'A discussion of the impact on boys
of growing up in a culture of pervasive negative portrayal of
masculinity.'
By MRA-UK: This is an important book. It will be of interest to most readers of
this site, and if you have a particular interest in male psychology then
do not even think of not buying it. You can buy it at http://psychsource.bps.org.uk or other usual suppliers.
It is important, not only because it provides a much needed ‘primer’
on male psychology, but because it presents an opportunity to begin a
new era in psychology. There is no point in dissembling, and the book
itself does not do so. Psychology is intrinsically personal, so when the
personal was made political, so was psychology. The ethos the authors
promote is that science, as an empirically grounded discipline, is not
politics, and so male psychology, if it is to be a science, is not
gender politics. That the book will be controversial is inevitable, but
the reason does not lie in the book itself but in the prevailing
academic environment. The authors are to be congratulated on facing this
prospect bravely.
The book is male psychology 101 – or it would be if undergraduate
courses on male psychology were the norm. They are not.
