A founder member of Achilles Heel. Vic Seidler has for many years been writing books on men and masculinity from a vantage point informed by social theory. In this latest work, Vic attempts to address these issues in a less academic discourse which aims to respond to recent writings from the mythopoetic camp, most particularly Robert Bly's Iron John. Man Enough represents a reaction to Bly, avoiding the temptation to ridicule or dismiss out of hand his book and its subsequent influence on men's politics.
The effort to re-appraise Iron John is laudable if rather overdone, and those seeking to obtain a greater understanding of Bly will find much of use in this book. But however hard he may try to write in a different style, Vic's latest book is still marked by a stodgy style which reflects his academic leanings and theoretical bias. Vic throws in some insightful comments about his own life experiences which become lost under constant reference to one of the great white men of modernity such as Kant or Freud. Not only do these references work uneasily in the text, but they are predominantly used in a dated and uncritical way. It strikes me as highly problematic to throw in observations like:
'Freud understood that if we are to grow and develop in our individuality we have to learn to face and acknowledge our emotional wounds'
Yes, but haven't there been further insights on this process since Freud wrote in 1922? Similarly, how much longer are we going to have to put up with tired notions of working class men releasing aggression on their families as if this is an inevitable facet of their class. My working class father felt trapped in a mindnumbing job, but he didn't make me suffer because of it. Male violence is infinitely more complex than this and it is sloppy thinking to suggest otherwise.
This book quite clearly has a specific audience, as the irritating use of 'we' indicates. Never is this made more plain than on page 204 when a sentence begins "Because as middle class heterosexual men we so often learn to control our emotions...". This assumed readership captures how out of touch this book is, how reliant it is on overworked ideologies and how the attention to Bly is regarded as addressing 'the key issues in current debates'. It seems that the diversity of masculinities in the nineties have passed the author by. It is no longer good enough to regard the struggle over male identity as the preserve of middle class heterosexual men. Race. culture, and sexuality inform the fluidity of being male today in a way which has transcended the identity politics of the 1970s and 1980s. Iron John is of little relevance in comparison to these trends.
'Man Enough' says little that is new and is unlikely to remain in the memory long. Unless your interest in masculinity is confined to completing an essay on the topic. this book is best avoided.
Robin Tuddenham
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