What is Masculinity? Why Does it Matter? And Other Big Questions

This is a book maybe aimed at 10-13 year olds about masculinity. It features the opinions and interviews of 6 media pundit types in (mostly) London. The book is a bit of a primer on the subject and covers family relationships as well as cultural expectations of men. I feel this is a bit aimed towards liberal city parents who want their boys to be aware of expectations and feel free to live slightly, ever so slightly, outside of norms. For this it chalks up as quite a good little book.What I feel let's this book down is the pushy personalities of the people interviewed. It feels like they're very image-centric city people that can't see a world outside The Guardian and dinner parties and house prices. It would have been interesting to have more normal people from a mix of places - farms, small towns and smaller cities. People who aren't so self-conscious and noisy. You know, guys for whom masculinity isn't something to write a newspaper column or PhD about, but an actually lived nourishing wholesome experience and energy. What I'm trying to say is this book is missing a Hagrid.Also it could have done with a more fun or playful tone to it, perhaps. So in all in all this is a 3 star book for me. It has a bit of snotty aloof overtone to it for it to achieve much more.

It's a bit tricky scoring this, as I'm not really the target audience. Written for children, and presented in a way commensurate with that - things are kept short, basic,colourful, etc. - it addresses its subject in a series of double-page spreads. These are a 60/40-ish mix of idea or themed based 'chapters' and 'my experience' based firsthand personal accounts.Overall I think it's a pretty good resource, most ideally suited perhaps to use in schools, as a focal point for reading and research/discussion. From the titular opening, What is masculinity? Why does it matter? to a variety of themes, always posed as questions - such as Is masculinity caused by testosterone? What is the cost of masculinity? - the book attempts to cover a diverse range of issues and promote a thoughtful questioning of inherited ideas and social norms/conventions.Easy to read (could be read in one sitting), with only very basic info or ideas, and a discernible liberal bias, this little book seeks to address a very real and 'live' issue. A bit too basic for me, but it is aimed at kids. Interestingly, however, whilst a variety of adults, men and women, hetero- and homosexual, are given a platform for their personal accounts, no children are! Many of the adults recount their childhood experiences, which adds a very welcome dimension to the book. But having actual kids contibute mightve been a good idea.I was going to give this just three stars, based on the very basic level on which it deals with the subject. But I've gone with four, as it's laudable for even addressing such a vexed yet important issue.

I thought this book was a really well thought out and constructive examination/critique of masculinity. What is a complex sociological and psychological subject matter has been condensed really well into a series of chapters dealing with the impact of masculinity in a number of areas and situations. Of course there are always areas within these types of book that you would have liked to have been expanded upon such as the section on the relationship between masculinity and violence which looks at the larger picture of world wars etc. There is a paragraph in a later section which quotes some British Crime Survey stats in relation to violence upon women by men but I would have liked to have seen a specific chapter on the correlation between masculinity and crime generally and also race/cultural difference relationship sith masculinity in a broader sense. What there is though is really well written for young people but maybe that's because I'm also a Guardian reader!

This is a great intro to masculinity written by experts who have studied the topic and related issues - but who also discuss their own personal experiences too and look at how they have been shaped by it.I was hesitant about this book going in, as it is a subject matter fraught with false narratives polished with a veneer of respectability that cause trouble, pain and grief for many.But this book deals with the subject matter really well and is a great primer for anyone without the educational training to ease into the subject and hopefully learn.Definitely a good book to take a look at no matter your age or background, but this book is primarily aimed at late teens and young adults.

I wish I had had a book like this when I was a boy. It helps lay out some of the big issues, put to bed some of the typical myths about masculinity, and generally open up a wider range of possible experiences to count as masculine. It doesn't shy away from what's been problematic about masculinity over the centuries, but it isn't a book about how people who identify as male are condemned to be bad people, either. I was very grateful for how respectful its explorations were.

Interesting read on the topic of masculinity. Worth a read!

Social science is always going to be a contentious topic: it interacts with the political, it is philosophically complicated, the psychological and sociological research is difficult. Nevertheless, social science is necessary and useful - one needs to act in the world, there are real problems to solve.Nevertheless, I am unconvinced of the utility of a book like this: a simplified educational book suitable for, and perhaps directed at young children. The real issue here is that this book takes what is nuanced laden, uncertain and controversial and seems to claim certainty where there is little.