hi i am going to be reading this book the will to change men masculinity and love by bell hooks does that come backwards to you guys um i’m going to read uh like a chapter one at a time but i’m going to be reading it for myself um about time i read it again and i think it’s particularly relevant right now during this time of increased uh racial capitalism um fueled by um patriarchy and a lot of toxic masculinity tendencies and i think that maybe uh some of you will hear those words and might not like them very much but basically because um i think our response in a lot of ways to the conditions of violence and inequality and the pandemic are very much intertwined and related to um how we behave as men what we’re capable of doing as men and what we’re not capable of doing as men i strongly do not want to participate in any more of that as much as i can and divest and defund and abolish um those all systems of domination and control and one that i heavily benefit from is is patriarchy uh and i hope that people understand that um you know that is not to talk about being anti-sexist or to confront toxic masculinity is not to say that um men are inherently trash though we often exhibit those behaviors but that those are systems of oppression that we benefit from and it’s in our best interest to confront those so i’m going to read the back flip of this real quick um and then i’ll post a preface and then i’ll go chapter by chapter so this is what it says inside the flap of the book everyone needs to love and be loved even men in this groundbreaking book bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are whatever their age ethnicity or cultural persuasion written in response to the authors in-depth discussions with men who are inspired by her trilogy all about love definitely read that book salvation and communion bell hooks is the will to change addresses maleness and masculinity in new and challenging ways with trademark candor and fierce intelligence hooks answers the most common conservative concerns of men such as fear of intimacy and loss of their patriarchal place in society she believes men can find their way to spiritually spiritual unity by getting back in touch with the emotionally open part of themselves only through this liberation will they claim lay claim to the rich and rewarding inner lives that have historically been the exclusive province of women men can access these feelings by giving themselves permission to be vulnerable as they grow more comfortable and start believing that it’s okay to feel to need and to desire they will thrive as equal partners in their intimate relationships whether they are straight or gay black or white the will to change helps men to reclaim the best part of themselves and this book is from 2004. i’ll probably i’m going to post some like questions and some other material podcasts and articles etc to update to add things i think might support the book um to bring it up to date with some language uh of 2020 um particularly i think broadening that that understanding of sexuality and gender a little bit more um as well as as race beyond those uh binaries of gay and straight and black and white um so i hope this is useful for someone besides me because i know it’d be useful for me um and i hope there’s some thing that can come out of it between us and i look forward to um working um with other men to take care of ourselves better so we can do a better job of taking care of our the loved ones in our life all right thank you