Description
As the cultural conversation around race, gender, and sexuality has evolved, straight, white men are becoming increasingly aware of their privilege. But many may be left thinking, “OK, what am I supposed to do about it?” “We need a way forward beyond feelings of guilt, overwhelmingness, anger, and denial.” “We are looking for transformative guidance that helps us be the good guys we want to be.”
Straight, white, male pastor Chris Furr offers a guide to deconstructing that privilege in Straight White Male. With an emphasis on confession and redemption, Furr invites other privileged men to reconsider the ways they live, work, believe, and interact with others. Alongside Furr’s perspective, essays from contributing writers who lack various types of privilege—straight, Black man William J. Barber II, straight, white woman Melissa Florer-Bixler, queer, nonbinary latinx Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, and gay, white man Matthias Roberts—offer insights on how particular types and combinations of privilege (and the lack thereof) shape the way we move through the world. Their combined voices offer much-needed perspective through this deconstruction and provide a vision for how straight, white men can do better for ourselves, our families, and society.
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Product Excerpts and Related Resources
Reviews
“Furr's words are not for the faint of heart. Though not intentionally provocative, they will provoke you in the greatest sense, nonetheless. His candor and conviction will challenge your assumptions, test the story you tell yourself, and challenge you to live with more attention and intention. He reminds us that faith calls us to do the difficult but necessary work of confronting privilege both in the world—and in the mirror.”
-John Pavlovitz, author of If God is Love, Don't Be a Jerk
“From the start, Straight White Male gets right to the heart of the problems we face when we elevate patriarchal structures. His use of scripture and stories made his deconstruction (and reconstruction) personal and empowering.”
-Brian Anderson, co-founder and executive director, Fathering Together
"This graceful book offers a wise pastoral path toward the intentional deconstruction of straight-white-maleness, understood by Furr as a social construction that delivers privilege to some and harm to all, and as fundamentally contrary to the Gospel proclaimed and embodied by Jesus Christ. The book is deeply enriched by generous and illuminating contributions from Roberts, Barber, Florer-Bixler, and Henderson-Espinosa. Highly recommended."
-David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University
“In Straight White Male Furr and contributors incisively and powerfully remind us that, just because we didn’t create the system, it doesn’t mean we don’t benefit from it. This call to straight white men to recognize and deconstruct our privilege is both urgent and desperately needed. This book is a must read!”
-Josh Scott, lead pastor, GracePointe Church, Nashville, Tennessee
“Straight White Male couldn't come at a better time. With words permeated with humility and honesty, Furr takes aim at the social forces plaguing American Christianity. If you are a straight white dude like me, this thoughtful book needs to be in your hands. It needs to be read and absorbed so we can do better and seek the transformation Furr powerfully articulates in these pages."
-Billy Kilgore, writer, pastor, and stay-at-home dad
"I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to engage the questions of power, privilege, oppression, and justice in a relational and non-linear manner. Its very style invites us to move beyond opressive debate tactics, while noticing the very real way our social conditioning sets us up for we-they, us-them binaries in so many arenas. It is also refreshing how Furr uses scripture not to footnote or prooftext, but as yet another launching pad for exploration and emancipation. Add this to your book shelf, or better yet, put it in your office or living room where you and others will have ready access." - Anglican Theological Review