128 pages
English language
Published Feb. 20, 2019 by Pluto Press.
In Mask Off, JJ Bola exposes masculinity as a performance that men are socially conditioned into. Using examples of non-Western cultural traditions, music and sport, he shines light on historical narratives around manhood, debunking popular myths along the way. He explores how LGBTQ men, men of colour, and male refugees experience masculinity in diverse ways, revealing its fluidity, how it's strengthened and weakened by different political contexts, such as the patriarchy or the far-right, and perceived differently by those around them.
At the heart of love and sex, the political stage, competitive sports, gang culture, and mental health issues, lies masculinity: Mask Off is an urgent call to unravel masculinity and redefine it.
A practical and honest book covering personal experiences but also speaking more widely about UK and more global masculinities. Overall a warming book. It's heartening to see records of similar experiences among men written about in such an open way. Well worth reading.
