping explain why so many women are stepping away from dating altogether.

…

The Guardian calls mankeeping a modern extension of emotional labor, one that turns a partner into a life coach. This isn’t about avoiding vulnerability. It’s about refusing to carry someone else’s emotional weight while getting little to nothing in return. And there’s nothing wrong with feeling that way.

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No, there’s nothing wrong with feeling that way. Stay single.

Good point, no man has ever had to deal with the Byzantine complexity of a woman’s emotions, or had to navigate the perilous labyrinth of feminine moods, all of it unpaid, unacknowledged, and often unreciprocated. https://t.co/5Q91nGJInU

— Cruadin (@cruadin) November 15, 2025

Just guessing, but are all the “researchers” involved single women with daddy issues, whose “love” lives consist of an unending parade of unsatisfying one night stands with men they don’t respect, and who return the feeling?

Because I wouldn’t be surprised.

— Uncultured Purrl (@AmericanPurrl) November 15, 2025

Managing her meltdowns. Trying to figure her moods. Holding her hand through her deranged behavior. Listening to her psychotic meltdowns over Trump. Is it any wonder men are fed up?

— JWF (@JammieWF) November 15, 2025

Have you met women?

— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) November 15, 2025

Why do men date women who clearly, clearly deeply hate them.

— Eric (@breakingbaht) November 15, 2025

How is this real?

— Texture (@iamtexture) November 15, 2025

Unpaid. Huh.

Are we supposed to have like a hug jar in the living room where you throw 5 dollar bill in it if your spouse hugs you after a hard day of work?

Just want to make sure we’re doing this right.

— Aaron Erickson (@AaronErickson) November 15, 2025

The “research” suggests that men are trending toward having fewer friends, making their romantic partners take on the role of therapist.

That used to be called “being a partner”. But what do I know?

— H. Clay Aalders (@KnifeTruth) November 15, 2025

This is satire right?

— $TelFiRE (@TelFiREgames) November 15, 2025

Natural selection for the win

— Trey Isaac (@Trip_Isaac) November 15, 2025

Anyone wonder why men are done with dating ?

— Dino Montana 🎗️🦖🇮🇱 (@TimmyMontana_23) November 15, 2025

Apparently women can’t do in a relationship what men have always done: Be an emotional tampon.

— Assault Clip, #2A Voter (@assaultclip) November 15, 2025

This is an opposite take of reality.
I endure the most blistering blabbering of angst and emotional instability from women.

And they expect me to take the endless upheavals of their mental state as serious.

They are hysteria machines destined for padded cells and lithium.

— Sir Jean Luc Connery (@JeanLucConnery) November 15, 2025

Are you seriously trying to make this a thing?

— Michael J. Miraflor (@michaelmiraflor) November 14, 2025

Wild idea, maybe not having that attitude would help

— Chow (@ChowRabbit) November 15, 2025

Functional adults don’t have any of these problems

— Marielle Redclaw (@MarieleRedclaw) November 15, 2025

We’d ask how old the author of this piece is, but she’s just reporting on what Stanford researchers found out. How big a grant did they get to study why women are done with dating?

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Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to highlight dubious “studies” to explain why more women are staying single.

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