If one way men can respond to the #MeToo moment is by listening to women, a good place to start is by reading books by and about women across the ethnic/racial and sexual orientation spectrum. Similarly, men seeking greater insight into men’s role in the changing sociocultural landscape can acquaint themselves with the rich body of work that men and women have produced over the past generation that focuses on men and multiracial, multiethnic masculinities.

Because the #MeToo moment was catalyzed by women’s testimony about the harassment, abuse and violence they have experienced from men, and because men’s violence against women is one of the great, ongoing injustices of our time and all time, it is crucial that men who care about gender equality and justice engage directly with this difficult topic.

Fortunately, there are many great resources available to help men understand the roots of sexual and domestic violence and many other forms of abuse, and their connection to cultural ideas about manhood.

While it is not practical in this limited space to do justice to the richness of writing and filmmaking on these crucial matters, the following lists provide a good introduction for anyone—but especially men—who wants to proceed on the parallel paths of critical self-awareness and social justice activism. The lists are hardly exhaustive. There are many great works that don’t appear here, and the selections reflect an obvious U.S.-centric bias. With some exceptions, the lists also are biased toward material released in the past couple of decades. Nonetheless, what follows is a sampling of some of the best and most useful books and films available on this topic in the English language today.

—Jackson Katz

 

Books (expand to view all)
  • Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era, by Michael Kimmel (2017)
  • Dying To Be Men: Psychosocial, Environmental and Biobehavioral Directions in Promoting the Health of Men and Boys, by Will Courtenay (2005)
  • Family Violence and Men of Color: Healing the Wounded Male Spirit, by Ricardo Carillo and Jerry Tello (2008)
  • Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood and Privilege on Campus, by Peggy Reeves Sanday (2007)
  • Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity, by Robert Jensen (2007)
  • Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, by Michael Kimmel (2008)
  • I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression, by Terrence Real (1998)
  • Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power, Shira Tarrant, editor (2013)
  • Men’s Lives, 9th edition, Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner, editors (2018)
  • New Black Man, Tenth Anniversary Edition, by Mark Anthony Neal (2015)
  • Our Guys: The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb, by Bernard Lefkowitz (1997)
  • Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood, by William Pollack (1999)
  • Some Men: Feminist Allies and the Movement to End Violence Against Women, by Michael Messner, Max Greenberg, and Tal Peretz (2016)
  • Stop Hurting the Woman You Love: Breaking the Cycle of Abusive Behavior, by Charlie Donaldson and Randy Flood (2006)
  • The Education of Kevin Powell, by Kevin Powell (2015)
  • The Gender Knot : Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy, by Allan Johnson (2014)
  • The Guy’s Guide to Feminism, by Michael Kaufman and Michael Kimmel (2011)
  • The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help, by Jackson Katz (2006)
  • Unclenching Our Fists: Abusive Men on the Journey to Nonviolence, by Sara Elinoff Acker (2013)
  • Victims No Longer: The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse, by Mike Lew (2004)
  • Violence Against Women in Pornography, by Walter DeKeseredy and Marilyn Corsianos (2016)
  • Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic, by James Gilligan (1997)
  • Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Profeminist Men’s Movement, Rob Okun, editor (2018)
  • We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity, by bell hooks
1 Angry White Men
2 Dying To Be Men
3 Family Violence and Men of Color Healing the Wounded Male Spirit
4 fraternity gang rape book by sanday
5 getting off book by jensen
6 Guyland
7 I Dont Want to Talk About It
8 Men Speak Out
9 Mens Lives
10 New Black Man
11 Our Guys
12 Real Boys
13 Some Men
14 Stop Hurting the Woman You Love
15 The Education of Kevin Powell
16 The Gender Knot
17 The Guys Guide to Feminism
18 The Macho Paradox
19 Unclenching Our Fists
20 Victims No Longer
21 Violence Against Women in Pornography
22 Violence Reflections on a National Epidemic
24 We Real Cool
Documentary Films and Education Videos (expand to view all)

All films produced or distributed by Media Education Foundation (www.mediaed.org) unless otherwise noted.

  • Asking for It: The Ethics and Erotics of Sexual Consent (with Harry Brod) (2010)
  • The Bro Code: How Contemporary Culture Creates Sexist Men (2015)
  • Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video (2016)
  • The Empathy Gap: Masculinity and the Courage to Change (2015)
  • Generation M: Misogyny in Media & Culture (2015)
  • Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, God Bless the Child Productions (2016)
  • The Hunting Ground, Chain Camera Pictures (2015)
  • The Invisible War Cinedigm, (2012)
  • Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women (2016)
  • The Mask You Live In, The Representation Project (2016)
  • Miss Representation, The Representation Project (2011)
  • The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships (2014)
  • Tough Guise 2: Violence, Manhood & American Culture (2013)
  • Wrestling with Manhood: Boys, Bullying & Battering (2003)
26 The Bro Code
27 Dreamworlds 3
28 The Empathy Gap
29 Generation M
30 Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes
31 The Hunting Ground
32 The Invisible War
33 Killing Us Softly 4
34 The Mask You Live In
35 Miss Representation
37 Tough Guise 2
38 Wrestling with Manhood
Ted Talks by Men

Among Ted talks addressing transforming masculinities and men challenging violence against women, consider watching those delivered by the following: Justin Baldoni, Jackson Katz, Michael Kimmel, and Tony Porter.