Customer Reviews

Standup Guy: Manhood After Feminism

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This book has an intriguing subtitle: "Manhood after Feminism" yet delves into very little of either manhood or feminism. The first 51 pages or so talk about the typical relationship of 18-30 year olds. After analyzing a few basic differences there are about a total of 9 paragraphs which contain a few basic suggestions for men: "be dominant yet affiliative" is one example. After that Michael Segell sits naked with a few other guys and talks about sex, visits the Promise Keepers, and the New Warriors. Thereafter we receive a few more suggestions. Then comes his chapter titled "Sexual Manners" which instead of offering anything worthwhile he tells a few stories and offers some information anyone with any manners could create. The rest of the book discusses his relationship with his father which changed after his brother died. Then his father dies and he has some sort of reawakening which someone might be able to get some use out of. So I would recomend the first 50 pages to anyone curious to hear the thoughts of 4 females and a couple males complain about the other sex and anyone who needs some information on teaching their sons the proper actions and reactions to threats on their masculinity. The topic of "Manhood After Feminism" is a good one and I hope a book comes out which actually offers some valuable insight on that issue. It is a book to read cover to cover, not out of intellectual curiousity on the gender studies after feminism.

I was also very intrigued by the subject matter of this book and had high hopes for getting some clear answers. It almost always seems to be the case, however, that most self-help/insight books do pretty well at raising the questions and describing the problems, but are much less clear about answers and resolutions.

I have found that the "modern male" in the "post-feminism" era is addressed in a much more satisfactory way by an author named David Deida (which I found through another site, LiveReal.com).

To speak broadly, the core problem is essentially one of resolving a paradox - being neither a macho jerk nor a sensitive wimp, but evolving beyond both types, to become a man with heart and strength, manliness and compassion.

Issues like these can't be dealt with or resolved on a surface level; while it's great to see these issues brought more into the open, topics like these, if addressed properly, bring up deeper questions and have to be met one that level.