Scan barcode
rhargrave's review
5.0
If you are interested in gender and the role that masculinity plays in men’s lives. This is a brilliant, well written book from a man being open, honest and thoughtful
alorena92's review against another edition
3.0
A very light read, although not exactly a page-turner, hence the 3(.5) rating. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book. The more I think about it, the more I tend to blame masculinity for all that's wrong in the world. A must-read for every man, young parent, or future parent of little boys.
emleemay's review against another edition
3.0
The most pervasive aspect of the Default Man identity is that it masquerades very efficiently as 'normal' - and 'normal' along with 'natural', is a dangerous word, often at the root of hateful prejudice.
Grayson Perry is known mostly for his artwork and transvestism. Here he draws on his own experiences with masculinity and femininity to explore traditional ideas about what it means to be masculine, and challenge those ideas. It's an easy, interesting read, complete with some great artwork.
Where it fails a little is when considering this alongside other books about gender. It works better as a memoir on Perry's growing up and transvestism. [b:The Descent of Man|30118099|The Descent of Man|Grayson Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1483631984s/30118099.jpg|50543140] is very personal - which alternated between being a positive and a negative. His experiences as a boy trying on his mother's dresses and redefining his own personal gender norms were great to read about and kept the pages turning, but what this book adds to the discussion on gender and masculinity is less impressive.
Perry doesn't cite any references, though his ideas have already been brought forward by numerous other writers - most notably, [a:Judith Butler|5231|Judith Butler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238028179p2/5231.jpg] in [b:Gender Trouble|85767|Gender Trouble|Judith Butler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349037224s/85767.jpg|2249813]. Anyone who has read a little into gender studies already knows what he tells us: that masculinity is a social construct; that the patriarchy and gender binary are damaging to women, men and those who identify as both or neither; that a better world, a better notion of masculinity, would allow men to be weak, vulnerable and emotional.
He sets out with two clear agendas: 1) To expose the social construct of masculinity, and 2) Convince men it is beneficial to them to change the traditional idea of what it means to be "masculine".
He does the first mostly by reiterating the work of other writers. By far his most valuable contribution to the gender discussion is his idea of the "Default Man" - an oblivious creature who doesn't see the detriment to society caused by traditional ideas of gender because they tend to work in his favour. Too bad Perry makes way too many generalizations with this idea without pausing to consider how some might intentionally use it to their own benefit, or simply not care about the harm it does because of their personal beliefs or gains.
Additionally, by his own admission, he wishes to convince these "Default Men" that they should change, and despite showing his own experiences and how a new interpretation of masculinity could benefit him, I don't think he did that. The later chapters of the book lost the initial focus and I felt it lacked a strong conclusion as to how the "Default Man" would benefit from a change. The DM, by his nature, believes in traditional masculinity that shuns male weakness, so offering him the opportunity to be weak feels, itself, like a weak argument.
Also, though he expresses many ideas aligned with feminist ideology, he refers to them as "the feminists", a separate group - it seems - from himself. And though I don’t believe he meant this to be derogatory, his clear desire to distance himself from the word was unfortunate, given the book seems in many ways a feminist one.
Still, a quick and interesting read. I especially liked Perry's acknowledgement of the masculine and feminine traits that can exist alongside one another in anyone. They are not mutually exclusive. In fact, this reminded me of one of my favourite songs: When I Was a Boy by Dar Williams.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
chb113's review against another edition
3.75
Very interesting read however the chapters had no real switch in context and the facts quoted weren't referenced at all
coronaurora's review
4.0
Impassioned and well-argued plea to all current and prospective men to take on their gender role with more emotional literacy, openness to failure and adaptability rather than donning the straitjackets handed down to them. I can't fault that one bit as the whole gender-as-learned-performance thesis has always had more traction for me than the overstated biological differences. It's filled with pithy dissection of the social mores, the "normal" defined and thrusted through cultural outlets by the Default White Man including the cinematic "gaze", the pathological habits in imprinting gender habits and tragicomic ways in which contemporary men seem to botch fitting themselves into the mould of the "Ideal Man". The extrapolations to societal and political disorder from problematic gender inhabitation gave me much to think about. Perry draws a lot from his own experiences and work which gave his opinions weight and I agreed with his informed little manifesto for manhood's future.
tdanskin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
raelovestoread's review
4.0
This was an interesting examination of masculinity and its wider impact on society.
I will admit that (intuitively) I am more of an individualist than is fashionable at the moment, but Grayson Perry makes some excellent points and this was an eloquent, readable work that provided me with lots of food for thought.
Recommended for those interested in gender dynamics and the moving Zeitgeist.
I will admit that (intuitively) I am more of an individualist than is fashionable at the moment, but Grayson Perry makes some excellent points and this was an eloquent, readable work that provided me with lots of food for thought.
Recommended for those interested in gender dynamics and the moving Zeitgeist.
nikki_deanmarshall's review
3.0
3.5. Good book and worth a read. Would have been good to have known where he was getting the numbers from. Enjoyed the cartoons and he has an engaging and easy writing style