The Will to Change

Men, Masculinity, and Love

Paperback, 188 pages

English language

Published Dec. 21, 2004 by Washington Square Press.

ISBN:
978-0-7434-5608-1
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5 stars (2 reviews)

Everyone needs to love and be loved -- even men. But to know love, men must be able to look at the ways that patriarchal culture keeps them from knowing themselves, from being in touch with their feelings, from loving. In The Will to Change, bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express the emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are -- whatever their age, marital status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. With trademark candor and fierce intelligence, hooks addresses the most common concerns of men, such as fear of intimacy and loss of their patriarchal place in society, in new and challenging ways. She believes men can find the way to spiritual unity by getting back in touch with the emotionally open part of themselves -- and lay claim to the rich and rewarding inner lives that have historically been …

1 edition

Eye opening

5 stars

This is the kind of book that both articulates what you felt in an eloquent way, while also opening your eyes to things you haven't thought about that much. I feel that this is specially true if you're a man reading this.

I don't know much about "feminism for men" books; this was one of the few at the time of publishing.

The prose is beautiful. As I read it, scenes of my childhood and adolescence came to my mind, moments that I can perfectly recall that shaped my patriarchal understanding of what it is to be a man (and a woman). What we as men are encouraged to do or not to do.

As the book progresses, it questions my current understanding of relating to oneself and to others, aiming at challenging patriarchal values that are so harmful for everyone, regardless of gender.

Highly recommended for any man that …

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rated it

5 stars

Subjects

  • Masculinity
  • Men -- Identity
  • Self-esteem in men
  • Men -- Psychology
  • Sex role
  • Intimacy (Psychology)