The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love

by bell hooks

Paperback, 2004

Status

Available

Call number

GEND Hook

Publication

Washington Square Press (2004), Edition: 1, 208 pages

Description

Politics. Sociology. Women's Studies. Nonfiction. HTML:From the New York Times bestselling author of All About Love, a brave and astonishing work that challenges patriarchal culture and encourages men to reclaim the best part of themselves. Everyone needs to love and be loved�??even men. But to know love, men must be able to look at the ways that patriarchal culture keeps them from knowing themselves, from being in touch with their feelings, from loving. In The Will to Change, bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express the emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are�??whatever their age, marital status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. But toxic masculinity punishes those fundamental emotions, and it's so deeply ingrained in our society that it's hard for men to not comply�??but hooks wants to help change that. With trademark candor and fierce intelligence, hooks addresses the most common concerns of men, such as fear of intimacy and loss of their patriarchal place in society, in new and challenging ways. She believes men can find the way to spiritual unity by getting back in touch with the emotionally open part of themselves�??and lay claim to the rich and rewarding inner lives that have historically been the exclusive provin… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Aula
I enjoyed this book. hooks' almost gentle and kind way of looking at how the current social ambience (she uses the term patriarchy; I'm not a fan of the word as it is frequently misused - not so the case here, though) hurts boys and men. She shows the damage that current gender roles have on both
Show More
men and women. My main reason for enoying this book is that it's one of the only ones I've read that show the damage society does to men and not just women.
Show Less
LibraryThing member marthaearly
Whenever you read a book for school there is always the possibility of just skimming, not quite absorbing everything but taking away just enough to use in class discussion. Unfortunately I started reading this book in that mode, but the great thing about bell hooks is that she makes her writing so
Show More
accessible that the next moment you're turning pages at lightning-speed. Your thoughts expand inside your head, augmented by emotion, until you feel as if the potential of her ideas and the utter truth of her words is more than you can bear. By book's end you're exhilarated with hope. THE WILL TO CHANGE is another great gift from a wonderful feminist.
Show Less
LibraryThing member malexmave
Phew. This book is hard to rate. It is my first serious foray into feminist literature, so I don't really know on which basis to rate it.

I guess the main thing I can say about it is that it has gotten me to think on a number of issues, and to recognize for the first time what a boon my parents
Show More
parenting style has been to me. So, I guess for that alone, I'll go with five stars.
Show Less
LibraryThing member b.masonjudy
Hooks artfully and courageously challenges paradigms of masculinity because of her love for men. I appreciate her careful deconstruction of the toxic effect of the dominating structures of patriarchy and her clarion call for men to mourn and grieve their role as violent oppressors and grow into
Show More
living into a love that nurtures and fosters vulnerability.
Show Less
LibraryThing member AAPremlall
I wish I read this earlier. There are so many gems. I understand so much more about my own life and relationships after reading this. I think I need to read this again!

Language

Original language

English

ISBN

0743456084 / 9780743456081

Rating

(81 ratings; 4.2)
Page: 0.1021 seconds