The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry (Allen Lane, 2016)
Part autobiography, part philosophy, this book is a personal account on a complex topic. While not intended as a nuanced study of gender politics, artist Grayson Perry makes plenty of valuable points about masculinity and patriarchy with charm and humor.
He writes that “the male role in developed countries is nearly all performance; a pantomime of masculinity.” In the pantomime tradition, ‘He’s behind you!’ would be an appropriate all-purpose warning cry since we all know male villains like this. They are everywhere, men behaving badly who are unapologetically boastful or else surreptitiously hiding in plain sight.
For performing men, swaggering sexism has long been considered the norm. Challenges by feminists have shown them in their true colors, helping to show how patriarchy operates in practice. For instance, the recent #Metoo campaign has exposed the insidious sexual harassment that has been ignored or tolerated in many workplaces and institutions.
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