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The End of Masculinity
* Why does masculinity seem obvious yet prove impossible to define?
* What has caused the erosion of men's power and will progress towards sexual equality continue?
* How political is the personal?
This book explains why both popular and academic commentators have found it impossible to define masculinity. It is because no such thing exists. Re-examining the ideas of thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and Thomas Hobbes, the author shows that modern societies faced the novel problem of explaining how men and women had equal rights, yet led such different lives, and solved it by inventing the concept of masculinity. It concludes that strong forces in modern societies encourage greater sexual equality, and that these are better supported by a politics of equal rights than by encouraging men to personally reform their masculine identity. MacInnes challenges established ways of thinking about sex, gender and masculinity that underpin not only feminist thought, but the treatment of these issues across the social sciences, philosophy and history.
* What has caused the erosion of men's power and will progress towards sexual equality continue?
* How political is the personal?
This book explains why both popular and academic commentators have found it impossible to define masculinity. It is because no such thing exists. Re-examining the ideas of thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and Thomas Hobbes, the author shows that modern societies faced the novel problem of explaining how men and women had equal rights, yet led such different lives, and solved it by inventing the concept of masculinity. It concludes that strong forces in modern societies encourage greater sexual equality, and that these are better supported by a politics of equal rights than by encouraging men to personally reform their masculine identity. MacInnes challenges established ways of thinking about sex, gender and masculinity that underpin not only feminist thought, but the treatment of these issues across the social sciences, philosophy and history.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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July 18, 2017
An important book... kind of.
There is some interesting information in this book to be certain, but ultimately MacInnes spends more time arguing against other theorists and not enough time developing his own thesis directly.
The argument that gender doesn't actually exist as something individuals possess is not an earth shattering or revolutionary idea, and it seems odd that he doesn't even give mention of Judith Butler and gender performance at any point. Not that Butler is without her own flaws, but it's sorta like writing a book about quantum physics without mentioning Einstein.
Ultimately I think MacInnes intends for this book to be more of a conversation starter rather than the final word on gender and sex, and thinking of it purely in these terms the author accomplishes what he sets out to do.
There is some interesting information in this book to be certain, but ultimately MacInnes spends more time arguing against other theorists and not enough time developing his own thesis directly.
The argument that gender doesn't actually exist as something individuals possess is not an earth shattering or revolutionary idea, and it seems odd that he doesn't even give mention of Judith Butler and gender performance at any point. Not that Butler is without her own flaws, but it's sorta like writing a book about quantum physics without mentioning Einstein.
Ultimately I think MacInnes intends for this book to be more of a conversation starter rather than the final word on gender and sex, and thinking of it purely in these terms the author accomplishes what he sets out to do.
Displaying 1 of 1 review