Hello comrades, it’s time for our first discussion thread for The Will to Change! Please share your thoughts below on the first two sections of the book. There’s quite a lot to talk about between hooks’ discussion of masculinity discourse within feminist circles, the ways both men and women uphold patriarchy, and the near universal experience of men being forced to suppress their rich emotional worlds from a young age. I’ll be posting my thoughts in a little bit after I’m done with work.
If you haven’t read the book yet but would like to, its available free on the Internet Archive in text form, as well as an audiobook on Youtube with content warnings at the start of each chapter, courtesy of the Anarchist Audio Library, and as an audiobook on our very own TankieTube! (note: the YT version is missing the Preface but the Tankietube version has it) Let me know if you’d like to be added to the ping list!
Our next discussion will be on Chapters 2 (Understanding Patriarchy) and 3 (Being a Boy), beginning on 12/4.
Thanks to everyone who is or will be participating, I’m really looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts! 
A lot of what bell hooks talks about resonates with me, because of my left-wing views and my understanding of how systems like patriarchy shape us. Especially the idea that men are expected to be “strong” by holding back emotions, which made me reflect on my own upbringing.
personal stuff (cw trauma)
Growing up in a war, there was never really any room for me to cry or be emotional. I feel like this particular aspect of patriarchy didn’t hurt me as much emotionally because, by that point, so much had already been numbed in me by the trauma I experienced. Of course, I’ve felt patriarchy throughout my life, but I didn’t experience this specific aspect of it as strongly. It’s interesting to look at it through the lens of a more typical patriarchal upbringing, one where emotional suppression is more directly enforced.