In Western countries, the proportion of the population that is single is now at a historically high level. At the same time, birth rates are at a historically low level. For some who are single, both women and men, this is involuntary. Others actively choose to live single.

More and more heterosexual Western men will not enter into relationships with women, at least not with Western women. Some travel to other parts of the world to find a wife. Others never establish a long-term relationship with a woman as a spouse or cohabitant.

Some media have put the spotlight on men who are involuntarily single. The fact is, however, that there is also an increasing proportion of men in several Western countries who actively refrain from marriage or long-term relationships with women. In some cases, they avoid any relationship with women, even short-term dating. In English, men who give up relationships with women are called MGTOW, or “Men Going Their Own Way”.

The Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC has a left-wing, environmentally friendly and feminist profile. There, journalist Clara Lee Lundberg comments on the trend of men choosing to live a life without women. They sterilise themselves, are uninterested in romantic love and associate only with themselves, animals or other men. Her conclusions on why this happens can, however, be debated. Lundberg suggests that capitalism is the reason why more Western men avoid women.

On the other hand, the independent online newspaper Fria Tider, which has a male editor, suggests that feminism is a contributing factor to this development. Could it be that legislation around cohabitation, plus feminist projects such as Metoo, contribute to men refusing to enter into relationships with women?

In any case, this is a phenomenon that needs to be discussed. When a large number of men and women no longer establish a relationship or have children, this has consequences for society as a whole.