Writing Strong Man

On my Go Fund Me page you will find a photograph of me when I was 10 years old, cross dressing, rebelling in my own way against the strait jacket of gender.  I've included this photo in a book I'm writing called Strong Man, which argues that the distorted and distorting way we conceive of gender is a crucial key to understanding the major crises we are facing in the world today. 

Telling stories about the way that gender is shaped and enforced through violence against women,including harassment and molestation,  and the bullying of boys, Strong Man yields new insights about how the requirements of "masculinity" and "femininity" contribute to authoritarianism and dishonesty, warfare, nuclear weapons, racism, the denial of climate change, and the decline of democracy.

While addressing many of the critical issues of our time and influencing movements for change, my work has won many awards including a Guggenheim Foundation Award, an Emmy, a NEA grant, the Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement, and my book about nuclear weapons and the private life, A Chorus of Stones, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. 

Since at the present moment our planet, our democracy, and our lives are under threat, I am currently raising funds to provide the support I need to complete Strong Man by the end of this year, and I am aiming for online publication of excerpts before the mid-term elections.

I am deeply grateful for any contribution you can make and for sharing this appeal. 

Susan Griffin, 2018