The Politics of Manhood

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. Author note: 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.