Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection [Paperback]

Kay Leigh Hagan (Editor), Gloria Steinem (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0062509969 | ISBN-13: 978-0062509963 | Publication Date: January 1992 | Edition: 1St Edition

Men's Movement"" includes contributions by Nicole Hollander, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Margo Adair, Ursula K. LeGuin, Barbara Kingsolver, and Starhawk. By the author of Prayers to the Moon.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ms. magazine founder Steinem sets the tone in her foreword for this excellent collection of essays: "Make no mistake about it: women want a men's movement." As the nearly 20 articles by some of today's prominent feminists (bell hooks, Rosemary Radford Reuther, Ursula Le Guin) reveal, however, contemporary women are very particular about the kind of men's movement they desire--not the drum-thumping "wild man" movement espoused by Robert Bly and his ilk. Women want, as Starhawk points out, a movement in which men give up domination in favor of creative partnership. They want a movement in which men seek not a "kinder, gentler patriarchy," as Hagan calls it in her brief but pointed introduction, but to get in touch with their feminine side. The dynamics of the Bly-type movement are carefully analyzed here (e.g. Margaret Randall's deft analysis of how Bly blames women for the "softness" of contemporary men). By far the best contribution in the volume is that of Jane Caputi and Gordene A. MacKenzie, who show how images of women are manipulated or even excluded from much of our popular culture. Hagan wrote Prayers to the Moon.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This collection contains some 19 uneven essays by women who are immersed in the feminist culture. Editor Hagan assumes that the reader is familiar with the men's movement. She does not provide a comprehensive introduction to the subject nor a working definition of the term. Only in the essay by Riane Eisler does the uninitiated reader gain some understanding of the issues. Most of the essays are passionately written but are too esoteric to influence anyone not already committed to the cause. Gloria Steinem provides a foreword which seems to imply that violence and dominant behavior by men are the issues addressed by this amorphous movement. The book concludes with the editor's thanks to a group of women for "teaching me to internalize the powerful combination of lesbian vision and radical feminist thought." For comprehensive collections only.
- Carol R. Glatt, VA Medical Ctr. Lib., Philadelphia
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Pandora Press; 1St Edition edition (January 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062509969
• ISBN-13: 978-0062509963
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,896,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Women respond to the mythopoetic men's movement, June 13, 2002

By 

Sean Trundle (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection (Paperback)

All in all, I actually enjoyed this book. There are many powerful voices (bell hooks, Gloria Steinem, etc.) within, and in general they try to bring a contructive, balanced approach to tackling the issues within.

The most glaring fault, to me, was that the writers almost exclusively addressed the mythopoetic branch of the men's movement. Many of the essays mentioned or alluded to the fact that there were other factions in the men's movement, but almost none addressed them. Honestly, I don't know much about the rest of the men's movement, but for a collection which contained such a diversity of approaches (from straight essays to fiction to "backtalk""), I was rather surprised at the lack of diversity in discussion.

As there were a number of essays, there is obviously a variation in quality throughout. Many of the essays seemed to quote Iron John (not a book that I'm tremendously fond of, in general) grossly out of context, whereas others (Barbara Kingsolver, for example) seemed to take great effort to create a balanced account. Some of the same points are repeated throughout the collection, sometimes stated much more cohesively than others. It is difficult, because of this, to write a review for the entire book, but I would say that it is definitely worth reading for anyone trying to develop a better understanding of men's studies.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Off the Mark, May 3, 2006

By 

Horonivan (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection (Paperback)

I am a human and equal rights and animal activist. And I also have been a participant in the mythopoetic men's movement. I went through my own 'initiation' weekend, and helped staff several myself.

The majority of these essays appear reactive and relatively unfounded, the work of fellow activists who have shot first while only squinting briefly at the target. The essays seem to have a few major points in common: 1. Bly's Wild Man is a dangerous force to emulate. 2. The cure for men (and society)is to be feminists first. 3. Men need to take action in society, not simply abandon it on weekends to whine.

In response to these essays, there's a few statements: 1. Bly's book is not a bible, but an influence. He is a poet, not a sociologist. The Wild Man is a metaphor for natural energy, as in Jungian (NOT Freudian) libido, not a code of conduct. Likewise, any reference to becoming a warrior is one of the mindscape - a vivid image of resolve to do battle with one's own 'shadows', not a promotion of warmongering. Stop being so literal. 2. Taken from the FMF website (feminists.org): Feminism is 'the policy, practice or advocacy of political, economic, and social equality for women'. A major focus of the work that I have done and seen is in establishing autheniticity in self, groups and society as a whole and removing structures that promote the continuation of falsehood, especially surrounding gender and sexuality. We have helped each other overcome addictions, to porn, to predation, to bigotry and to victimhood. 3. The movement I've been a part of centers on establishing a mission in the world. Mine: I challenge the world to live compassionately and reverently through learning, leading and loving.

I've done my share of protesting, sign holding and candlelight vigiling in the name of truth and rights for all. The essays within this book don't reveal much truth about the men I have worked with in the mythopoeic movement. They reveal plenty as to the closemindedness and reactionary nature of most of the essayists. In such, it's useful in guaging the resistance of some leading feminists toward seeing allies instead of perpetrators. I expected to see guiding thought that would help direct men and women alike toward healing, but found victimization and blame.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars outdated radicalism, November 14, 2001

By 

Pamela (Dubuque, IA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection (Paperback)

I picked up this book imagining it would feel motivational to read radical feminist dialogue. Instead I grew impatient and was disappointed with this collection. The opening story by Ursula le Guin is juvenile in both setting and understanding, and the succeeding essays do not rise above this immature beginning.

Maybe I feel this way only because there is nowadays no apparent "men's movement" to reinforce macho and threaten me as a woman. Or maybe it is because I am a wife and a mother of boys that I think it shortsighted to condemn those who wish to empower men. To blame men as a gender for the disempowerment of women is to overlook a lot of social and economic complexities or our world. Life is hard for people of both genders.

This is a collection of armchair rhetoric to enflame the opposition. I can imagine that ultra-conservative anti-feminists would get a lot of ammunition out of quotes from this ill-conceived book. It is a shame, because there is still a lot to be said for feminism and women's rights. This book, however, is more an example of stray radicalism gone wrong - a sort of "backlash" against an imaginary enemy - than any clear thinking about real social issues.