A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book, entitled The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help By Jackson Katz (Sourcebooks, April 18, 2006)

April 18, 2006 is the official publication date.

The book is now available in bookstores and on Amazon.com. (If it is not in your local bookstore, please ask them to order it, and urge them to display it where people can see it, such as a front table.)

For more information about The Macho Paradox, go to www.themachoparadox.com.

It is important that people buy the book as soon as possible, because competition for space in bookstores is fierce, and if enough people buy the book early, the chain booksellers will see that there is a market for this subject matter – and they will then give the book more visibility, which makes it easier to sell.

Some brief background: it was quite a struggle for me to get this book published in the first place. It took five years from conception to publication. At the start of this process I heard over and over again from literary agents and publishers that violence against women was an important subject, and that a book by a man on this topic was cutting-edge. But most people in the mainstream publishing world felt there was no market for such a book. Thankfully, I was able to find one publisher, Sourcebooks, who was willing to take the chance.

Now that the book is out, we have the opportunity to prove wrong the conventional wisdom in publishing. Those of us who work in the gender violence field know there are millions of people in this society – women and men – who are deeply concerned about the social problems of sexual and domestic violence, sexual harassment, street harassment, the sexual abuse of children, and related phenomena, and who want to learn not only why they are such big problems – but what they can do about them.

As you might have already inferred, my book is not merely a catalog of horrors. You can simply turn on the news – or cable tv – if you want confirmation of how ubiquitous these problems are in the first decade of the 21st century.

The Macho Paradox approaches its controversial subject matter from a refreshingly new angle, which reflects a growing trend within the field of gender violence prevention. I argue that violence against women is a MEN’S ISSUE. Furthermore, my focus is not on batterers and rapists, but on men who consider themselves “good guys” and who often argue that “this is not my issue.” I shine a particular spotlight on aspects of “male culture” that, intentionally or not, contribute to sexual and domestic violence: I devote chapters to the sports culture, language, “race and culture,” education, parenting, the role of bystanders, pornography, prostitution and stripping (and how these “industries” impact heterosexual men’s sexuality and attitudes toward women). I discuss my and my colleagues’ ongoing work around the world with the Marine Corps, as well as with high school, college and professional athletes, college fraternity members, and many other groups and individuals. I also discuss hot-button pop cultural topics such as the popularity of Eminem and Howard Stern, the Kobe Bryant rape case, Rush Limbaugh’s dismissals of the Abu Ghraib sexual abuse/torture scandal, and much, much more.

The target audience is two-fold:

1.) Men who are not comfortable with the sexist attitudes and behaviors of some of their peers, who do not want to be part of a system that hurts women, but who have not yet quite figured out what they can do about this enormous problem.

2.) Women who want to better understand male culture – and the pressures on individual men to conform to sexist social norms.

I try to bring in as many women’s voices as possible, including survivors’ stories. And of course I highlight men’s growing contributions to gender violence prevention -- nationally and internationally. My book contains elements of social history, as I try to introduce anti-sexist “men’s work” to a “mainstream” audience. It also contains elements of memoir, as I use autobiographical anecdotes to illustrate key themes.

If you like The Macho Paradox and agree with my premise that as many people as possible need to be drawn into a conversation about men’s role in ending men’s violence against women, here are some ways you can help:

1.) Forward this message as widely as possible, to friends, family members, fellow students, and colleagues whom you think might be interested.

2.) Buy the book for a man whom you think would benefit from reading it – a friend, brother, boyfriend, husband, son, or colleague.

3.) Buy the book for a woman whom you think would benefit from reading it – a friend, sister, girlfriend, wife, daughter, or colleague.

4.) Urge anyone you know who runs an organization with a lot of male employees to purchase copies of The Macho Paradox at bulk discount rates from the publisher (www.sourcebooks.com) and distribute them free of charge to these men (and women).

5.) Forward information about the book to members of the media in your local area who have covered issues of sexual and domestic violence. This includes columnists in local newspapers and newsletters, who will find in The Macho Paradox a wealth of topics around which to write a column. Suggest interviews with the author (me) on television and radio news and talk programs. (Go to www.jacksonkatz.com for more information about my work and credentials.)

6. Write a brief review and post it on list serves that you subscribe to, or pass information about the book – including provocative excerpts -- onto friends or others who have popular blogs.

Thank you so much.
Jackson Katz
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