What About Men?

Journalist and feminist Moran (How to Be a Woman) tackles in this provocative outing a question often lobbed at her during speaking events: what about the struggles of the modern male? Though at first flummoxed by why she should care, Moran eventually realized that perhaps there was something to the issue. Marshaling commentary from friends, her husband, and respondents to her social media queries, Moran explores the contours of masculinity in the 21st century, wading into such hot-button topics as alpha male stereotypes, “incel” culture, and the “men’s rights” activism of writers like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson (to whom young boys have turned “in the absence of... relatable, sound advice coming from the good liberal progressive men of [Moran’s] generation”). Elsewhere, she addresses men’s mental health issues, sexuality, and friendships in sharp and funny—if not always rigorous—takes (a discussion of men’s body image anxieties considers the current trend of men’s jeans “so tight that they look sprayed on” and speculates that “if you weren’t wearing trousers that were actively betraying you, a lot of those problems might disappear”). By her own admission, Moran is short on answers; she also has a tendency to lean on stereotypes. Still, she raises plenty of worthwhile questions about “what it is to be a boy and become a man in today’s world,” and does so with genuine curiosity, self-awareness, and humor. This promises to spark conversation. (Sept.)