I am a male feminist, internationally renowned sociologist, and recognized expert on gender identity, men and masculinities, and international education. During my thirty-five-year career, I have published twenty books and numerous book chapters and articles. I am a co-creator of the concept of toxic masculinity. I am the creator of the concept of total inclusivity and co-creator of the concept of totally inclusive self-love. My passion and desire for gender justice and an end to male oppression and violence, especially against women and girls, has been the single biggest drive for all my research and writings.
Don’t say you’re not a feminist until you’ve read this brilliant book.
70 years ago, Simone de Beauvoir kick-started the gender revolution with her iconic, insightful analysis of how men perceive and relate to women and vice versa.
The book is, however, not written in a strident or angry style but hopeful–mostly. Indeed, not until 30 years after publication did de Beauvoir personally adopt the feminist label, even though she managed to write what is arguably the greatest feminist text ever. De Beauvoir aimed to empower women by waking them up to the realities of being the (inferior) ‘Other’ to men.
As de Beauvoir shows, gender identities are laden with myths but also the power to persuade, oppress, and enslave. Only by removing these myths from the mind and imagination can women achieve true freedom. An inspirational book for every thinking person–and as important today as it was when first published.
The essential masterwork that has provoked and inspired generations of men and women. “From Eve’s apple to Virginia Woolf’s room of her own, Beauvoir’s treatise remains an essential rallying point, urging self-sufficiency and offering the fruit of knowledge.” —Vogue
This unabridged edition reinstates significant portions of the original French text that were cut in the first English translation. Vital and groundbreaking, Beauvoir’s pioneering and impressive text remains as pertinent today as when it was first published, and will continue to provoke and inspire generations of men and women to come.
A short but beautiful book, full of wisdom, personal reflections, and compelling truths about men and masculinities.
This was one of the first books on men and masculinities to be published in the UK, and I read it in the early 90s. I found it profoundly helpful in guiding me to become a profeminist man. I particularly appreciate Tolson’s gentle but persuasive arguments wherein he deconstructs what it means to be a working-class British man, showing how ‘patriarchal masculinity’ gets created through, for example, family, relationships, institutions, work, and peer-group pressure.
The book is part autobiographical and throughout Tolson is openly reflective on his own masculinity and the contradictions it creates in him. I recently reread this book and was so impressed at how Tolson’s insights into the state of men over 50 years ago remain relevant to this day.
"In by far the best book I have seen on this subject since Marcuse, Andrew Tolson examines the way in which schools, social and work hierarchies, and the requirements of the economic order lock men in modes of thought and behavior which don't work any longer in their personal lives. His working-class boyhood gives the analysis a particularly valuable breadth, so that we see how the new defensive insecurity is not confines to those men able to articulate it...." -- The Times Educational Supplement
If you want to understand men and what makes them tick, read this book.
There are many good books now published on men and masculinities, but this work by David Morgan transcends them all. It was written for a sociological audience, though it remains accessible to any reader. Partly, this is due to the reflective element David deploys throughout.
I love this book because there is much of him in it while remaining one of the classic sociological texts on being and becoming a man. I knew David as a friend and academic colleague and learned much from him. You, too, will learn much about men and masculinities by reading this passionately profeminist work by one of the UK’s top sociologists.
Feminism has put the critical study of men and masculinities firmly on to the academic agenda. First published in 1992, Discovering Men explores key issues in this field of study, looking at the theoretical, practical, and political difficulties that arise when men begin to study themselves, and considering the deep assumptions that underlie this area of enquiry.
The author investigates the various strategies that may be adopted in exploring men and masculinities, drawing constantly on feminist critique of men's theoretical and everyday practice. He recommends a critical re-reading of classic sociological texts to bring out the 'hidden' stories about masculinities…
This book should be compulsory reading in every Secondary School–its message is more important today than ever.
Andrea Dworkin was the archetypal American radical feminist, and over the years, I have come to really value her ungarnished message about men, power, and male sexuality. If you’ve ever gotten off to porn, then read this book because it is a definite libido shrinker.
Dworkin’s hard-edged radical feminism went out of fashion during the Thatcherite eighties, but it is back in style today, and this book shows why. Dworkin wrote some compelling, in-your-face works, but this book probably ranks No.1 among them. I defy you to read her explicit descriptions of sexual acts done to women by men and find them sexually arousing. If you do, then get some help.
Andrea Dworkin's seminal 1981 work on the issue of pornography argues that the industry serves only to harm and oppress women. Her discussion of pornography as an outgrowth of the power that men exert over women - the power of owning, the power of money, and the power of sex, among others - still blazes with its clarity and immediacy, and illustrates how these inequities, while displayed in raw form in pornography, are endemic in all media.
With a lively and deeply compelling voice, Andrea Dworkin succinctly outlines her anti-pornography stance. Though the media environment may have changed, this passionately…
If this book doesn’t compel you to become a feminist, then you probably don’t have a heart. Or if you have, then it is likely as cold as the rapists’ described in it.
What do you feel when you read yet another account of mass rape, the trafficking, torture, and abuse of girls and women, and the gang rape of innocents? You should feel anger, if not despair. You might also well wonder what is wrong with men to make them behave this way.
Of course, you can choose not to read such accounts. But really, that is the coward’s way out. This is why this book is on my list–to challenge you to read it from start to finish and then, at the conclusion, decide you are not a feminist.
'Devastating... rape and sexual abuse continue to be a pervasive and all-too-often hidden feature of conflict zones the world over' HM Queen Camilla
From award-winning war reporter and co-author of I Am Malala, this is the first major account to address the scale of rape and sexual violence in modern conflict.
Christina Lamb has worked in war and combat zones for over thirty years. In Our Bodies, Their Battlefield she gives voice to the women of conflicts, exposing how in today's warfare, rape is…
At a time when diversity, equity, and justice (DEI) have become highly contested concepts and practices, especially in global organizations, we need inclusivity more than ever.
And who doesn’t want to be included? Who wants to be excluded, marginalized, discriminated against? No one. Yet despite inclusivity’s importance and people’s desire for it, understanding inclusivity can be tricky. This book introduces the concept of Total Inclusivity to organizations, their leaders, and employees around the world. It aims to help organizations and those people who create them to become Totally Inclusive Communities wherein diversity is valued, healthy identities are enabled, respect for difference prevails, and every member counts–regardless of their identity mix. This book also provides easy-to-follow guidelines on how we can implement Total Inclusivity at work through the actions of individuals.
