An exploration of the challenged state of masculinity in our post-feminist society of gender equality.

As we reach the millennium, there is hardly anything to be done that cannot be done by women - where does this leave men? Have men been pushed out of parenting - even of procreation? The brute strength of the male is no longer necessary to mine coal or build ships - or even make war. Men don''t have to "provide" for their families, as more women harness their intelligence and generate their own incomes. Is it surprising that male suicides outnumber female by a factor of 3 or 4 to 1, or that the predilection of males to be violent - once seen as a source of pride - now seems to threaten our very culture and civilisation? Is what Clare calls the "phallic man" - assertive, authoritative, dominant, in control not only of himself but of women - dying out?

As a practising psychiatrist, Anthony Clare brings a knowledge of science and medicine plus a deep understanding of the human heart and mind to this lively, readable, fair-handed and above all sympathetic examination of the male in today''s society.