The Centerfold Syndrome: How Men Can Overcome Objectification and Achieve Intimacy with Women (JOSSEY BASS SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE SERIES) - Hardcover

Brooks, Gary R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787901040 ISBN 13: 9780787901042

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 1995

Synopsis

This candid analysis shows how boys are brought up to both depAnd on and yet fear the perceived power they think women hold over them and, most importantly, how this prevents true emotional intimacy between men and women. Learn from their inspiring and instructive stories.

About this title

About the Author

GARY R. BROOKS, Ph.D., is an associate professor in psychiatry and behavioral science with the Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center, adjunct faculty member at Baylor University, and instructor of men's studies with Texas Women's University. He is also the assistant chief of psychology service at the O. E. Teague Veteran's Center, Temple, Texas.

From the Back Cover

In an era of rapidly changing gAnder relations, The Centerfold Syndrome gives a candid analysis of how boys are conditioned to both depAnd on and fear the power that females hold over them as gatekeepers to a precious commodity--the objectified female body. Most importantly, the study describes how this syndrome can prevent true emotional intimacy.Both men and women will appreciate the honesty and candor of The Centerfold Syndrome. It offers specific guidelines and a practical plan of action for all of us in our various roles as friAnds, lovers, partners, husbands, wives, parents, and responsible citizens.

From the Inside Flap

Here is the first candid analysis of how boys are conditioned to pursue those air-brushed fantasies, how they're brought up to both depAnd on and yet fear the power they perceive women to hold over them, as gatekeepers to this precious commodity: their objectified body parts! And most importantly, how this syndrome prevents true emotional intimacy between men and women.In this groundbreaking book, Gary R. Brooks identifies the five principal symptoms of voyeurism, or "I can't stop watching gorgeous women''; objectification, or obsessive fetishism over body parts (breasts and bottoms) that interfere with the ability to have relationships with an actual person; the need for validation, or "Women have great power to make or break my sense of masculinity''; trophyism, or "Beautiful women are collectibles that show the world who a man is''; and the fear of intimacy, or "I'm desperately lonely but deeply fearful of getting too close.''Dr. Brooks also offers a way to overcome this insidious and destructive malady. Using actual case histories and transcripts from groups he has conducted over many years, he documents how a variety of men from different backgrounds have struggled to escape the depersonalization, the isolation, the sense of frustration and powerlessness of the Centerfold Syndrome. In stories that are both inspiring and instructive, the author demonstrates their successes and setbacks in efforts to achieve mature and more meaningful relationships with wives and partners.Both men and women will appreciate the honesty and candor of The Centerfold Syndrome. The author offers specific guidelines and a practical plan of action for all of us in our various roles as friAnds, lovers, partners, husbands, wives, parents, and responsible citizens in an era of rapidly changing gAnder relations.

Reviews

Brooks's (Texas A&M, psychology) supposition is that men have been given the Penthouse and Playboy centerfolds as a cultural idea of the perfect woman to seek out. Unfortunately, the icon does not usually live up to reality, and the discrepancy can prevent mature male/female interpersonal relations and intimacy. The centerfold syndrome, indoctrinated sometimes subtly, depersonalizes women, perpetuates anatomical falsities, and creates idealized and unreal fantasies about sex and sexuality; in short, it makes women objects of conquest, not people to interact with. The elements of this syndrome include (1) voyeurism (omnipresent images of naked and near-naked women), (2) objectification (women become objects to be observed), (3) need for validation through sexual conquest, (4) trophyism (women's bodies as trophies to be "collected"), and (5) fear of intimacy (insensitivity to emotional needs and issues). Brooks presents discussion in one of his men's groups as an example of the syndrome, goes on to debunk conventional wisdom, then provides some dozen modi operandi for overcoming it (to create harmony in one's sensual, sexual, social, spiritual, and emotional self). Appropriate and recommended for the men's self-help section of public libraries and psychology collections in community and senior college libraries.?Scott Johnson, Meridian Community Coll. Lib., Miss.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0787901040
• ISBN 13: 9780787901042
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272