Hello comrades, it's time for our third discussion thread for The Will to Change, covering Chapters 6 (Work: What's Love Got To Do With It?) and 7 (Feminist Manhood). Thanks to everyone who participated the last few weeks, I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts again. And if you’re just joining the book club this week, welcome!
Chapter 6 discusses the role of work under patriarchy and how capitalism forces men and women alike to not only work long hours to survive, but to prioritize supporting themselves and their families financially over any sort of healing and growing. Chapter 7 delves into how men can apply feminist thought practically to support the well-being of themselves and the people around them.
If you haven't read the book yet but would like to, its available free on the Internet Archive in text form, as well as an audiobook on Youtube with content warnings at the start of each chapter, courtesy of the Anarchist Audio Library, and as an audiobook on our very own TankieTube! (note: the YT version is missing the Preface but the Tankietube version has it)
As always let me know if you'd like to be added to the ping list!
Our next discussion will be on Chapters 8 (Popular Culture: Media Masculinity) and 9 (Healing Male Spirit), beginning on 12/25. That thread will likely stay up a little longer than usual as I'm sure many people will be busy around the end of the year and I want to give everyone the opportunity to share their thoughts.
Sliding my belated response in here.
Chapter 6 was, I thought just a really nice intersectional analysis of class, masculinity and work.
Chapter 7 was... idk this was a rough one for me personally if I'm being honest. I just have a really hard time with a positive male masculinity, and the various ways that it's pointed at here don't really resonate with me. I think I still have a lot of anger at men and masculinity that I haven't fully processed. Like I'm angry all this stuff was and continues to be forced on me.
gender trauma
When it was a kid it was pretty traumatic at times. I'll never forget in middle school going to class and having this awful little bully make fun of me because the way I sat, crossing my legs was gay (i.e. feminine, bad). Like it had never even occurred to me that there was anything wrong with the way I sit before then and after I thought about it every time I sat down.
I didn't think this chapter was bad necessarily, although cisheteronormative as others have pointed out. I think I'm just not really ready to contemplate a positive reclamation of masculinity where I'm at right now.