Cracking the Armour: Power, Pain and the Lives of Men

Don Crosby is a journalist in Durham, Ontario.

There is a crisis in men’s lives. As patriarchal power crumbles before
the advances of feminism, men find themselves confused and vulnerable,
trapped in an armor-plated manhood. For Kaufman, the source of their
discontent is neither feminism nor their inability to connect to their
deepest inner self. Rather, it is patriarchal power. The same power that
once conferred on men a sense of security and privilege now brings pain
and impoverishes their lives.

Kaufman begins this well-written and well-researched book by
deconstructing the masculine mystique. Masculinity is not something we
are born with, he argues, but something defined by our culture. In these
complex and changing times, manliness can take many forms; there can be
as many genders as there are men.

Kaufman rejects Robert Bly’s simplistic view that men can be healed
by a return to a romantic mythical past, “built on a sort of
intellectual version of the Flintstones.” His book features frank
discussions of men’s experiences of sexuality, violence, pornography,
friendships, homophobia, and families. It helps men to see how their
misguided notions of masculinity can cause harm to both themselves and
others.

Filled with personal and amusing anecdotes, this provocative and
compassionate book offers support and encouragement to men in their
search for a new understanding of manhood.