Save The Males

[DavidB]

On my way to take my boys home from the weekend we decided to stop at Borders to browse some books. As I passed through the sex and exotica isle (really, I was passing through), a hardback book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FSave-Males-Matter-Women-Should%2Fdp%2F1400065798%2Fautopiacarcar-20&tag=autopiacarcar-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Save The Male: Why Men Matter and Women Should Care</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=autopiacarcar-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, by Kathleen Parker, caught my eye.

The first thing that shocked me was that the book was written by a woman. After reading the first few pages detailing Parker's background, I purchased the book, and this evening I'm glad I did. This is a good bit of work and spells out pretty closely how I feel about the hostility towards and literal emasculation of American men.

Here's the book description from Amazon:

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Tell a woman we need to save the males and she’ll give you the name of her shrink. But cultural provocateur Kathleen Parker, who was raised by her father and who mothered a pack of boys, makes a humorous case for rescuing the allegedly stronger sex from trends that portend man’s cultural demise.

Save the Males is a shrewd, amusing, and sure-to-be-controversial look at how men, maleness, and fatherhood have been under siege in American culture for decades. Kathleen Parker argues that the feminist movement veered off course from it’s original aim of helping women achieve equality and ended up making enemies of men. With piercing wit, this nationally syndicated columnist shows us how the pendulum has swung from the reasonable middle to a place where men have been ridiculed in the public square and the importance of fatherhood has been diminished–all to the detriment of women, who ultimately suffer most.

The real losers, should we continue on our present course, are not just grown men and women but our children. Young people involuntarily drafted into the squabbles of their parents’ generation and raised in a climate of sexual hostility–also known as the “hookup culture”–may be fluent in porn, but their vocabulary is painfully limited when it comes to relationships.

While Parker gleefully skewers the silly side of the human experiment–like men in dresses and sperm shopping–she offers sobering statistics on the impact of the anti-male culture on the institution of the family and on relationships.

Exploring our burgeoning “slut culture” and the vividly narcissistic prevalence of vagina worship, Save the Males softens no edges. Parker tackles some of the more taboo subjects in today’s sexual politics and culture wars with perceptive analysis and a stinging sense of humor that will have America talking–and chuckling–about saving the males.
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Well, back to reading... my favorite part so far: The Vagina Monologues.

Be sure to listen to Bernard Chapin's video review on the Amazon page.

[Autoeng]

David:

The attempt to resurrect the masculine male, a man who lives in integrity with himself and others, who is aware of his feelings and lives with a sense of personal mission that can change the world is nothing new. Ms. Parker's book is a little late on the scene. For men who want to get a picture of what is occurring related to this I suggest Robert Bly's book "Iron John: A Book About Men". Search the internet for "men's groups". Reply to this thread. PM me. Do whatever it takes to stop living with your fellings and emotions being repressed, denied and hidden.

There are many men's groups that exist today. Men gathering together has occurred for eons but since the inception of the United States the importance of the meeting has taken a backseat to the numerous things that life, in general, brings to bear. I urge men to look outward to see what kind of men's groups they might join, whether it be Masons, Lions, church or a group that I participate in, the Mankind Project A ManKind Project(tm) Website featuring the New Warrior Training Adventure and a focus on Men's Issues. Step into the glory that there is in being a man. Show yourself to those around you as a responsible human being that cares about their own mental health and the well being of others.

Peace to all my brothers out there who wander lost in the current society. Look to your brothers for support when you need to and don't be afraid to give support to a man in need.