It's Not Easy to Be a Man—or to Be a Woman

Reviews the book, Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey Into Manhood and Back Again by Norah Vincent (see record 2005-16161-000). One might expect that a book about men-written by a lesbian-would be an angry diatribe against men. One might also expect such a book to document how much better it is to be a man in our society, and how women suffer from female sex role constraints. Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey Into Manhood and Back Again does not meet any of these negative expectations. This book is not a diatribe. Rather, it is a careful analysis of how both women and men suffer from adherence to the rigid gender roles imposed on us by our culture. Norah Vincent points out that those who strictly adhere to male or female role demands miss out on the rewards of being a full person--not just a "gendered" person. This book brings these research findings to life. As well as being of great interest to the general public, this remarkable book could be useful to psychologists in a number of ways. It would certainly be an outstanding adjunct reading for classes in gender studies or the psychology of men or of women. It would also be useful to therapists, as part of the therapy for clients who are struggling with gender-role problems--the people often referred to as "gender benders." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)