Judging by the list of organisations supporting this book, I doubt that it is intended as an instruction manual, so don’t get too excited. If keeping women in line was as easy as the White Ribbon hate campaign insists, I’m sure our society would be very different from the way it is!

I’ll read and review this book if I can obtain a copy for free, but I don’t think I’ll be able to bring myself to pay for it.

Masculine Empire
How Men Use Violence to Keep Women in Line

Invitation to Peter Adams’ Book Launch:

As part of the White Ribbon campaign, you are cordially invited to the launch of a new book on violence against women published by Dunmore Publishing Ltd.

The launch will include an acted scene from the book, readings of brief extracts and acknowledgements followed by drinks and nibbles.

Date: Tuesday 20 November 2012
Time: 5.30 pm
Venue: Atrium (main entrance),
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, 85 Park Road, Grafton
(opposite Auckland City Hospital – parking available in Auckland Domain or surrounding streets)

RSVP to Johanna Beattie [email protected] by 15 November.

“Nah, the man’s gotta be in charge. It’s just the way it is.”

This book provides a unique insight into the sense of superiority, the “masculine empire’, that underpins men’s sense of entitlement to being in charge in their homes. It explores ways in which men approach intimate relationships, their allegiance to their like-minded mates, and the role of male friendships in maintaining positions of power and capturing women in oppressive situations. It flips explanations for violence from what is happening in the minds of individual “bad’ men to a broader exploration of the social world of men.

The reader eavesdrops on the conversations of five men who meet regularly in a bar to talk about their lives and discuss their relationships. It steps through the embedded assumptions men make about women, the influence of the history of men being in charge, and the various control strategies men pass on to each other to perpetuate their dominance in the home.

The book illustrates what can happen to both men and women when male oppression goes too far. It also looks at options men might take for turning away from their controlling and violent behaviour.

For more details about the book and to order click here

Supported by the Families Commission, National Network for Stopping Violence Services and Women’s Refuge.