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Lessons From A Gathering Of Men ~ How Mens Work Is Redefining Masculinity And Improving Mens Lives


Guest Michael Taylor

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Guest Michael Taylor

I would like to submit this book for review consideration. www.lessonsfromagatheringofmen.com

From the back cover:

What would happen if men came together and began having a conversation about the changing roles of manhood? What if men stopped talking about sports, politics, sex and making money and began a conversation about creating fulfilling relationships, taking care of their health, creating loving families, developing a spiritual connection that nurtured their souls and making a difference in their communities?

This is what men’s work is all about. It’s about engaging men in an authentic dialog about the changing roles of masculinity and providing men with a new conversation about what it means to be a man in todays ever-changing world.

This book is a wake up call and breath of fresh air for any man who is ready to learn how to move past the antiquated paradigm of masculinity and evolve into the men they were destined to be. Come join us!

Image link: 400x614_lessons.jpg

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On 1/30/2017 at 9:35 AM, Guest Michael Taylor said:

began a conversation about creating fulfilling relationships, taking care of their health, creating loving families, developing a spiritual connection that nurtured their souls and making a difference in their communities?

Sounds like the return of an egalitarian society. 

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Does anyone believe that the roles of men and women should be different?  

Given that Michael suggests that the conversation should be between men, that implies a difference.  I suspect that many of the problems we see today particularly with relationships have been created because the culture (In the big coastal cities) imposes the impression that the only difference between men and women are our sex organs.  

Rather than making us all the same, I think the differences should be explored understood and inform our behavior.  Of course, I realized we all lie on a spectrum and everyone is different, but at the same time I think that the differences between the sexes are different enough to warrant a conversation exclusively between men.  

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23 hours ago, Troy said:

I think the differences should be explored understood and inform our behavior.

I'm not speaking for the author  - ( Aside: It seems as though folks drop stuff here and never return) just offering my observation to your remark @Troy

Currently there is no difference between men and women because as the quote indicates "both men and women participate in the patriarchal system"... I believe some women are working to free themselves from the mindset and as the author suggest men too -  but as I wrote in my blog the other day, women spend so much time loosening themselves from the shackles that its hard to do anything else. 

All this to say; yes, men need to have that conversation separately -

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I encourage authors to share information about their books on the discussion forum, rather than just emailing me directly. The idea is that it might peak the interest of someone reading the forum but unfortunately, most authors do the Facebook drive-by thing. They swing throw "shoot" their info here and never to return for fear of recognition or engaging with readers.  But that is cool, occasionally I see something that interests me, like this book, posted just today, which I use to expand the content of the website and hopefully reach others with important information.

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The odds are he won't, but his post was better than most.  In fact I think his book addresses some the issues that you and Xeon addressed in the other post

It is interesting that the book, written by a brother, sports a white man on the cover, and that the promotional video shows most white folks.  I think that the conversation amongst men must eventually men of all colors.  That would be one very challenging conversation,  This in of itself would peak my interest in this bo

I also noticed after watching the video, that the author whose man is Micahel Taylor was one of the first authors I put on the website: http://aalbc.com/authors/michael.htm (I have not completely migrated his page yet).  Which mean I've previously communicated with him.  Even though it has been at least 15 years ago, I'm surprised he did not mention this in this post.

I'll update his page next week and reference this page.  So there was truly a benefit, at least for this author, for making this "drive-by post" ;)

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest Masculinity Has No Race

After more than 25 years researching men's issues I have come to the conclusion that masculinity has no race. I recognize how the media does an irresponsible job perpetuating the stereotype that we (black men) are somehow different than other races, but setting that obvious challenge aside the key as I see it is to redefine masculinity. This means that we recognize the changing roles of masculinity and support and empower men to embrace these changing roles. As women continue to make strides in society (more women in the workforce for the first time in this country's history, more women graduating college, both black and white women) men are faced with new roles (being stay at home dads, making less money than women) that are redefining what it means to be a man in today's ever-changing world. Few men are courageous enough to engage in this conversation.

In regards to the white man on the cover and white people in the video, the images reflect the changing dynamics of men and unfortunately there are very few graphics featuring men of color, so it wasn't an exclusion, it was a matter of available images to convey my message. The response to this indicates that the true message of the book has been missed because it isn't about race. Very few men are willing to address the emotional aspect of his well being and can not identify with what the cover graphic represents. The key to our success especially as men of color is to be able to have the emotional vocabulary that allows us to create authentic connections and relationships. This has nothing to do with our race, it has everything to do with our ability to "feel" and express those feelings openly and honestly. Vulnerability, connection and authenticity are the bedrock of great relationships and if we are unwilling to learn this then we will never see the eradication of the vast majority of the challenges facing our communities.

The real challenge is getting men of color to have the courage to not only read books about personal development, but to be willing to make the emotional, intellectual, psychological and spiritual investment in his own personal growth and development to support him in living an extraordinary life.

I have written books targeted specifically to men of color and have even developed an online personal development resource for them if they are ready to engage in the personal growth and development process. Find it here: www.bmracademy.com

Unfortunately, very few men of color are willing to look within to change their minds and hearts to become better men. And yet I continue to write and inspire the men who are ready.

Coach Michael Taylorfront_cover.jpg

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I truly enjoy engaging with readers and potential readers of my work. My work focuses on creating a new paradigm of masculinity which transcends race, yet in most cases I am accused of not being in touch with my "blackness" because I do not make race an issue. I am well aware of the challenges facing men of color and I'm not opposed to talking about race, however, my optimistic attitude and perception about black men is often met with opposition and rejection. My work speaks for itself. I am committed to empowering men to reach their full potential and for men who are ready to do so my work is a breath of fresh air and a welcome break from all the negative narratives perpetuated by our media.

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