Self-Made Man

In this immersive nonfiction work, journalist Norah Vincent chronicles her eighteen-month experiment of living as a man. Adopting the identity of Ned, she navigates the social, professional, and physical expectations of masculinity to understand the male experience from the inside. The narrative follows her infiltration of various male-dominated spaces, including a bowling league, a high-pressure sales job, and a monastery, as well as her participation in men's therapy groups and dating scenes.

Vincent's writing blends the observational rigor of sociological inquiry with the personal vulnerability of a memoir. The tone is provocative yet sympathetic, aiming to dismantle stereotypes by revealing the complexities and contradictions of male behavior when women are absent. By drawing parallels to John Howard Griffin's work on racial identity, the book positions itself within a tradition of transformative journalism that uses personal disguise to expose systemic social dynamics. It is a study of performance, identity, and the constructed nature of gender roles, presented with a mix of humor and serious psychological insight.

Description adapted from Open Library ↗.