|
"Thank you for Androphilia. I thought it brilliant, well-researched and well-written. I learned a great deal of useful information and found it refreshingly honest and inspiring as well. I wish that more gay-identified men were open-minded enough to actually read your work instead of responding to caricatures of what they think you've written. Thanks again for all the time and energy you've put into this work." - Christopher, Oakland, CA "I'm very fortunate to have run across this book recently. You are able to articulate ideas that have been simmering in the shadows of my head, and many other men, for years, but with a refreshing penchant for precision and refinement. Blinding traversing the gay community for the last five years, I've been at odds with my natural masculine character and the socially conditioned factory-issued 'gay' persona. Your writing has encouraged me to take my balls back and discover the man I've been burying alive. Thanks!" - Bobby, VA "Your book has singlehandedly changed my life. I'm only 24, but since coming out during my freshman year of college, I have - in only five years - become quickly disgusted by the social construct into which so many have tried to categorize me.
I'm not a hulking lumberjack or even much of a sportsman, but I appreciate masculinity and the attraction between two men. I have always had trouble finding a mate because even when I try to be tolerant of the clear attribute gay men adopt in that sense of being internally "girly" (even to the most minute degree), I can't help but be immediately turned off."
Thanks again.
- Eliot, NY
I read your book, finally. It combines deep insight, authenticity and the courage of being different. This book is, to my knowledge, one of the first signals that the gay community is finally in decline. We now hear that gay bars are no longer so useful. Each man who loves men can now find, freely, his own style, and remain a man. Thanks for writing it, and thanks for writing it at the right time. We needed it.
Write more! - Christopher, PA "I have felt like a lone wolf for a long time and reading your book was an eye opener that others like myself are out there, silently fighting in the trenches to break down the barriers that the “gay” community has built around itself. These days, the rare times I have to respond to assumptions based on my sexuality, it’s usually a case of a stereotype engendered and promoted by “gays” that I’m fighting against."
- Stephen, BC "This book was an amazing and liberating read for me. As one who, while not the most masculine guy in the world, is absolutely repulsed by much of the what "gay culture" has to offer, I thought that I was somehow a misfit. Your book was a revelation that there is nothing wrong with me, that I'm not some dysfunctional semi-fag, because I prefer regular bars, hate the whole "shaving" fad, don't particularly care about Liza Manelli, and don't allow every facet of my multi-nuanced being to be destroyed in the name of my sexuality.
Thank you for writing this book. Please keep writing. I look forward to seeing more."
- Adrian, TX "I finished the book in the most appropriate of places, a gay campground. Being surrounded by everything I hate really brought home the message in real time. When I finished the last page, the anger I felt was more intense than any I'd felt before. Anger at myself for jumping in head first and grabbing ahold of a sinking ship that would surely take me down with it. I fooled myself into believing that I'd maintained my masculinity and manhood through it all. That because I still had a deep voice and manly gait, I was somehow better than the rest of the queens. I won't bore you with the rest as you can imagine what I already know. I REMEMBER! I remember what it means to be a man. I remember what my father taught me through the alchohol induced slurs. I remember the honor of his word and dedication to family. The way he'd saved me from myself when I was a teenager because it was his responsibility."
- Tommy, GA "I recently purchased your book online, and I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. I was truly amazed and inspired. For a long time I've been disgusted with the whole Gay Community. I've been attracted to men for as long as I can remember, but I never had anything in common with gay guys. It's nice to see I'm not the only one. Thanks."
- William, CA
"Your book was brazen, visionary, insulting, riveting, boarish, captivating, charming and an excellent read. (May it sell like hotcakes.) [...] Thanks again for upsetting the apple cart."
- Gary, OR
"Androphilia, the book resonated with me from the start. From the statement that 'Gay is Dead', to the chapter, 'Toward A Masculine Ideal.' As a soldier I hold the 7 Army values to be true. Loyalty - Duty - Respect - Selfless Service - Honor - Integrity - Personal Courage, which makes up the acronym, LDRSHIP.
I have been waiting for someone like yourself, Mr. Malebranche to write a book like this, since my early twenties. Because I don't have the talent or the mind for such an endeavor, it would have to be left up to a better man than I.
Every chapter resonated with me, every page made me more excited for the next word, that would confirm everything I already held true. Androphilia validates my view point on homosexuality, as a man, including the essay: Agreements Between Men.
