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| WHAT
MAKES A MAN: Twenty-two Writers Imagine the Future |
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Edited
by: Rebecca Walker
Binding: Hardcover, 384 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Published Date: March 22, 2004
Dear Friends,
I
am delighted to share 22 fresh essays on contemporary masculinity,
a topic proving to be one of the most important of the 21st
century. From Daddy Day Care to Queer Eye for the Straight
Guy, metrosexual presidential candidates to gay four-star
generals, it seems clear that what makes a man is under
serious review. Could it be that conventional masculinity,
with its stoicism and violence, has become so toxic that
men themselves are refusing to take it on?
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In
search of answers, I interviewed dozens of men about what
it means to be a man today and asked 20 of them to write
personal, revealing essays about their attempts to challenge
the narrowly defined masculinity they were introduced to
as children. The result is What Makes a Man: 22 Writers
Imagine the Future, a diverse collection that explores the
interstices of contemporary masculinity and war, money,
sex, marriage, and inner peace, among others.
What
I discovered is that most men want to come out as the sensitive,
multi-dimensional beings that they are. They want to be
loved without having to fight to prove their manhood, without
having to hurt others in order to secure their own place
at the table. In the same way that women have had to break
free of traditional behavior, men too are beginning to reject
the idea of a one-size fits all masculinity, and to liberate
themselves from the socially acceptable performance that
restricts their full human potential.
This
book is special to me not just because I edited it with
my father, son, brother, and former lovers in mind, but
because I believe that the work of redefining what it means
to be a man is the work of securing the survival of our
species. I have no doubt that when men no longer feel the
cultural imperative to dominate a family, an employee, or
a country, and when they are free from the fear of expressing
their vulnerability, we will be closer to a world in which
all people can be assured of their birthright: to live in
peace.
As
Barbara Ehrenreich graciously writes, "Whether you
are a man exploring issues of identity, or a woman who loves
one, or you are just a person who believes in the possibility
of human evolution, this book is for you."
I
urge you to help me get What Makes a Man into the hands
of the men and women who need it the most.
Warmly,
Rebecca
Walker
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REVIEWS |
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Publishers
Weekly Review |
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Booklist
Review |
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In
this literate essay collection, Walker (Black, White and Jewish)
brings together male and female writers to ponder the male
figure in its various poses: ill, robust, young, aged, confident,
emotionally spent. The result is a book that portrays masculinity
as a fluid mosaic, giving added resonance to contributor Caitríona
Reed’s claim that "the Navajo have at least forty-nine
gender designations." Elsewhere humor writer Bruce Stockler,
in "No Means No," uses agile diction to portray
the frenetic schedule and social stigma attached to being
a stay-at-home dad—for four children, including triplets.
And Meri Nana-Ama Danquah, in an essay that uses narrative
twists to surprise readers with thoughtful analysis, ambivalently
describes Ghana, a country where men link pinkies while chatting
in bars because Ghanaian society accepts the display of physical
affection between male friends. Almost half of the writers
are African American (two others are gay men), and a recurring
theme involves the shedding of machismo associated with that
culture. Most of the essays are well crafted—an exception
being Michael Moore’s hollow rant "The End of Men"—and
a number of them chronicle a personal transformation from
a limited view of masculinity to one imbued with nuance and
so-called femininity. These awakenings are sometimes cloying
and may make readers yearn for a defense of the red-blooded
man—which they’ll glimpse in the excerpt from Anthony
Swofford’s acclaimed Gulf War memoir Jarhead. But overall
the anecdotes and insights will keep readers engaged, even
if they cast only occasional light on an imagined future.
Copyright © Reed Business Information,
a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
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Walker,
author of the memoir Black, White, and Jewish (2000), has
put together a timely and profound anthology. One wonders
what changes could occur in our society if such texts were
read and openly and sensitively discussed among boys and girls
who are on the verge of entering the limiting spaces we call
"manhood" and "womanhood." Walker's introductory
essay offers poignant and insightful observations about our
reactions as parents, children, and peers to the process of
becoming a "man." Other striking pieces include
a mother's questions about her three-year-old son's insistence
that he's a girl; a man's reflections on his childhood and
the experiences, role models, and expectations that shaped
him; a privileged young black man's life of trying to fit
in while remaining true to his belief in peace over violence;
and a transsexual's search for self beyond stereotype. Walker
has done society at large a great service by bringing forth
these voices, these views. Now if only society will listen.
Janet St. John
Copyright © American Library Association.
All rights reserved |
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| PRESS
ARTICLES |
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REIMAGINING
BOYHOOD,
By
Deborah Solomon,
© New York Times
Magazine,
06/13/2004 |
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"MOM,
I NEED TO PLAY SPORTS", ©
Advocate.com,
06/17/2004 |
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NEW
AGE DAD, By
Kathleen Grant Geib,
© Alameda Times-Star,
06/18/2004 |
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WHAT
LITTLE BOYS ARE MADE OF, By
Meredith Maran,
© Salon.com,
05/28/2004 |
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"POLITICS
GET PERSONAL" WITH REBECCA WALKER
By Tara Lombardo © Venus
Zine, Summer 2004 issue |
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