Eisenhans (Robert Bly)
Eisenhans - A book about men (original title: Iron John ) is a 1990 published, poetic-psychological non-fiction book by the American writer Robert Bly . It is considered to be one of the standard works in the recent study of the role as a man.
content
Based on the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm, Bly depicts the course from young male people to adult men. He analyzes the phases of “becoming a man” from a psychological and literary perspective. In preoccupation with ancient myths , Bly searches for male archetypes , which he sees as essential essential components of a developed and self-confident masculinity. He creates a positive relation to male "wildness" ( aggressiveness ), which he sees in the form of the "wild man". According to Bly, the man's warlike nature can show his aggressiveness, but does not have to use it destructively.
Bly emphasizes the importance of male caregivers for adolescent boys and sees the fatherless society as one of the central social problems.
effect
The book received a strong response from men who want to grapple with their gender role in society. With “Eisenhans”, the term “men's movement” received international attention for the first time. Bly became a co-founder of the mythopoetic men's movement , which is mainly accused by the feminist side, but also by the professional men's movement, of using the search for a new masculinity as a mere pretext to return to traditional roles. The presentation of the book to the public as a “response to the women's movement” (review on Amazon) also contributed to this.
criticism
Bly is often accused of anti-feminist attitudes. By sociologists and gender researchers criticized that he male behavior suppose given only as biologically and exclusive options other than the traditional male image. With his positive reference to the king , the warrior and the wild man , male dominance behavior and male violence are justified. In addition, it is not enough for critical men’s work to only deal with male self-perception, instead of engaging in a constructive dialogue between men and women.
In contrast, Bly defends his wild man as fundamentally different from the barbarian , who directs his aggressiveness outwards as violence in an uncontrolled manner. He considers it harmful that a man defines his role exclusively through his relationship with women. Male self-discovery creates the prerequisite for a real dialogue between equal partners in the first place.
literature
- Robert Bly: Eisenhans. A book about men. Kindler, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-463-40166-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Spase Karoski: Men on the move: the politics of the men's movement , Dissertation, School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication, University of Wollongong, 2007, p. 52