Thank you so much for this manifesto! This treasure that I will keep close to me, wherever the Army send me, Androphilia will be next to me and I value it, right along with the 7 Army values and the Warrior Ethos."
- William, USA "I can't thank you enough for putting out such a great book. Never before had I read a book on homosexuality that I could relate to. I'm not into any scene and have very few gay friends. I'd rather be at the gym, on my bike, or hanging with my buds. I never associated with the gay community or was interested in their agenda, pride parades, etc. Quite frankly, I find it exaggerated, and I feel embarrassment for them. I always wondered what in the hell was my issue. After reading your book, I found that there are others that feel exactly the same way I do...you can truly love men AND not subscribe to the 'gay' lifestyle. You rock, brother."
- Nick, Florida
"Thank you for your book. I am a young, single androphile in my 20's whose job has a lot to do with being in the public eye (I am an actor who has been in a number of very popular films). the gay community has made it almost impossible for someone like me to live an open life, because of the constant fear of having my entire being (not to mention everything I've worked for in my career) co-opted by people who would rather drag me into their politicized, socially fabricated world than work hard enough to cultivate the skills and sacrifice the things that I have.
I'm constantly frustrated by the inability to meet men who share my views on sexuality. Most of my friends are the straight buddies I've had since college, or straight male friends I've made since. In no sense of the word am I "gay", and it's a series of endless heated discussions in trying to explain that my rejection of gayness does not mean that I am in any way uncomfortable with who I am an an androphile.
I feel as though i could have written your book myself - that's how closely the sentiments resonate with nearly everything I have ever thought with regards to sexuality.
Thank you for all of your writings. "
- Anonymous, USA
"I just finished Androphilia the other day and I have to say it was one of the best reads I've experienced in a while. Being a staunch straight guy, I didn't think I would be able to enjoy the book, but after getting a few chapters in it started making me think and consider things and I agreed with everything you said...
To sum it all up, thanks for the great read, I know some men who could appreciate this book as much as I did and be encouraged to be great men as well."
- Paul, NC "I have never agreed with or understood a set of writings more thoroughly than I did Androphilia, it was as though I was reading my own thoughts. Every page , I kept saying aloud, "YES", and "EXACTLY"... I finally have a better idea of who I am, and what I need to be as well, you jump started my new way of life for me, so to speak."
- Kevin, CA "...I just picked up a copy of your book and being only fifty or so pages or so into it I am glad I did. At least half of the gay friends I have would really absorb this way of seeing there sexual attractions and benefit from it. I will be recommending this to anyone I care about who struggles with the less that fulfilling gay community. Thank you for standing up and being the first voice in what I hope will be a tidal wave of real, secure, men who love all things male."
- Victor, OR
Allow me just to say that I feel your book addresses an overdue and much needed gap in the book market. So few writers are brave enough to tackle some of the philosophical issues that you have written about and for this I feel I have to congratulate you. I read Androphilia and was very inspired by having my views validated to such a close degree by yours. I was impressed by your crisp writing style and effortless ability to express rather advanced concepts in such an accessible manner without becoming vague or resorting to hackneyed appeals from feminism. Do keep up the good work with this and do write more, your take on the issues that so many men like me feel are truly remarkable and, most importantly, pioneering. I hope that the next book percolating in your fine mind finds a conduit of expression soon to complement its brother—Androphilia the masterpiece.
- Marcus, Scotland
I just read your book after it finally arrived. I loved it and I was jealous that I didn't do what you did myself. You eloquently and clearly put to words what was stirring inside me during my own coming of age in the gay world.
At any rate, I wanted to pay my respects and wish you well in smacking down the leftist gay party nutballs with whom you presently deal. Thanks for writing the book.
- Brett, Chicago
I want to thank you and thank you and thank you for writing your book “Androphilia: A Manifesto.” I read profusely -- one room in my house is wall-to-wall books, and they have long spilled over into other rooms as well. However, it is extremely rare that I would buy a “gay book” and read it enthusiastically cover to cover.
You have skillfully articulated how I feel and how I have chosen to live my life. I went through a long period of development, first accepting a gay identity and then, years later, rejecting it for the same reasons as you. That does not make me straight. I am not. I simply do not live a “gay lifestyle” and do not relate well to those who do. “Gay is dead (or at least it’s dead to me).” I could not have said it better myself.
The things you say have long needed to be said, and they need to be read, appreciated, and put into practice. Your book should be distributed by every AIDS Service Organization, by every gay outreach group and community center, and by every national organization that truly has the best interests in mind of those whom it claims to represent.
