The Politics of Manhood: Profeminist Men Respond to the Mythopoetic Men's Movement (And the Mythopoetic Leaders Answer) [Paperback]

Michael Kimmel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 1995

These essays by profeminist men critique the surface ideals and underlying messages promoted by the men's movement. Is it a backlash against feminism or does it respond to men's real needs independent of feminism? What does the movement say about the appropriate models of masculinity? While the movement may be more than a bunch of white middle-aged men in war-paint, chanting and grunting in the forest, the profeminist men writing here express their explicit concern with both the surface ideals and the underlying messages promoted by the movement. Essays by several of the leaders of the mythopoetic men's movement, including Robert Bly, respond to the profeminist criticisms, opening a provocative dialogue among men about the politics of the contemporary men's movement, the "crisis" of masculinity, and where to go from here. Spokesperson for the National Organization for Men Against Sexism, Michael S. Kimmel is Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and editor of "Masculinities", a scholarly journal. His books include "Men's Lives", "Men Confront Pornography", and "Manhood in America: A History."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This anthology offers an outlet to two sides of the men's movement: a series of profeminist male writers critique, primarily, the mythopoetic body of work of Robert Bly (Iron John, LJ 11/15/90) and, to a lesser extent, that of Sam Keen (Fire in the Belly, LJ 2/15/91); and Bly and other mythopoetic writers?including Aaron Kipnis, Shepard Bliss, and Onaje Benjamin?respond to the criticisms. Kimmel (sociology, SUNY at Stony Brook) concludes that the profeminists and mythopoetic movers and shakers have more in common than not, but a dichotomy still remains between their respective positions. Unfortunately, there is a noticeable neglect of the work of Warren Farrell. And, more generally, some of the essays on both sides are sometimes unfocused; full comprehension of the somewhat deep and heavy reading requires knowledge of the gender identity conundrum. Still, this confab should foster further investigation into revising the masculine role and gender identity for tomorrow. Recommended for upper-division academic libraries supporting gender studies programs and large public libraries where interest and demand warrant.?Scott Johnson, Meridian Community Coll. Lib., Miss.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...a watershed in the national conversation on masculinity that has emerged over the past few years...[T]his book represents not only an extremely interesting text and an historically important document, but also an intervention that will likely change the nature of discourse about men's lives." --Ronald F. Levant, co-author of Masculinity Reconstructed "Kimmel leads the field! First a documentary history of profeminist men, now a collection of their responses to the mythopoetic men's movement. Kimmel senses what American culture wants to know about gender and delivers it. Valuable reading for activist, scholar, and student--for every man and woman in America." --Jean O'Barr, Director of Women's Studies, Duke University "Can men learn to use male privilege with integrity, on behalf of gender justice? Perhaps--if they are willing to challenge each other with respect, to educate each other with compassion, and to call each other into accountability with love. The often-startling debate documented in The Politics of Manhood offers a powerful model for such crucial discourse among men. In collecting these passionate voices, Michael Kimmel thwarts media attempts to caricature the mythopoets, disappear the pro-feminists, and dismiss progressive efforts to scrutinize masculinity altogether. This book provides a much-needed dimensionality to a movement-in-progress, and insight into the complexity of men's work--both personal and political--for gender justice." --Kay Leigh Hagan, author of Fugitive Information: Essays from a Feminist Hothead and editor of Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection

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Product Details

• Paperback: 379 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (November 28, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566393663
• ISBN-13: 978-1566393669
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,350,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A THOUGHT-PROVOKING SERIES OF ESSAYS ON THE "MEN'S MOVEMENT", September 23, 2011

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Politics of Manhood: Profeminist Men Respond to the Mythopoetic Men's Movement (And the Mythopoetic Leaders Answer) (Paperback)

Editor Michael Scott Kimmel (born 1951) is an American sociologist specializing in gender studies. He holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in New York and is a spokesperson of NOMAS (The National Organization For Men Against Sexism). He has written other books such as Men's Lives (8th Edition), The Gendered Society, The Gender of Desire: Essays on Male Sexuality, etc.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1995 book, "This book had its origins in rejection. Michael Kaufman and I had been working on an essay about Robert Bly's book Iron John: A Book About Men, trying to engage critically with the ideas of the mythopoetic men's movement. A friend had mentioned that Kay Leigh was editing a book to be called Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection, and I thought that this might be an appropriate arena for Michael and me to publish such a critique."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"...I am always aware that my close childhood connection with my father is quite unusual among my men's movement friends." (Pg. 3)
"It should come as no surprise, then, to observe that the overwhelming majority of the men who are currently involved in the new men's movement are precisely middle class, middle aged, white and heterosexual." (Pg. 18)
"The mythopoetic men's retreats ... appeals not to men who want to be men, but rather men who want to re-become boys... So said Peter Pan. So say the men at wildman retreats." (Pg. 36-37)
"...the best strategy to promote war is to question the President's manhood." (Pg. 135)
"A generalisation I would make is that the majority of men have not gone soft but are confused about their identity as men." (Pg. 218)
"In this context, calling men Mama's boys, soft males and pussy whipped because they listen too much to women is quite counterproductive---the wrong male qualities are being stigmatized." (Pg. 228)
"First, it is necessary to consider what the mythopoetic men are seeking. For the most part they seek self-change, not social change." (Pg. 324)

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful., June 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Politics of Manhood: Profeminist Men Respond to the Mythopoetic Men's Movement (And the Mythopoetic Leaders Answer) (Paperback)

Michael Kimmel is at the top of a very short list of profeminist male sociologists actively publishing today. His books are without exception well-researched, thoughtful, nuanced, and eminently readable. I wrote my senior thesis on the subject of the mythopoetic and Promise Keeper movements, and found Dr. Kimmel's work incredibly helpful - both academically and personally. The debate he presents in this book is an important one for men to embrace with an open mind... it is unfortunate that some other reviewers here have failed to do that, instead reducing his work into an inane (and misleading) soundbyte.

8 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cashing in, March 4, 2000

By 

Rod Van Mechelen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Politics of Manhood: Profeminist Men Respond to the Mythopoetic Men's Movement (And the Mythopoetic Leaders Answer) (Paperback)

I met Michael S. Kimmel on the Bertice Barry show where he was representing the interests of blacks versus white men. (Like most "3rd generation" American Indians, I pretty much look like any other white guy.) His position was that white men are privileged from birth by virtue of being white and, in the interests of leveling the playing field it's time white men put themselves at a relative disadvantage. As a published college professor, he is one of the most privileged white men in the country. Since he didn't seem anxious to give that up, one would have to assume he belongs to that class of elitists who expect to receive special dispensation from sharing those disadvantages.