Are there two words in an author's biography more intimidating to a reader than "French philosopher"? While philosopher Raphaël Liogier, a professor at Sciences Po Aix-en-Provence, does make reference to the likes of Aristotle and Plato in Heart of Maleness, his first title to be translated into English, the book is something pleasantly unexpected: eminently readable.
Liogier was inspired to write his long-form essay by his awareness of men's (including his own) difficulty "accepting the collapse of their empire of virility," which is "unmistakably heralded by the worldwide impetus and power of #MeToo." Liogier is all for ending that empire. In Heart of Maleness, he unpacks the historical justifications for male supremacy and argues for the urgency of renouncing it. Not all of Liogier's observations, as about the double standard surrounding male and female virginity, are wholly original, and some of his thoughts on sex work may rankle. Liogier is at his best when focusing on the current era. Perhaps most valuable is his book's "Five Ways to Undermine the Meaning of #MeToo"--not a how-to but a how-it's-unfortunately-done.
Heart of Maleness is a fine companion to Jared Yates Sexton's The Man They Wanted Me to Be: Toxic Masculinity and a Crisis of Our Own Making. Like Sexton, Liogier is hopeful but doesn't underestimate the work to be done. "In order to be rid of male domination," he writes, "it is not enough to stop the most blatant acts of violence. It is necessary to go deeper, to attack the system itself." --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer