What is masculinity? Dominating the world around us, with deadly gun violence, male suicide rates and incels on Reddit, masculinity is perceived to be 'toxic', 'fragile' and 'in crisis'.
In Mask Off, JJ Bola exposes masculinity as a performance that men are socially conditioned into. Using examples of non-Western cultural traditions, music and sport, he shines light on historical narratives around manhood, debunking popular myths along the way. He explores how LGBTQ men, men of colour, and male refugees experience masculinity in diverse ways, revealing its fluidity, how it's strengthened and weakened by different political contexts, such as the patriarchy or the far-right, and perceived differently by those around them.
At the heart of love and sex, the political stage, competitive sports, gang culture, and mental health issues, lies masculinity: Mask Off is an urgent call to unravel masculinity and redefine it.
By:
JJ Bola
Imprint: Pluto Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 198mm,
Width: 129mm,
Weight: 134g
ISBN: 9780745338743
ISBN 10: 0745338747
Series: Outspoken by Pluto
Pages: 128
Publication Date: 20 September 2019
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgements Introduction: Mask off: Being a man 1. Real men: Myths of masculinity 2. Gang signs & prayer: Male violence, aggression and mental health 3. What’s love got to do with it?: Love, sex and consent 4. This is a man’s world: The politics of masculinity, the masculinity of politics 5. If I were a boy: Gender equality and feminism 6. See you at the crossroads: Intersections of masculinity 7. It goes down in the DM’s: Masculinity in the age of social media 8. Slamdunk the funk: Masculinity and sport Conclusion: Man in the mirror: Transgression and transformation Resources
JJ Bola is a writer, poet and educator. He is the author of the novel No Place to Call Home (2017), as well as three poetry collections. He is one of the winners of the 2017 Spread the Word Flight 1000 Associates Prize.
Reviews for Mask Off: Masculinity Redefined
'Incisive, engaging, powerfully vulnerable, JJ Bola has given us an urgent and compelling examination of one of society's most pressing subjects' -- Musa Okwonga 'Male privilege, male violence, love, sex and mental health - there is nowhere JJ Bola refuses to go' -- Benjamin Zephaniah 'An uncompromising, heartfelt and completely vital interrogation of this thing we call masculinity' -- Jeffrey Boakye, author of 'Black, Listed: Black British Culture Explored' 'Holds men accountable for the ways in which we have benefited from male privilege, but also liberates us from its violently toxic demands' -- David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham 'An antidote to Jordan Peterson' -- The Guardian
- Winner of Creative Review Book Covers of the Year 2019 (UK)
