Publishers Weekly
08/19/2019
In this frustrated, one-note polemic, Brown University professor Gutmann (Breaking Rank) uses comparative cultural anthropology to debunk the idea that men’s sexual aggression, machismo, and violence are unavoidably determined by biology. He sees recent trends toward gender essentialism as a fearful cultural reaction to an unsettled “gender confusion” that has developed in response to feminism and gay and transgender concerns. Gutmann engages the animal theme in two ways, showing counterexamples to male-dominance behaviors in primates while also explaining why it’s incorrect to extrapolate from animal models to humans. He also demonstrates how relying on individual biology for explanations and creating solutions such as women-only subway cars lets men off the hook and fails to address broader social issues or to allow opportunities for men to make better individual choices. He is at his best when discussing personal experience, such as in his stories of divergent reactions to his fathering in rich urban and poor rural parts of Mexico. A vague discussion of epigenetics aimed at partially redeeming Western science’s input falls flat. Gutmann’s main point is argued convincingly enough, but his likely readership will already be on board; he provides too few ideas for change to elicit much more from them than bored agreement. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"Gutmann does more than deconstruct simplistic notions of masculinity-he offers us a better vision of what it means to be masculine. He knows we can do better, and create anew a reality where masculinity and humanity comingle instead of conflict. This book is wholly appropriate for this moment in time."—Agustín Fuentes, Edmund P. Joyce C.S.C. Professor ofAnthropology at University of Notre Dame and author of The CreativeSpark
"Everything men (and women) do in our society is the product of both biology and culture. As ably explained by Matthew Gutmann in this lively and enlightening book, this means that male behavior is hardly immutable. It has more degrees of freedom than often assumed."—Frans de Waal, C. H.Candler Professor of Psychology at Emory University and author of Mama'sLast Hug and What They Tell Us About Ourselves
"Are men animals? Well yes, but so are we all. How much does that explain about male behavior? Not much, according to Gutmann, compared to the dominant role of social and cultural factors in male sexuality and aggression. This is a powerful and important work."
—Sherry Ortner, distinguished professor of anthropology at UCLA
"We need a national conversation about whether our cultural expectations of men have made them into the animals we believe them to be. Can men be less aggressive, less sexual and less dominant? This provocative book argues strongly that the answer is yes. This is a golden moment to begin that conversation."—TM Luhrmann, professor of anthropology, Stanford University
Kirkus Reviews
2019-08-18
The evergreen argument of nature-vs.-nurture persists, this time regarding masculinity.
"We need to be clearer about gender confusion," writes Gutmann (Anthropology/Brown Univ.; Fixing Men: Sex, Birth Control, and AIDS in Mexico, 2007, etc.) at the beginning, "better at distinguishing anxieties and limitations from expectations and choices, more determined than ever to untangle the fairy tales about men from the bodies and souls of real live men." To demonstrate the complexity of gender and the wide variability of human maleness across cultures, he cites the Muxe', a sort of "third gender" in Mexico; the ritualized homosexuality among the Sambia of New Guinea, where young boys must swallow the semen of older men in order to become adult males; and hijras in India, who "are people born anatomically male" but "achieve spiritual purity by sacrificing their sex organs to a Hindu goddess." As the author convincingly argues, assessing maleness means looking beyond biology, since biology alone cannot explain these variabilities. "Biological extremism about men and boys is nonsense," he writes. Throughout, Gutmann stresses that the expression "boys will be boys" gives males a free pass to engage in bad behavior. The real-world consequences of such thinking, writes the author, include the 2016 election of Donald Trump and the 2018 confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Such examples, appealing to some and anathema to others, do give the book a certain air of timeliness but may ultimately serve to date it. Gutmann's scope is impressive, as he also sheds light on contemporary Chinese gender negotiations in the section about "Blind Date Corner" in Shanghai; reveals some regional differences in male attitudes toward vasectomies; and tackles prevailing myths about the role of testosterone and its relation to violence.
A smooth read that will give readers of either gender much to ponder—and to argue about.
