What Men Are Saying About a Woman-Led Dystopia
2 min read
When I first started sharing Dominion: Ascension, I wasn’t sure how male readers would respond to a story set in a woman-led nation where men’s lives are governed by a single test and a colored band around their necks. Would they see it as purely hypothetical, or would it feel personal? The answer, it turns out, is very much the latter.
Male readers have told me they recognize themselves in the men of Dominion—especially in the tension between being needed and being controlled. Some relate to the Breeders, whose bodies and genetics are essential to the nation’s future but whose autonomy is sacrificed in the name of survival. Others see themselves in the Formalists and Expeditors, men doing “ordinary” work that keeps the system running while they watch a select few be glorified and tightly managed.
Several men have described Dominion as “uncomfortably familiar” rather than purely speculative. They’ve pointed to real-world experiences of being stereotyped by job, class, or race; of having their mental health or physical strength taken for granted; or of feeling like they are only as valuable as what they can produce. Seeing men in Dominion classified, surveilled, and punished in the name of the greater good has sparked conversations about how any society—regardless of who holds power—can fall into the trap of instrumentalizing people.
I’ve also heard from men who were surprised by how much they empathized with Dani. Watching her navigate loyalty to family, grief for a lost father, and anger at a system that benefits her at others’ expense resonated across gender lines. For these readers, Dominion wasn’t just a thought experiment about “what if women ruled”; it was a story about how easy it is to inherit an unjust system and how hard it is to decide what you’re going to do about it.
Perhaps the most encouraging feedback has come from book clubs and reading partnerships where men and women read Dominion together. Those conversations often move quickly from the fictional colony and Illegis testing to real-world questions: Who decides whose bodies are regulated? How do we talk honestly about harm without collapsing into blame?
If you’re a male reader curious about Dominion—or if you’re part of a mixed-gender book club looking for a title that will push everyone out of their comfort zone—this might be the story that gets your group talking in new ways.