I started this book thinking it wouldn't change my opinions and that it couldn't sway me, but after reading the first chapter I realized that this was going to challenge me more than I thought. It was really informative and provided a good argument in favor of men. Or really it was a more empathetic approach to evaluating the system of patriarchy. People always say men are also victims of patriarchy and this book breaks down how that manifests in a man's individual, familial, platonic, and romantic life.

The book gave me the impression that bell hooks was asking women to forgive men (to a certain extent) because they don't have the self-awareness or the knowledge or motivation to challenge patriarchy without sacrificing their perceived idea of masculinity. bell hooks highlights in the book that patriarchy is a system and it works just as it is intended, but she was also saying (as it is the title of the book) that men have to have the will to change and that it is no one else's job but theirs to dismantle ti.