The Descent of Man

Description

‘A breeze of a read, makes you see our male-manufactured world a little differently’ Matt Haig’GRAYSON PERRY FOR KING AND QUEEN OF ENGLAND. Imagine how BRILLIANT our country would look if he was’ Caitlin MoranGrayson Perry has been thinking about masculinity – what it is, how it

operates, why little boys are thought to be made of slugs and snails –

since he was a boy. Now, in this funny and necessary book, he turns

round to look at men with a clear eye and ask, what sort of men would

make the world a better place, for everyone?What would happen if we rethought the old, macho, outdated version of manhood, and embraced a different idea of what makes a man? Apart from giving up the

coronary-inducing stress of always being ‘right’ and the vast new

wardrobe options, the real benefit might be that a newly fitted

masculinity will allow men to have better relationships – and that’s

happiness, right?Grayson Perry admits he’s not immune from the

stereotypes himself – as the psychoanalysts say, ‘if you spot it, you’ve got it’ – and his thoughts on everything from power to physical

appearance, from emotions to a brand new Manifesto for Men, are shot

through with honesty, tenderness and the belief that, for everyone to

benefit, upgrading masculinity has to be something men decide to do

themselves. They have nothing to lose but their hang-ups.