samdalefox's profile picture

samdalefox 's review for:

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
4.0
informative reflective medium-paced
Bell Hooks is a household name for intersectional feminists. This is my favourite book of hers so far. She offers a unique (and necessary) perspective on masculinity, patriarchy, and feminism. She is also the first person I've read who I think successfully argues for the inclusion of men and men's experience of patriachry in the mainstream fourth wave feminist movement. She argues that engaged women should expend their energies on men to demonstrate a "collective, affiriming call for boys and men to join feminist movement so that they would be liberated from patriachy". She articulates the history and motivations behind this historical exclusion and why we must work together to end patriachy, the sole burden for change is not on men. This is a necessary book for men to read, because as Hook's points out, sadly many do not even know the reasons behind their anger and grief; this book unveils why. Although the text is heavily gendered, Hooks does acknowledge the intersection of masculinity with other genders and sexualities. Something perhaps a modern academic could expand upon. She also acknowledges the intersection with race and class. 

Pros
  • Well reasoned and well referenced. It was heartbreaking learning about the unique way patriachy harms our boys and men. But, also envigorating to focus on their particular experiences and identify points where we can most sucessfully break the cycle - spoiler alert, childhood and teenage years. This change needs to come from both women and men in a boy's life.
  • Critical finding: violence is the necessary boyhood socialisation to continue the cycle of upholding capitalist white supremist patriachy
  • Critical message: "replacing the dominator model with a partnership model that sees interbeing and interdependency as the organic relationship of all living beings".
  • I particularly enjoyed the recognition of working class men, best summarised on page 138
  • Core message:

Feminist masculinity presupposes that it is enough for males to have value, that they do not have to "do", to "perform" to be affirmed and loved.

Cons
  • Frustratingly little discussion on how to actually solve the problems identified. There were a couple of examples (i.e. replicating the success of emotionally vulnerable enviornments like AA, and a couple of novels such as 'The Colour Purple'), but I'd loved a chapter on what we can incorporate in our everyday lives to support this mission of loving boys and men and freeing them from patriachy. Maybe a couple of exercises, or even a full blueprint of how a society/community could operate?