Please join us for a discussion of bestselling author Norah Vincent's Self-made Man: One Woman's Journey Into Manhood and Back Again.
Vincent, a former syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times, explores the world of the modern male as never before. After accepting a dare from a drag king friend, she dresses in a suit and disguises herself as a man. Vincent is entranced by the experience and wants to know more. Over the next 18 months, she creates a whole new identity as “Ned”. Ned allows Vincent to experience the world through a man’s perspective. He joins a bowling league, ventures strip clubs, dates women, works in a pressure-driven sales job and even moves into a monastery.
The main focus of Vincent’s account is the disconnected communication between men and women and how preconceived notions affect the way they interact. At the end of the experiment, Vincent reveals her true identity to her male compatriots and even the women she dated. Vincent’s frank portrayal of her experiences is often humorous and fascinating, evoking new discussions on gender roles.