Profeminist Men Respond to the Mythopoetic Men's Movement
(And the Mythopoetic Leaders Answer)
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.
"...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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