The Man Question

Turning on its head that familiar 'woman question,' this work poses masculinity as a problem that requires explanation. It rebukes the sense of coherence contained in patriarchal theory in the name of a voice that both calls upon and challenges the category woman. "This book helps feminists understand more about why certain stalemates occur within feminist discourses and provides an argument for doing theory in a certain way. Ferguson's voice is direct and engaging."—Jane Flax, author of Thinking Fragments "With characteristic lucidity, wit, and erudition, Kathy Ferguson productively transposes the often acrimonious debates surrounding 'poststructuralist' feminist theory onto differently worded, defamiliarizing, terrain. The Man Question breaks open rich new theoretical and political spaces for feminist argument and agitation."—Wendy Brown, author of Manhood and Politics Turning on its head that familiar "woman question," this innovative work poses masculinity as a problem that requires explanation. Ferguson rebukes the sense of coherence contained in patriarchal theory in the name of a voice that both calls upon and challenges the category woman. Stepping back from the opposition of male and female, she artfully loosens the hold of gender on life and meaning, creating and at the same time deconstructing a women's point of view. Posing the "man question" provides a way not only to view male power and female subordination but also to valorize and problematize women's experiences, thus destabilizing conventional notions of man and woman.