Toxic Masculinity: Curing the Virus: making men smarter, healthier, safer
Written by Stephen Whitehead
And Reviewed by Carlton Rounds
This book could not be more timely or relevant. When toxic masculinity pours forth from the highest political offices in the land, the urgency to understand the challenges and the opportunities poised at the intersection of power, justice and gender hints at outcomes and predicts the potential future of humankind. I loved this book. It called me out, it reassured me, and it rekindled my curiosity.
The book is accessible and well structured allowing individuals with different levels of gender awareness to follow the observations and narrative. The book explores and defines intersecting zones of masculine identity and behavior making specific, well explained and targeted points. The helpful lists of behaviors and questions could literally be applied as a rough diagnostic tool, or to really get a group going during a facilitated discussion. The author’s approach is neither cajoling nor condescending. His feminist platform is not submerged, and his commitment to the term renews its “spirit” making feminist identity seem more expansive and engaging than what it has become, it feels to me, flattened academic dogma.
It is clear the author would like to see men and women evolve into progressive gender expression, and he calls out both sexes for perpetuating toxicity. In the author’s world, everyone is part of a constellation of behaviors that pollute the integrity of our world. As a progressive masculine man myself, this book helped me recognize issues I need to work on, and due to Stephen’s writing, I have new concepts and language I can drop into discussions I am determined to spark.
I am particularly inspired by the “futurist” scenarios used to show trajectories of change over time. As a historian, this stylistic technique is very compelling. It stretches my perspective and my sociological imagination by requiring continuous growth and evolution not just about gender but about what is possible in human society. My woke style in the year 2019 might be the unenlightened cave of thought by 2050. Finally, Stephen brings not just a lifetime of experience and self reflection to his findings, but an Asian cultural awareness making his work not just a western anchored exploration, but a conversation with a global cadence.
Having met Stephen in person, his warmth and emotional intelligence are much like you would imagine. His role at 70 as gender journeyman is not just fitting, but reassuring. He is helping define what a mature progressive masculinity looks like, not leaving the work and the responsibility to the emerging younger generation. In addition, for those of us who never had the benefit of non toxic Dads or Grandpas, Stephen’s desire for a more deeply connected experience feels personal, validating and healing.
In service,
Carlton Rounds
No comments:
Post a Comment