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Book Review: Laura Kipnis, Men: Notes from an Ongoing Investigation. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2014. ISBN: 9781627791878 (Hard Cover). 224 Pages. $25.00.
[Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: [email protected] Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2015 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]
In her book, Men: Notes from an Ongoing Investigation, Laura Kipnis, a social commentator and filmmaking professor at Northwestern University, deconstructs the contemporary American male in a variety of provocative and insightful essays. Kipnis, is no stranger to this subject, having written numerous scholarly articles ranging from men's consumption of pornography to their involvement in sex scandals. In this regard, her reputation offers credence to her work from the outset.
Given the large body of work that Kipnis has published on pornography, it is fitting that she begins her book by candidly discussing her face-to face meeting with Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine, whom she affectionately refers to as a "scumbag pomographer" (11). The author describes visiting the porn emperor's office tower on Wilson Boulevard during a visit to Los Angeles. Kipnis portrays Flynt as charming and gregarious, rather than as someone who has made a career out of objectifying women. While some scholars might be reluctant to spend time chatting with Flynt, the author refrains from passing too much judgment on the first male subject of her book. In fact, she insightfully observes that Hustler magazine reflects the anxieties and vulnerabilities of the working-class males that it caters to. Unlike those who position themselves as radical feminists, in particular Andrea Dworkin (1987), who has argued that pornography aids and abets male power, Kipnis seems to be empathetic of the magazine's readers. She argues that Hustler reflects the vulnerabilities and feelings of inadequacy of males who tend to view sex as an arena for "potential failure, not domination" (15). Kipnis, who has examined countless issues of Hustler, maintains that even the advertisements, such as penis enlargers, play off male anxieties. The author insightfully observes that, contrary to popular opinion, male consumers of pornography may be filled with frustrations and uncertainty and are not at all content with their place in the sexual caste system.
In writing about Larry Flynt, Kipnis even insinuates that the pom emperor...