Beyond the Male Myth

by Anthony Pietropinto

Book that explores the answers to over 4000 men between the ages of 18 and 65 responding to a questionnaire based on what women want to know about men's sexual practices preferences and opinions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Relationships

467 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Chris Gleck]

The book's copyright is 1977 and my paperback version was printed in June 1978. It was written by a psychiatrist and a psychiatric writer. It's essentially a report on an extensive survey they conducted regarding male sexuality. It appeared to be done in response to The Hite Report, which reported on female sexuality. As such, it was pretty dry reading about the various statistics gleaned from the survey. The authors made it interesting, however, with written comments from the participants and with commentary providing background for each subject area the survey covered. The parts that were especially interesting were the psychiatric/psychological insights they provided as well as numerous cultural references which have shaped our society's attitudes towards sexuality. The conclusion basically was that men spend their lives viewing women through the madonna/prostitute archetypes and wrestling with their sexuality as a result. The concluding cultural reference was Jesus on the cross - the two women attending him were literally the madonna (Mary mother of Jesus) and (presumably) a prositute (Mary Magdalene). I say presumably because I am not convinced she was a prostitute. Regardless, the ending blew me away, since I wasn't expecting this. The survey of male sexuality is now 50 years old, and I would imagine men's attitudes towards women have changed quite a bit during the intervening years. I purchased this book in my 20s probably out of curiosity and likely would have benefitted from reading it at the time. Now I view it mostly as a sociological artifact. I will be recycling this old style paperback.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1977, this was a very enlightening book for me.. part of the curriculum in Female Identity at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC.