The Male In The Head by Et Al
Young people talk frankly, eloquently and often movingly about sex and relationships in this detailed investigation of the social construction of sexuality. Drawing on empirical studies the authors develop a feminist theory which shows the power of heterosexuality as masculine, and the relevance of this power to young people's management of sexual safety. Based on research into young people's sexual cultures undertaken over ten years, the authors argue that 'sexual activity and empowerment do not necessarily go hand in hand'. While a minority of young people succeed in negotiating safe and pleasurable sexual relationships, for many the experience of adolescent sex continues to be 'nasty, brutish and short'. Old taboos about premarital sex may have been broken, but old ideas about sex being a man's pleasure and a woman's duty live on. Young women are left with the worst of both worlds. They are expected to be sexual but not taught to enjoy it, vulnerable to pregnancy but not in control of sexual safety. When it comes to sex young women have a 'male-in-the-head', a voice that tells them that using condoms 'is like chewing toffee with a wrapper on' and that sex is finished 'when he has finished'. Despite the effects of feminism, boys do not yet have a 'woman-in-the-head'. Even those 'new men' and 'new lads' who recognise that women have changed are still liable to revert to double standards when it comes to sex. As one young man points out 'I don't believe in sex differences ... but you can't go to bed with someone the first time you get off with them and expect them to give you respect and love, you can't have it both ways'. Women still can't have it both ways but men can-just. The evidence from this study suggests that times are changing, that femininity is moving on and that masculinity is dragging its feet. While girls are outstripping boys in the classroom and the workplace, they are still being kept in their place in the bedroom.
Holland, J.: - J was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which flooded shortly after his birth. He grew up in the Allegheny Mountain range where skiing was fun and property values stayed low. Everything happened in a burgh or a township. Few people stayed and most left for the big city. Blackberries, blueberries, and other wild berries were picked often and tossed into a bucket hanging from his neck. He sold nightcrawlers from an old tub buried three feet in the ground. Brickyards, steel mills, and coal paid the bills. J became nobody in a space for somebody writing about something most people will ignore. He lives in the west, sings songs about Christianity, and watches the world melt around him. God is good and people scare him. The valley of death shines in the sliver of the moon's evening light, glistening on the horizon to reflect the oncoming sickle. The Allegheny mountains were J's home and playground, where he experienced rural life in a forest paradise and attended a fundamental Christian church. Circumstances in his late teens apprehended his pursuance of Medical school and took him west where he became a husband and father, and a miner. Music, an early passion resulted in J's mastering of several musical instruments. Numerous shelves hold J's writings accumulated throughout his life. J is a gleaner of information, who then spreads the Light of God's Word through that information to non-believers and believers alike. Methodical processing and deviceful imagination produce the stimulating and entertaining reading of his books. When not reading, writing, or studying, J can be found on a riverbank catching trout, in the high desert and mountains hunting, at home cooking and trading stock, or exploring history and sites in the US and abroad. His love for experiencing life enriches all he does and especially his writing. Nothing like a little political satire to get the censors upset, which might get me to the nearest reeducation camp.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781872767475 |
| ISBN 10 | 1872767478 |
| Title | The Male In The Head |
| Author | Et Al |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Tufnell Press |
| Year published | 2004-04-01 |
| Number of pages | 232 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |