The rise of the new lad coincided with a backlash against feminism by both men and women, and in particular against the figure of the new man as "one who has subjugated his masculinity in order to fulfill the needs of women ... this passive and insipid image". At a time when "the stereotypes for men attentive to feminism were two: Eunuch, or Beast",—and when women were increasingly feeling that "new men are fine in the kitchen, but who wants them in the bedroom?"—the "new lad" image offered "a space of fun, consumption and sexual freedom for men", as well as "a refuge from the constraints and demands of marriage and nuclear family".