Michael Gilbert - The Disposable Male

The Disposable Male puts forward the view that the individual and collective detachment from our natural heritage is the primary culprit behind the marginalization of men, the overburdening of women, and the failings of modern relationships. Todays social disarray and many of the everyday anxieties of our time result from being out of touch with our natural inheritanceour innate biology and evolutionary anchors. Estranged from our earthly foundations, nature has become something we visit on the weekend. Primitive creatures adrift in a sea of modern abstraction, we have lost our natural compass.

When we examine todays social problems and the challenges of contemporary life through the lens of our natural history, we begin to discover an important, perhaps unintended, modern predicament: we are not getting the best from men and we are asking too much of women. Except in the upper-most alpha male perches, boys and men are being systematically neutered, disparaged, and displaced. Masculinity is being bleached out.

As it fades away, we are exposed to a backlashunhealthy parodies of male overcompensation and destructive acting out. Down in the ranks, men find themselves bewitched by the presence of women in their traditional domains, bothered by the itch of enduring hormones, and bewildered by a lack of clear roles and a definitive purpose.

How does modern masculinity look through the eyes of evolution? Why are men sexually oriented and driven toward resource acquisition while most women seek committed relationships? Why do women tend to build supportive social networks while men compete for power and status? Can ordinary men and women use evolutionary viewpoints to improve their lives and their relationships? We can. And we can use this deeper perspective to understand so much morefrom flirtation to fidelity, childrearing, and family matters, as well as modern workplace behavior.

In the pages ahead we zero in on these universal subjects of intense personal concernwho we find attractive, why we fall in love, how we feel about blood ties and why we go to work every day. We explore the source of todays intimate dilemmas by unearthing the secrets of sex, love, and the human motivations buried within our natural history. By retracing the story of the sexual bond from its archaic roots to the tattooed kids with tongue-studs at the local coffeehouse, we will discover how ancient primal forces continue to influence the psychology and behavior of twenty-first century men and women and explore what they can teach us about achieving harmony in todays troubled intimate relations.

An evolutionary point of view holds the promise of alleviating many of the anxieties and confusions weighing down todays young men and women. By summoning the deep-seated, still vibrant forces that continue to shape our modern thinking, we can develop a better understanding of our own nature, dreams, and desires. Reconciling our evolutionary heritage with the realities of modern life can also help us reinforce the health of our families, stabilize our communities, and make sense of the chaotic world around us. Most of all, reclaiming our natural inheritance can help us improve our intimate relationships and launch a lifelong adventure of self-discovery.

Michael Gilbert

Sex, love and money: your world through Darwins eyes

ePub r1.0

efedoso 21.01.17

Ttulo original: The Disposable Male

Michael Gilbert, 2007

Editor digital: efedoso

ePub base r1.2

In Memory of

MYER AND MARCIA GILBERT

with appreciation for the chance, in gratitude for the circumstances

MICHAEL GILBERT (Montreal, Canada). He attended Concordia University and concluded his formal education with a graduate degree at Harvard. His multi-faceted career included positions as a university lecturer, a research analyst and investment consultant, real estate executive and independent film producer.

Along the way, Michael pursued an abiding personal interest in the social and gender philosophies that first emerged, to much notoriety, in the 1960s and 1970s, perspectives that continue to impact our lives and generate lively debate. Determined to sort out these crucial matters for himself and his family, he continued to explore the anthropological and natural history of human behavior, immersing himself in writings about sociobiology and the vibrant young field of evolutionary psychology. He then turned to writing The Disposable Male, the culmination of his research and ruminations on sex roles, work and family life.

In 2005, as he was preparing the book for publication, Michael was appointed a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Digital Future, a research and policy institute of the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. Researchers at the Center track the ways in which digital technologies, the Internet and virtual communities are changing the social, political and economic fabric of our lives. The Center undertakes domestic and international research on how people use emerging technologies, the World Wide Web and the media, organizes conferences, provides specialized briefings to a wide range of leaders in government, industry, trade and civic groups, and manages USC Annenbergs ground-breaking program devoted to online communities and social networking.

Michaels work at the Center is focused on the impact of the Internet on gender and family issues. Author of articles on a variety of topics, he has been featured on national television as a guest analyst, most recently on Fox News and MSNBC, as well as the op-ed pages of Newsday and The Christian Science Monitor. He is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Foundation for Male Studies, the Electronic Music Alliance and c3VisionLab, the Global Arts and Media Node of The Millennium Project.

Michael Gilbert speaks regularly to groups interested in gender and technology issues, and consults on related communication strategies. Michael lives in Southern California. An avid reader, he enjoys museums, concerts and the theatre, and vigorous conversation with friends. He loves to play tennis, travel and explore our great philosophical, spiritual and mystical traditions.

The books bibliography may be found at www.thedisposablemale.com.