Manhood: The Bare Reality

I knew of Laura from her previous, brilliant volume Bare Reality so I anticipated this would be another sensitive, powerful and life-affirming work. I was not disappointed. The sheer variety of stories (as well as penises) makes this a compelling read. Although the various men/penises are depicted in an un-photoshopped, plain and stark manner, it in no way diminishes their humanity and dignity. It occurred to me as I read just how rare it is for non-erect penises to be subjected to the gaze of thousands of women and men. Penises are often seen as signs of prowess or potency, or used a weapons and tools of harm against women and other men. Here, through the pictures and stories, the men and their man respective "manhoods" are celebrated as vulnerable, complex, insecure, brave, full of hopes and disappointments, the subjects of tragedy and achievement. Men who love and are loved, sons who have been shaped by their fathers for good or ill. Laura's interviews clearly made men feel at ease enough to disclose secrets, confront their own guilt and shame, yet feel affirmed that their manhood matters. I hope above all that this book helps to nurture conversations about how men can be healthy, loving, vulnerable enough to receive love. We desperately need men to learn to be honest about their failings and hopes, their needs and desires. I believe this book is a wonderful contribution to that goal.

I'm not even halfway through this book but I'm quite happy to give it five stars! To read about these men's relationships with modern masculinity, other people, friends, lovers and family, as well as with their own bodies, is a truly enlightening look into what it is to be a man in the 21st century. I would urge anyone reading this review to look past the 'eww!' factor that a book containing 100 pictures of full frontal male nudity, and actually read what these men have to say. Some of them will make you laugh, some will make you cry. If you are a woman, some of it will make you question your beliefs and perceptions about the inner world of men, and of how certain ideologies portray us. If you are a man, all of it will make you realise that no matter how you feel about your body, and what it is to be a man, that you are not alone. Laura Dodsworth, I salute you! Thank you for giving us such a wonderfully eye-opening book!

Like the womanhood book, it's a decent enough book, but again as a photo book the photos are rather small and almost an afterthought, but interesting to read.

Very interesting to read how men feel about their 'manhood'. What a fascinating range of both pictorial and written views of the penis. I felt sad about the way some men have been victimised either by parents or friends or even lovers. As a woman, I wonder if women feel the same about their 'lady bits'? I know this writer has done a book about breasts, but would she consider another book about women's relationship with their most intimate parts? Good value for money.

A bit superficial for me. I really expected some more deep sel opinions about this subject. It's ok.

Really good. Should be issued to all men so they can see that erectile dysfunction is just part of life, and lots of us women don’t mind. There’s more to a loving sex life than an erection, that’s more the icing on the cake 😊 Also all chaos seem to want a bigger penis, no matter how big the one they have is! Again, not all women want something huge, we want the whole man involved, not just a few , inches

This is a wonderful book. Fascinating for all genders. Helpful for men to see “normal” (instead of porn-normal) and for hearing from men sharing their private “parts”; doubts, ponderings, experiences.

not at all exciting or even titillating, very sorry I bothered

I love this book for so many different reasons. For starters I was very sheltered growing up and men absolutely elude me. It’s very intersesting to read about the lives and “livelihood” of various types men, and see how they view their masculinity. Secondly, the presentation is amazing. You get vauge information about the men from their genitalia (it’s a penis, it won’t tell you much) but I was led to draw conclusions, that is until I read the text and was able to disconnect from the image and the person. It’s very refreshing to read in such a way, because instead of knowing who this person is, they will tell you. Some is very depressing and makes me wonder about the consicencses of pushing masculinity on boys and men. Some is exciting and some is very insightful. I’m positive not all men think just like this book, but these 100 men are leading a path to discussing real issues and real thoughts. All in all, I think it’s a good read for anyone who is curious about other people, curious about men, or want to explore journalistic writing styles. Very good read, and I look foreword to finding more books like this.

A facinating candid discussion from a broad spectrum of the male gender.

Tal como lo describen.

We liked the series very much. use for our own family .

Mi aspettavo altro. Interessante l'idea ma secondo me mal resa. Tutto molto noiso. Non si vedè la faccia delle persone. Sembra un libro di medicina.