Fierce and Tender Men : Sociological Aspects of the Men's Movement

This book takes the reader on a journey through some men's land and into some men's houses. Along the way we look at whether or not there is a men's movement; what men's studies might consist of; where men have belonged in society through history; the nature of men's wounds and pain; femininity and masculinity; men's (boy's) differentiation from their mothers and their search for their fathers; and a refreshing view of men and sex, fatherhood, and work. Finally, we look at men coming together in men's support groups; amending the wrongs of their past; blessing each other in word, story, ritual, and spirit; and creating projects that forward new missions and end men's isolation from each other. Fierce and Tender Men is critical, analytical, and inspirational, drawing on current research in gender, on students' views in gender classes, and on the author's own experience and his participation in men's work over the last eight years. This book confronts, but does not scapegoat, men.