Men’s Silences: Predicaments in Masculinity

First published in 1992, Men’s Silences represents a personal and a political attempt to break out of the narrow parameters of men’s sexual politics. It focusses on men’s feelings to language. The early chapters provide a social context for exploring the practice and theorizing of men’s sexual politics. The book continues by developing an alternative theoretical framework for addressing male subjectivity, using Wittgenstein’s theory of language and the psychoanalytic theories of Winnicott, Bion and Klein. The author argues for the centrality of the pre-oedipal mother-son relationship in the making of male subjectivity, language and identity. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, gender studies, political science and cultural studies.