In the future... women will be on top. This book will have you questioning everything you thought about gender roles, fatherhood, love, and equality. The Nursery is a novel set in the future. The action takes place in Southern California during the aftermath of a political movement that set gender against gender. Because women emerged victorious in this battle of civil rights, the vast majority of men live underground, separated from normal society. The evils of "mankind" are currently synonymous in The Nursery with men and testosterone. Even sex is taboo. Therefore, the only remaining surface-dwelling men are those that have renounced their manhood "for the good of society." Any form of aggression, force, or maltreatment of others, especially by men, is quickly assessed by police, who determine if the suspect should be transported to the Nursery, where men are primarily used by women to wage war against neighboring countries, to extract semen for reproduction, or for entertainment purposes. Reproduction mostly occurs at doctors' offices. Women can scroll through databases for "seeds" and find surrogate uteruses if they wish to produce children. The major premise of the story revolves around the implications of a society void of masculinity. Such a society is a far cry from today's world, where men everywhere are constantly being emasculated and deemed unnecessary for the natural rearing of children. This story attempts to diffuse the unforeseen results of oppressing nature, of harnessing the animal known as man, father, and brother. Topics addressed here will include reproduction, the rearing of children, women parting with sons, lesbians and gays, the nature of the nursery, jail, ethics, loyalty, and submission.
