Description
Book SynopsisWhat does it mean for men to join with women as allies in preventing sexual assault and domestic violence? Based on life history interviews with men and women anti-violence activists aged 22 to 70, Some Men explores the strains and tensions of men''s work as feminist allies. When feminist women began to mobilize against rape and domestic violence, setting up shelters and rape crisis centers, a few men asked what they could do to help. They were directed upstream, and told to talk to the men with the goal of preventing future acts of violence. This is a book about men who took this charge seriously, committing themselves to working with boys and men to stop violence, and to change the definition of what it means to be a man. The book examines the experiences of three generational cohorts: a movement cohort of men who engaged with anti-violence work in the 1970s and early 1980s, during the height of the feminist anti-violence mobilizations; a bridge cohort who engaged with anti-violence
Trade ReviewIn the last four decades or so, there has grown up a diverse activist community of men who understand that feminism is their movement, too - not only because they support daughters, wives, mothers and co-workers, but because they see violence against females as a normalization of all violence, and a powerful way of limiting men's full humanity, too. If you want to meet them, learn more and hope more, you'll find them in the pages of Some Men, a practical, readable, inspiring guide to a crucial, growing, yet rarely reported American movement. * Gloria Steinem *
Some Men is a splendid book. Authors Messner, Greenberg and Peretz combine moving narrative, careful research, and sharp analysis. Their book tells in depth the story of those American men who have worked to end rape, domestic violence, and other forms of men's violence against women. Tracing the complex relations with changing feminism, and the intense debates, failures and successes of three generations of activist men, this is vividly-written contemporary history from which everyone concerned with gender justice can learn. * Raewyn Connell, Author of Masculinities and Confronting Equality *
For more than 40 years, a growing tribe of males has been making an exodus from the desert of conventional manhood. The remarkable journeys of a number of them are recounted in this inspiring chronicle of the profeminist men's movement. Some Men is sure to stir the hearts of anyone championing a world where men denounce violence against women and advocate for the liberation of men. * Rob Okun, Editor of the anthology, VOICE MALE: The Untold Story of the Profeminist Men's Movement *
In this moving book, the authors provide insight into the hearts and minds of men who took seriously the feminist call by making lifetime commitments as allies in the movement to end violence against women. A stellar book that is carefully grounded in the history of the feminist and anti-violence movements, it is a must-read not only for students and scholars of gender, masculinity, feminism, and the anti-violence movement, but also for policy-makers and activists working toward ending gender-based violence. * Verta Taylor, Professor Sociology and Feminist Studies, University of California Santa Barbara *
Table of ContentsList of Figures ; Preface: Men Upstream ; Acknowledgements ; Chapter 1: "This is Men's Work" ; Chapter 2: Diving in: The Movement Cohort, 1970s to 1980s ; Chapter 3: Digging in: The Bridge Cohort, mid-1980s to 1990s ; Chapter 4: Plugging in: The Professional Cohort, mid-1990s to Present ; Chapter 5: Earning your Ally Badge: Men, Feminism, and Accountability ; Chapter 6: Conclusion: Men, Feminism, and Social Justice ; Appendix 1: List of interviewees with demographic descriptors ; Appendix 2: The Author's Moments of Engagement ; Notes ; List of References ; Index
