Ideas of masculinity and femininity become sharply defined in war-reliant societies, resulting in a presumed enmity between men and women. This so-called ""battle of the sexes"" is intensified by the use of misogyny to encourage men and boys to conform to the demands of masculinity. These are among Tom Digby's fascinating insights shared in Love and War, which describes the making and manipulation of gender in militaristic societies and the sweeping consequences for men and women in their personal, romantic, sexual, and professional lives.
Drawing on cross-cultural comparisons and examples from popular media, including sports culture, the rise of ""gonzo"" and ""bangbus"" pornography, and ""internet trolls,"" Digby describes how the hatred of women and the suppression of empathy are used to define masculinity, thereby undermining relations between women and men-sometimes even to the extent of violence. Employing diverse philosophical methodologies, he identifies the cultural elements that contribute to heterosexual antagonism, such as an enduring faith in male force to solve problems, the glorification of violent men who suppress caring emotions, the devaluation of men's physical and emotional lives, an imaginary gender binary, male privilege premised on the subordination of women, and the use of misogyny to encourage masculine behavior. Digby tracks the ""collateral damage"" of this disabling misogyny in the lives of both men and women, but ends on a hopeful note. He ultimately finds the link between war and gender to be dissolving in many societies: war is becoming slowly de-gendered, and gender is becoming slowly de-militarized.
By:
Tom Digby
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions:
Height: 210mm,
Width: 140mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 269g
ISBN: 9780231168410
ISBN 10: 0231168411
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 28 October 2014
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments 1. Battle of the Sexes: Why Is Heterosexual Love So Hard? 2. Let's Make a Deal: The Heterosexual Economy Falls Off a Cliff 3. How to Make a Warrior: Misogyny and Emotional Toughness in the Construction of Masculinity 4. Keeping the Battle of the Sexes Alive: Faith and Fantasy 5. Can Men Rescue Heterosexual Love? More Faith and Fantasy 6. Gender Terrorism, Gender Sacrifice: Getting Beyond Zero-Sum Heterosexuality 7. The Degendering of War: War Loses Its Sex 8. The Demilitarizing of Gender: A Truce in the Battle of the Sexes? Notes Index
Tom Digby is professor of philosophy at Springfield College in Massachusetts. He has written, lectured, and taught about gender for more than twenty-five years. His multimedia talks about the intersections of love, masculinity, and war have been given at numerous colleges and universities. His previous book is Men Doing Feminism.
Reviews for Love and War: How Militarism Shapes Sexuality and Romance
Digby brings a fresh view to the term battle of the sexes by revealing the gendered politics and cultural programming that drive many of the irrationalities and antagonisms so familiar to heterosexual romantic relations. The argument is intellectually stimulating, politically important, and potentially quite relevant in personal ways for readers. -- Shira Tarrant, California State University, Long Beach, author of Men and Feminism and When Sex Became Gender Love and War is a joy to read, indeed, a page turner. Tom Digby opens up a whole new way of understanding the problems intrinsic to heterosexual love, as well as the impact of misogyny in the everyday lives of men and women. His compelling descriptions of the interplay of gender and militarism will significantly alter the way we understand masculinity, sexuality, romantic love, misogyny, and even war itself. Of particular interest is Digby's use of what I call 'situated phenomenology' to shed important new light on the roots of misogyny; the social implications of this new understanding are quite sweeping. For specialists in gender studies like myself, Love and War will be recognized as a major and profoundly stimulating contribution to our field. The book will also appeal to a broad audience, thanks to Digby's highly engaging, conversational writing style. -- Sandra Bartky, Professor Emerita of Philosophy and Women's Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, author of Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression and Sympathy and Solidarity Love is a battlefield, sang the great philosopher Pat Benatar. But why? Why do the metaphors that describe love and romance refer to battles of the sexes, or interplanetary warfare between Martians and Venusians? In a book both judiciously wise and passionately angry, Tom Digby untangles the knots that bind love and war, set men and women in opposition, and create the enmity from which we have to recover if we are to build intimate and loving relationships. -- Michael Kimmel, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University, author of Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men and Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era
- Winner of Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2015
- Winner of Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2017
- Winner of Outstanding Academic Title 2017