The only caveat I would add is that by embracing our manhood -- our intrinsic masculinity -- and acting on it in a mature and responsible manner, we must be careful not to cultivate or encourage misogyny. We need to accept that women are intrinsically different from men, and the differences need to be respected and cherished as well by all.
Thanks again.
- Alan, South Carolina "I've been reading your book (about halfway through) and feel that I have to tell you how much I like it. You've done a great service for many of us who love playing sports (rugby and mixed martial arts for me) and have other traditionally hetero male interests but are also attracted to men. We are sick of having to justify being the men we are both to heteros and to gay men. Thanks for opening the door for us. "
- Dave, FL "I finished it last night, and found EVERY CHAPTER enriching, thoughtful, well-written, and satisfying -- even your views on marriage. Your written views have been the only ones I've been able to stomach, actually. That I got through it all without wincing was just a breath of
fresh air for me. " - Charles, San Francisco
"I just finished Androphilia and I wanted to thank you for having the courage & intelligence to put these thoughts down on paper. Like so many of the men who have responded to your book, you basically outlined the very ideas I've been tauting for years to my peers. I'm especially appreciative of how you've retooled language to identify the idea that "gay" is a cultural state and not an identity."
- Travis, CA "..I was quite astounded by your work on many levels. It was extremely well written, riveting, thought provoking, non-pretentious, inspiring even, and seemingly well-meaning. It *did* rouse the sedentary man deep down within me with every page turned, and trust me when I tell you that's saying a lot! Now having said that, personally I don't think I can fully subscribe to its general audacious supposition, as I'm a 38 year old jaded black gay with a whole lot of baggage which wouldn't allow for the kind of wherewithal that it would take to go full-on with respect to such a program, but bits and pieces I feel I'll keep with me and practice from here on out. *sigh* Man if only you'd caught me about ten years ago - and I say that to mean that your work will surely help any number of namely, "not a gay but not quite an andro" boys and young men who are completely put out with the gay community as I too have been for years..." - Louis Jackson "I stumbled upon your book at a Barnes & Noble, was hooked after reading just a few pages, so bought and read it. While I don't agree on every point, I agree on your main theses, and appreciate someone coming out to say/write it! Being a man attracted to other men doesn't mean automatic adoption or application of gay stereotypes." - Jay, UT
"The book was is mostly how I feel about being me - even most of my guy buds are straight or just plain men. I enjoy being a man and have had this feeling all my life it disgusted me when I went to the "gay side of town" to see what gay was supposed to be. I thought to myself this is not me, this is some cookie cutter life for mindless queens, and in any case I live my normal life and enjoy it. Many people tell me when they find out that I am gay "I didn't think you were gay." I live my life the way I want to I just wanted to stop by and give you praise and luck on your new book I hope it will open the eyes to a culture that has gone astray and inspire gay men to be who they really are and not how society wants then to be - weak and effeminate" - Joseph, TX "Jack Malebranche speaks to me with the voice of a much sought-after mentor. I concur with a previous comment, lamenting the fact that this voice was not around when I was first coming to grips with my desire. This book is a must-read for any self-identified gay man. Even if you vigorously disagree with Jack's thoughts and observations, it will speak to you. At a gut level, as a man first, I know he writes from a place of truth."
- Michael, WA
"I was on vacation last April in San Diego and while I was looking for some books at a Borders Bookstore I saw your book and the name attracted me at once.
After reading it back home, I live in Colombia, South America, I felt totally identified with most of its contents. You have expressed what it's on most gay men's minds but unfortunately the current social pressure of the "gay movement" makes gay men think that if you're gay "you have to" behave and think according to their dictum.
The interesting aspect here is that in most South American countries the "ideal" to be attained or copied by the local homosexual population is the American or European "gay movement" and this means that you see copies of the gay parades, the gay activists, the gay mentality, the gay culture in all these countries. The "gay clone" has acquired a different meaning.
Your manifesto is a very important ideological point of view and hopefully many men will take a critical stance towards the gay movement and somehow reclaim a different position in society for homosexual men.
And one more thing, expect many more attacks from all those gay "intellectuals" who are feeling very threatened by your revolutionary ideas. "
- Juan, Colombia
"In Androphilia: A Manifesto, Mr. Malebranche has given a name, a structure, and a direction to a pivotal sentiment occurring increasingly amongst homosexual and bisexual men of a certain bent. Malebranche has given the iron fist to the orthodox gay movement and its radical liberalism, knee-jerk activism, and anti-male ideology, and given voice to countless men who are more "Fight Club" than "Will & Grace."
