Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex, and Power

by Shira Tarrant (Editor)

Men Speak Out is a collection of essays written by and about pro-feminist men. In the essays, which feature original, lively and accessible prose, anti-sexist men make sense of their gendered experiences in today’s culture. The authors tackle the issues of feminism, growing up male, recognizing masculine privilege, taking action to change the imbalance of power and privilege and the constraints that men experience in confronting sexism. They describe their successes and challenges in bucking patriarchal systems in a culture that can be unsupportive of - or downright hostile to - a pro-feminist perspective. In these chapters, a diverse group of men reflect on growing up, share moments in their day-to-day lives, and pose serious questions about being a pro-feminist male living, working, thinking, and learning in a sexist society.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Gender, Sexuality, Sociology, Social Justice, Essays

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much ground to cover regarding men and masculinity from a feminist perspective, and this book does a good job of covering much of that territory, with sincere insight from men about what it is like to live as a man while recognizing and learning about the complexities of gender and feminism.

[Ebony · Rating 4 out of 5]

hooray shira. this is an accessible, engaging, honest collection of men speaking about gender, sex, and power. they don't have all the answers but it was heart-warming to read about their commitment to ending violence again women. we need our allies.

[Somer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book includes 39 essays written by men who identify themselves as feminists. They represent a wide range of masculine identities. The essays forced me to rethink the whole 'can-men-be-feminists?' debate.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, a very engaging collection of stories by and about men and feminism. Topics are vast, but include sex, pornography, male privilege, gay/bi, racism/POC, and masculinity.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed the collection of essays talking men various issues within the patriarchy. Often feminism is only focused on women (which is extremely important) but it is still very interesting reading about how the patriarchy affects men which then causes them to treat women negatively. Truly gets to the root of the issue.

[Julia Lyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thought-provoking and it thoroughly explored many perspectives.

[Rants and Bants]

"...recognizing masculine privilege..."

So in other words, hating yourself.

[Chris]

This book holds many essays from many perspectives. It was a great help, providing either actionable steps to take to eradicate toxic masculinity or a variety of viewpoints and individual stories that show there is no one way to becoming enlightened, no one way to discover that as enlightened as one may be, sexism and privilege may still cling to one and color his worldview and interactions.
I am reminded of Willow O'Feral's film "Break The Silence" which is a series of women telling their stories of reproductive health. Every story is different, every story compels this listener to fight for a woman's access to reproductive rights, but also, expands the viewers world to include so many individuals who may be classified as women, but beyond this commonality share complexities of their singular stories that demand they be heard, understood, and allowed.
Men Speak Out does this, too. Every man may have his own route toward realizing true equality for women and may be at his own place on the continuum, yet it is important to read individual stories, and reflect on the larger culture we live in and our own stories we see reflected in culture, and in the others' tales.
There are a number of feminist writers, Catherine MacKinnon and bell hooks, for example, whose names appear in several essays or the introductions to each section. I have never read them, but I feel I will. soon.