Lakeshore's Sarah Opat cuts open the bold and socially important issue of ending patriarchy with Robert Jensen, a writer, radical feminist, activist, and a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.
The two talked "On the Radar" about Jensen's latest book, The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men (Spinifex Press, 2017).
During the interview, Jensen shared his voice and 30 years of experience in radical feminism to raise awareness of how society can end patriarchy. The numerous books written by Jensen explore a relm of topics. Specifically, this radio interview talked about The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men (Spinifex Press, 2017). This book serves as a critique of patriarchy and how this is the root of today's crisis within society.
"The pathology of patriarchy, the idea that one group of people should control another—even own them, own even life itself—is at the core of today’s crises," said Jensen.
The End of Patriarchy asks one key question: What do we need to create and maintain stable, decent human communities that can remain in a sustainable relationship with the larger living world? "The answer is feminism and a critique of patriarchy", said Jensen.
Jensen calls for a radical feminist challenge to institutionalized male dominance in todays world. He calls for an uncompromising rejection of men’s assertion of a right to control women’s sexuality and reproduction; and a demand for an end to the violence and coercion that are at the heart of all systems of domination and subordination. Opat and Jensen discussed the struggle of president Trump setting an example of patriarchy for all generations. The goal of Jensen's books aim to raise awareness for how to end patriarchy.
The End of Patriarchy makes a powerful argument that a socially just society requires no less than a radical feminist overhaul of the dominant patriarchal structures.
Read on. Here's a collection of reviews on Jensen's latest book, "THE END OF PATRIARCHY".
At a time when much of what passes for feminism is actually a neo-liberal approach that privileges individual empowerment over revolutionary social change, Robert Jensen comes out with a much-needed book that is bound to put the radical back in feminism. His insightful analysis, unflinching commitment to radical feminism, and his courageous call to eradicate patriarchy makes The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men a refreshing and bold text.
—Gail Dines, Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, Wheelock College, and author of Pornland: How Porn has Hijacked our Sexuality
This is a terrific, powerful, informative book. There is not one page without an idea worth discussing and exploring. Jensen emerges as a wise and humble man willing to listen to women and to question men. Such men are rare. He does the opposite of mansplaining: man-listening-to-women! I love it!
—Jeffrey Masson, author of Beasts: What Animals Can Teach Us About the Origins of Good and Evil
Jensen presents a brilliant and brave analysis of patriarchy and its costs. His thoughts concerning rape, pornography, and transgenderism are deeply insightful and important — and especially compelling in their clarity and honesty. This book is a must-read for men and women who, like Jensen, care passionately about imagining and creating a sustainable, humane, and socially just world.
—Rebecca Bigler, Professor of Psychology and Women's and Gender Studies, University of Texas
Read this book. Reckon with it. In a culmination of his life’s work to understand, address, and resist inequality, Robert Jensen offers us a critical interrogation of patriarchy and male dominance and also a call to action. This book is important and uncomfortable, and it is both of these things because of Jensen’s unflinching radical analysis and deep emotional honesty.
—Matthew B. Ezzell, Associate Professor of Sociology, James Madison University
Women will be grateful for this book because Robert Jensen will be heard by men in a way that women are not. If men will open their minds to it, it will change their lives.
—Betty McLellan, author of Unspeakable: A feminist ethic of speech.
The End of Patriarchy is a must-read book for men — and women — who know in their gut that men's economic, social and political dominance does terrible harm to women and men, but who lack the cogent arguments or words to express how. With his trademark style that manages to convey both heartfelt humility and breathtaking moral clarity, Robert Jensen expresses the fear that so many men have of engaging deeply with feminist ideas — as well as the incalculable rewards for those willing to take the leap.
—Jackson Katz, author of The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women
In The End of Patriarchy, Robert Jensen reveals that far from being an outmoded ideology, radical feminist thought is a political practice that transforms us from the inside out forcing us to confront the painful and profound ways in which patriarchy distorts our collective humanity. He challenges all of us to reconsider how radical feminism can help us to think through the most pressing social issues of the current moment from the persistence of rape culture to patterns of ecological destruction that threaten the future of human life on the planet. This book is an invitation to engage with radical feminism’s insights and the critical strategies for imagining a better and more just social order. A truly powerful and necessary text.
