Students graduating from high school may be happy to leave the trappings of adolescence behind. But they shouldn’t be too quick to claim to have entered “adulthood”—at least, not according to Manhattan Institute senior fellow Kay Hymowitz.

Hymowitz has published a new book, entitled “Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men Into Boys,” in which she outlines a stage of life called “preadulthood.”

Preadulthood lasts through one’s 20s and 30s, and generally describes the period between exiting the education system and “settling down.” Hymowitz claims that this stage is unique, because it’s a stage where women become the “first sex,” out-performing men in more areas than ever before.

Men are no longer sure how to be masculine, undermined by conflicting expectations of how to behave, as women “expect equality in the workplace but old-fashioned chivalry in their romantic lives.”

Hymowitz said that frustration with mediocrity drives many men to embrace a state of “primal masculinity,” where they model themselves after the frat guy stereotype, drinking beer, playing video games and revelling in all that is crass and juvenile.

Hymowitz also points to “geek,” “emo” and “hipster” personality types as defensive measures adopted by men to distance themselves from women.

There is hope, however far off, as Hymowitz indicates that most “child-men” will grow out of preadulthood in their 30s—or at worst, their 40s.

Hymowitz—or at least, her interview—advances a staggering number of cut-and-dried assumptions. Some are simply outdated, or at best, mis-applied. Many of her conclusions appear to be based on informal feedback and anecdotal evidence.

Suggesting that many socially introverted personality types are simply disguises for bruised egos is a dismissive assertion, and one that fails to take into account how many people might refer to themselves as a “geek” or “hipster”—or both. Hymowitz’s connection of female “dominance” in preadulthood to a devaluation of the father seems a little too simple and direct.

Other suggestions are outright offensive. Hymowitz’s emphasis on the need for new “scripts” for behaviour overlooks the ability of individuals to navigate their lives without resorting to stock gender roles and media tropes. Her articulation of these “scripts” seems linked to her suggestion that feminism is responsible for the priority men place on fatherhood—a remark that devalues the genuine love and care bestowed by a male parent.

The statement that “Women and men are interdependent and it will always be that way and should be that way” is not only exclusive, but embodies the sort of stereotypes targeted by the feminist movement, especially given her suggestion that without women as helpless objects needing protection and shelter, men essentially lose a sense of purpose.