Susan Faludi's
Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man is a sympathetic view of the emotional plight of
men in the present-day
US. She talks to numerous men from various walks of life:
shipbuilders,
Promise Keepers,
gang members,
Citadel students,
porn actors, and others. She has spent years talking to these individuals, who represent more extreme versions of the overall
male condition.
Many of the men are
anxious or feel
out of place, for reasons that Faludi describes. Several of the them have difficulty assuming the
traditional breadearner role, because of
layoffs and because their
wives have greater earning potential. Also, our
media-driven,
celebrity-obsessed society pushes men to place themselves in an ornamental role, judging themselves on how they appear instead of what they accomplish. Finally, many men complain about having
fathers who were absent, remote, or unable to instruct them how to be real men in
modern society.
The book was quite interesting, both in terms of the individuals Faludi describes and her conclusions about the general
male conditions. However, the guys who I know (including myself) don't match what she portrays.
Stiffed may describe
blue-collar baby boomers more accurately than it describes a younger
technical crowd. Also, the second half of the book focuses on men in the media spotlight, which distorts her conclusion about their concern with their
image and
visibility. Overall, it's a very good book.