—Courtney Morris, Assistant Professor, The Pennsylvania State University
For more than two decades Robert Jensen has been a thorn in the side of patriarchy, pushing us to see how a sexist world both constructs and constrains who we are. He simultaneously dares us to look inside at the damage it's done to us, and to imagine a world beyond its cruel constructs. I don't always agree with him, but I believe it is imperative that I read his work, wrestle with his ideas. Some of his ideas are not ‘nice’ but they are necessary.
—Michael Kimmel, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Stony Brook University, and author of Angry White Men
To end patriarchy, men must confront male domination and stop it. That might seem like too tall of an order, but in The End of Patriarchy Robert Jensen turns that personal challenge into a political call to action. He daringly shows that radical feminist thought and action is essential to our survival as a species and planet. Through his self-reflection and critical thinking, we discover a man who is a role model for men and boys, students and activists, in the struggle to create a genuine society free from misogyny and inequality.
—Kathleen Barry, Professor Emerita, author of The Prostitution of Sexuality and Unmaking War, Remaking Men
The End of Patriarchy poses a bold challenge to both the patriarchal inequalities which brutalise women and limit men and the stunted visions of gender and its transformation visible in contemporary gender politics. In this highly readable and passionate work, Robert Jensen offers an eloquent account of the implications of radical feminist insights for men’s everyday lives and choices.
—Michael Flood, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong
Drawing on his many years of work, challenging toxic masculinity and the 'pathology of patriarchy', Robert Jensen shows what it really means — in both political and deeply personal ways — for men to support an end to systems of male dominance. Any man who considers himself an ally of the feminist movement should read this book. And then they should encourage every man they know to read it too.
—Meagan Tyler, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, RMIT University, and co-editor of Freedom Fallacy: The limits of liberal feminism.
Patriarchy is the water that we swim in, and it is poisonous and rank. Unless we see that, how can we ever escape into fresh clean air? In this lucid, balanced and immaculately argued book, Robert Jensen builds his case inexorably towards answering the biggest questions of our lives. Can we re-discover an equal society for humans? Can we live on this earth? We did once, and we can again. This is a book of hope.
—Steve Biddulph AM, author of The New Manhood
A special thank you to Robert Jensen for coming "On the Radar" with Sarah Opat at Lakeshore Public Radio 89.1 FM. This conversation was pre-recorded in the studio. Thank you to all listening ears.
Read more of Jensen's books here:
- The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men (Spinifex Press, 2017). A critique of the pathology of patriarchy that is at the core of today’s crises.
- Plain Radical: Living, Loving, and Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully (Counterpoint/Soft Skull, 2015). A “polemical memoir” that draws on Jensen’s long friendship with Jim Koplin. Kirkus Review called it “A heartfelt book about an inspiring model of wisdom, self-awareness, and thoughtful engagement with the world.” Michael King offers a thoughtful examination of the book in the Austin Chronicle.
- Arguing for Our Lives: A User’s Guide to Constructive Dialogue (City Lights, 2013). A primer on critical thinking in crisis times.
- We Are All Apocalyptic Now: On the Responsibilities of Teaching, Preaching, Reporting, Writing, and Speaking Out (MonkeyWrench Books/CreateSpace, 2013). Facing honestly the ecological crises.
- All My Bones Shake: Seeking a Progressive Path to the Prophetic Voice (Soft Skull Press, 2009). Reclaiming the radical message of religious traditions without supernatural claims. Because the book is not currently in stock, the publisher has given me permission to make a free PDF of the book available.
- Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity (South End Press, 2007). The importance of the feminist critique of pornography. Because South End Press has gone out of business and the book is out of print, I am making a free PDF of the book available.
- The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege (City Lights, 2005). Honest discussion of white supremacy and privilege in the contemporary United States.
- Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity (City Lights, 2004). Understanding the pathology of U.S. foreign policy.
- Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream (Peter Lang, 2001). Working within the mainstream media to articulate critical perspectives.
- Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality, co-authored with Gail Dines and Ann Russo (Routledge, 1998). Critiquing the pornography industry and our pornographic culture.
- Freeing the First Amendment: Critical Perspectives on Freedom of Expression, co-edited with David S. Allen (New York University Press, 1995). New approaches to free speech.
Find Jensen on all floating social media platforms:
Twitter: @jensenrobertw
Facebook: Robert Jensen
Jensen built a digital sand castle of wisdom (his website) rooted in radical feminism and successfully continues to raise awareness of how to end patriarchy and the war on pornography. Follow his projects and press releases here.