One of the challenges of Androphilia is to do some honest self-evaluation, and to align oneself appropriately. Men who love other men have little if nothing in common with lesbians, transvestites, transsexuals, and all of the other "under-dogs" that are huddled under the ever-growing GLBTQ umbrella. We are encouraged to seek out examples of exemplary manhood in the men in our lives and to build ourselves up as men of honor and integrity.
Every other gay-self-help book, coming out book, and relationship-how-to-for-gays is rendered impotent in these one hundred and forty-three pages. I only wish that I'd had this book in my hands when I was 15 or 16 and coming to grips with my own inclinations.
I look forward to the day when I can buy this man a beer!"
- Justin, TX
"If, as a homosexual man, you have ever vocalized any preference for either masculinity or any stereotypically masculine pursuit, only to be swamped by cries of `internalised homophobia' and claims that you're `not being true to yourself', then this is the book for you.
Mr. Malebranche lays forth his manifesto in a succinct, `straight-shooting' style more akin to sports writing or detective fiction than a sociology text, starting with the simple concept that basing your whole identity around your sexuality and thereby confining yourself to a subculture the idolizes femininity rather than masculinity is extremely limiting and unsatisfying for men.
Whilst those who revel in victimhood will view it as an attack, the first section of the book simply states the idea that gay culture is redundant and thereby unnecessary for many homosexual men, who are expected to compromise their ideals and affect effeminate behaviour for social acceptance, (based on unproven pop psychology concepts such as gay men being innately and / or biologically different to straight men, or that flaunting your sexuality in an over-the-top, in-your-face manner is the only valid way you can be completely comfortable with your own homosexuality). Commonly-held beliefs are explored and the logic of each is questioned.
The book quickly moves onto an exploration of masculinity and how societies through history have shaped ideas of what men admire and preferred to see in other men. Traditionally-venerated masculine concepts of discipline, honour, self-restraint, self-reliance, nobility and bravery were passed on from men because they were found to be of worth. The author suggests that a deeper understanding of these traditions could be used by homosexual men to give their life structure, discipline and a sense of reward, that the gay community can't offer, since it sells the idolization of youth, lack of boundaries and self-destructive behaviour as the norm, and dismisses masculinity as only exaggerated cartoons of excessive masculinity.
The rest of the book is a call for men to question what they've been taught by gay dogma, re-examine their lives and to step outside their comfort zones and actually explore those ideals and areas of masculinity they've been conditioned to think are closed off to them. Forcing yourself into unfamiliar territory opens you up to new experiences and how you meet those challenges is how you grow as a human being. Seeking Real Achievement in life is a key concept here, with the aim of creating a different ideal of homosexual man.
So you couldn't throw a ball as a kid. Do you believe the myth that `gays are bad at sports' and simply not try ever again? Re-evaluate free of cultural expectations and make a decision as an adult. Sure, you may not be into team sports, but maybe rock climbing turns out to be a fun pastime. Motor sports might still bore you, but fishing might be more your thing.
Learn to interact with straight men via the common ground of your masculinity, and to see them as the real men they are, other than simplified cartoons, or simple `forbidden fruit' sex fantasies. Form stronger friendships, and deeper relationships
Since I received the review copy of the work months ago, I've put this section of the book into action and have been out there and trying new experiences. Like any unfamiliar task, there's a short period of awkwardness that eventually turns into competence. If I fumble a ball the first few throws, do I decide it's too hard and give up, or do I keep doing it, get better, and eventually realize it's no big deal?
Most importantly, I've been having a lot of fun, being amazed at what I'm actually capable of, confirming masculinity isn't some frightening `other', and experiencing the deeper rewards of male camaraderie and respect from men who know of my male preference, but take me seriously as a man due to the fact that I don't rub it in their faces constantly and aren't afraid to get my hands dirty and pitch in. That's far more rewarding for my own self-image than 1000 Gay Pride Parades.
Do you really think so little of yourself you'd rather live in fear of changing your own oil?
This book opens up a whole new field of potential Androphilia Studies, and gives me hope that one day that being sexually attracted to the characteristics of masculinity that make men `men', and therefore attracted to the men who embody them, will be seen as the completely logical train of thought that it is, rather than some betrayal of someone else's idea of what a homosexual man should be attracted to." Mr. Knight - Australia
|
