A MAN'S WORLD
How Real Is Male Privilege--and How High Is Its Price?
by Ellis Cose
In 1994 Cose alerted us to an important and little-known phenomenon: the rage of the black middle class. Now he turns to the rage of another privileged class: Men. All men—white, black, Latino, whatever. Men are feeling vulnerable, not powerful, Cose reports. Denials of male power and privilege, as well as claims regarding the prevalence of male-battering by women and the victimization of white men by affirmative action don't slide down the gullet too easily. But the the informants who tell Cose they are feeling bewildered, beleaguered, unsure of their role and identity as males are credible and affecting. Cose poses intelligent questions in an attempt to reframe the whole gender shebang: ``How can we free men and women from roles that confine us both, without embracing an androgyny that no one seems to want?...Is it possible to teach men and women to stop blaming each other for not being everything they themselves are not?'' ($55,000 ad/promo; author tour)