Men generally aren't encouraged to share their emotions -
especially with one another. Sure, it's socially acceptable for women to
discuss their
feeeelings over cosmos as card-carrying members
of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Ya-Yas, or whatever you people call
yourselves when you're having pillow fights and crying over
The
Notebook. But we manly men are expected to keep a stiff upper lip
and communicate nothing that can't otherwise be expressed in simple grunts,
burps, and high-fives. But you know what? It's about time we saw the release of
a book like
The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front
Lines of Modern Manhood, an anthology collecting 30 stories from
men of all ages, races, classes, backgrounds, and sexual orientations
(including a Pulitzer Prize winner, an NFL Hall of Famer, American soldiers,
and just some ordinary dudes with extraordinary stories), waxing about
watershed experiences in their lives and how those defining moments have shaped
their ideas of manhood. Proceeds from the book benefit the
Good
Men Foundation, a non-profit that supports at-risk men and boys:
locally, the Foundation works with the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, Big Brothers
Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, Dorchester Youth Alternative Academy, and
Street Potential, among others. On November 4, the
ICA (100
Northern Avenue, Boston, 617.478.3100) will host a launch party for the Project
from 7 to 10 p.m. The donation-optional event will provide all guests with a
free copy of the book and a screening (at 7:15 p.m. sharp) of a companion
documentary film. You can register for the event, buy the book and DVD, check
out additional events with the authors (including a December reading at
Brookline Booksmith), and start sharing your own stories at goodmenbook.org.
So, uh ...
anyone up for a slumber party and a little mani/pedi action? We'll bring the
brews.
