In this personal and poignant collection, the author examines the culture of masculinity through the lens of a Black man.

Product Code: 8973
ISBN: 9780063138322
Format: Paperback / softback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Pages: 272
Published Date: 05/17/2022
Availability:In stock
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Price: $17.99

What does it mean to be a man today? How does the pervasive yet elusive idea of “toxic masculinity” actually reflect men’s experiences—particularly those of color—and how they navigate the world?

In this thought-provoking collection of essays, poems, and short reflections, Frederick Joseph contemplates these questions and more as he explores issues of masculinity and patriarchy from both a personal and cultural standpoint. From fatherhood, and “manning up” to abuse and therapy, he fearlessly and thoughtfully tackles the complex realities of men’s lives today and their significance for society, lending his insights as a Black man.

Written in Joseph’s unique voice, with an intelligence and raw honesty that demonstrates both his vulnerability and compassion, Patriarchy Blues forces us to consider the joys, pains, and destructive nature of manhood and the stereotypes it engenders.


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Contents

Mercy, Mercy Me
Introduction: A Legacy of Anti-Patriarchy

Lay of The Land
The Shore
Patriarchy Is…
On the Eighth Day, the Lord Made Oppression
The First Colossus
False Binary
Generational Curses
Green Prisons
The Rot in the Garden
Gaslighting Culture
If These Hands Could Talk

Impact or (The Unbelievable Pain Caused)
The Blood of Forty-Four
Of Monsters and Men
The Hypocrisy of Hoteps and the Bourgeoisie
Expectations and Shadows
A Case for Decriminalizing Sex Work
View (By Novell Jordan)
Who Carries the Hatred
As They Rampage
The Epidemic of Rape Culture
Womanizer
I Come Apart
Purity and Grace
Accountability in Caste and Intersectionality
On Patriarchal Violence

In Defense of Black Women
Black Women Are Not Your Mules
Dear Oluwatoyin
Black Body Politics
My Mother’s Son
Notes from a King
What Does a Black Person Owe This Country?
Notes from a King
What Does a Black Person Owe This Country?
The Oppressed May Also Be the Oppressors
What White Feminism Has Taken; Part 1: The Shield
What White Feminism Has Taken; Part 2: The Sword

Building Anew
Therapy (How Do You Feel?)
What Was Made, May Be Broken
In That Dirty Mirror
In the End (Letting Go of Our Fathers)

Acknowledgements
bibliography

"[A] scorching treatise on toxic masculinity. Joseph’s critiques of “the patriarchy... both overt and ingrained” are razor-sharp, but it’s the clear-eyed reckoning of his own place within it that tethers the soul of his book." —Publishers Weekly

"Joseph has learned a great deal from bell hooks here, and I think she would be proud because Patriarchy Blues is such a moving, inspiring, rigorous vision for living.” —Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets

Patriarchy Blues is an incisive, provocative, and challenging call to action. Through his own turbulent and tender life story, Frederick T. Joseph shows us what patriarchy costs all of us and precisely what’s at stake if we don’t dismantle it. This book is pure fire, the forging kind, the healing kind.” — Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

“Frederick’s perspective is poignant and necessary and the questions he poses about intersecting identities are stunningly urgent. In a world filled with despair, this book gives me hope.” — Liz Plank, author of For The Love of Men: From Toxic to Mindful Masculinity

'Joseph covers a great deal of ground, taking on rape culture, White privilege, victim blaming, the rights of sex workers, and the fact that “the Black American experience is not monolithic,” always returning to the intersectionality that governs how people are defined and, too often, oppressed… A well-reasoned, wide-ranging plea for a new conception of personhood and justice.” — Kirkus

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