Customer Reviews

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love

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"The Will to Change" by bell hooks is one of the best books I have ever read. bell hooks gets to the heart of the ways in which most of us (men and women, people of all classes and races) are harmed by patriarchy, as well as exposing the ways in which we unconsciously replicate it in our personal lives. Her ideas are big enough to include all people who are struggling with division, oppression, and/or general un-wholeness and unhappiness, not just women. She suggests that the way to freedom is for us to love each other and support each other on our journies to wholeness. She clearly and consistently frames the struggle as one of hurting people yearning to be whole and free. This is a theory that is accessible to everyone - anyone who searches their heart, or just observes the society around them, can see that what she says is true. As a feminist who is married and loves men, I found her advice to be full of wisdom, with a refreshing lack of intellectual elitism.

After reading this wonderful work, I am more convinced than ever that heart and soul are the primary components of our future evolutionary path. Hats off to you, ms. hooks!

bell hooks states that feminists have not discussed how to improve the lives of men and this is her attempt. In 11 chapters, she details her ideas that men must be open to feminism and feminists must be open to men, that patriarchal masculinity is the problem, not males, and that much harm comes to the life of boys.

Professional critics have called this book that non-race-based equivalent to "We Real Cool." However, I'd say it's the male counterpart to hooks' "Communion." This book is an ideal tool for feminist women raising sons. It also may be a good introduction to feminism for progressive men or men who want to be progressive. hooks cites many canonical men's studies texts and progressive books on boys and men that many readers will find useful. (Again, it's a shame that this book lacks a bibliography, just like most of her most recent works.)

While this book discusses romantic love, that type of relationship is not the main issue here. Readers that have already heard enough about hooks' views on love from her autobiographies and recent works will find this refreshing. Many loving dynamics are detailed here. Most importantly, hooks discusses the troubles faced by little boys. I'm impressed that a childless writer is so devoted to children. This almost reminded me of Rosie O'Donnell's autobiography the way a grown woman is so concerned about minors.

I would say that I have three major complaints/critiques of her book. First, as much as she constantly assesses and promotes feminism, what comes through is that anti-oppression books can help men. Her gender analysis just happens to be her angle. A civil rights activist could have said that organizing could help men or a Communist discussing anti-classism could make the same argument that hooks makes here. Thinking about justice, breaking out of boundaries, and imagining utopias has never been the work of just feminists.

Second, hooks critiques feminist self-help books for not discussing politics and the larger superstructure. However, the majority of self-help books, even ones that she cites, are apolitical. She needs to critique the whole genre if she is going to find so many individual examples unsatisfying. People who feel that hooks was too hard on Naomi Wolf will be equally surprised at how she goes after Susan Faludi here.

Third, recently, everytime bell hooks mentions sexual orientation issues, she starts off with "Lesbians and gay men can be as conservative as anyone else, but here's one bit of info that I find useful from their activism......" If a white person started every comment on race with "People of color can be just as conservative as anyone else, but...." or a class-privileged person said, "Some poor people deserve the barrel they are in, but here's what I find useful on class-based activism....", etc., hooks would be livid, yet she does it with gays. I understand hooks' point that gays are just people just like straights. However, her statements are somewhat course and insensitive. I think this flaw still highlights how bell hooks has continually marginalized issues of sexual orientation while she champions issues of race, class, and gender. Her recent ability to add imperialism to the mix shows she can build on her theorizing, so her stance on gay rights is incredibly problematic. There's a great chapter in Carbrado's "Black Men on Race, Gender, and Sexuality" that discusses hooks' shortcoming.

At the end of almost every chapter, hooks presents cultural criticism. Her subjects are broad including the Harry Potter series, the film "Life as a House," and other popular works. I am curious as to whether she is trying to satisfy her fans that are most familiar with her cultural studies work. I wonder if she is trying to prove that her new march toward self-help writing is not meant to show she has lost her cult crit skills. Coming from an African-American woman who almost always discusses black issues, this book was pretty light on race matters. African-American readers, like myself, looking for that topic will find that the only chapter that is the exception is "Popular Culture: Media Masculinity." I applaud hooks for pointing out and proving that black authors have an array of writing interests.

Like always, this book is annoyingly repetitive. hooks comes close to admitting this in her introduction. If I remember correctly, she seemed reluctant to discuss domestic violence and war in her classic text "Talking Back." Now, she has taken those problems as a centerpiece of her work. The cover of this book shows that Renaissance painting where God's finger points down toward Man's (this was the basis for the cover to "E.T.," btw). The cover has a pretty shade of blue. I think readers will find the cover quite inviting.

This book is incredible and bell hooks does an amazing job on critically analyzing the construction of masculinity in our culture. Defining the differnce between Patriachal Masculinity and Masculinity bell hookds articulates the amazing and critical roles masculinity plays in our culutre and the numerous ways that patriachry has prevented men and women from fullfilling their deepest desires in this world, which is the desire to love and be loved. This book has forever changed the way that I view and cherish masculinity, it is a must read.

Great book. This needs to be recommended reading for all men. I'll probably give my son this when he's a teenager.

I am a big bell hooks fan. I consider Feminism is for Everyone to be essential reading for the budding "women's libber" (haha gotta love a throw back). This book delivered as expected even though it did not inspire me to the extent that hooks' previously mentioned work did. I appreciated her analysis of patriarchial male culture. Hooks' choice of words gets straight to the point. She never apologizes for her opinion but at the same time her work shows an astounding amount of forgivness. Hooks' understands that nobody trapped within in the confines of a patriarchal society can be fully well. Though some benefit from this construct of oppression, ultimately nobody wins. The empathy that Hooks' expresses towards men that have hurt her in the past is prove positive that she is a member of the rare group of authors who posses the ability to put their conflicting views on paper without sounding indecisive. Hooks' dreams of a world free of oppression. Her believe that we CAN transform our toxic culture into one that nurtures all of the people that it surrounds, is uplifting. Hooks' work inspires discussion. She clearly states her opinion but remains open to dissenting views. Her critique of the Harry Potter books is not to be missed (I KNEW there was a reason that I never liked that series)! This book has something for everyone. All people would benefit from reading it.

Throughout history, society has defined exactly what it means to be a "man." From birth, men and women together learn that men are providers, protectors, emotionally detached, and physically stronger. In an effort to reinforce such beliefs, society created gaps between men and women in almost all arenas of life: the workforce, personal hobbies, appearance, and relationship roles. Due to the creation and nurturing of such roles, it has become difficult for men to love and to express any kind of emotion (except anger)...it has also become difficult for women to understand men and how to love them.

In her novel THE WILL TO CHANGE: MEN, MASCULINITY, AND LOVE, feminist scholar bell hooks sets upon the task of unearthing the roots of masculine thinking. She sheds light on patriarchy, on masculine emotion, and how together they affect men from infancy to manhood. She includes quotes from journalists, psychologists, and other feminine theorists to support and clarify her opinions. THE WILL TO CHANGE is an informative, thought-provoking work that strikes at the very soul of our society. Reading like a college psychology text, it can be a little dry in spots, however, hooks shows readers how deeply misguided she believes our society to be and how difficult it is to change the very basis of our foundation. Author bell hooks is a passionate, highly educated woman, and while most of what she writes is disturbing and often difficult for me to swallow, I appreciate her contribution to the education of our society.

Reviewed by Natasha T.
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I forgot how heavy, academic and intellectual Ms. Hooks writing is. Certainly not a light read.