Re-Thinking Men: Heroes, Villains and Victims

Much writing on men in the field of gender studies tends to focus unduly, almost exclusively, on portraying men as villains and women as victims in a moral bi-polar paradigm. Re-Thinking Men reverses the proclivity which ignores not only the positive contributions of men to society, but also the male victims of life including the homeless, the incarcerated, the victims of homicide, suicide, accidents, war and the draft, and sexism, as well as those affected by the failures of the health, education, political, and justice systems. Proceeding from a radically different perspective in seeking a more positive, balanced, and inclusive view of men (and women), this book presents three contrasting paradigms of men as heroes, villains, and victims. Revised and updated, and presenting data and studies from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, it offers a comparative and revised perspective on gender that will be of interest to scholars across a range of social sciences.

Anthony Synnott is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Concordia University, Canada. He is the author of The Body Social: Symbolism, Self and Society and the co-author of Aroma: The Cultural History of Smell.