Advance praise and reviews for Challenging Casanova:
“An extremely important and provocative book that challenges the way we understand what it means to be male. Relying on interview and survey data, Smiler argues that we must move beyond our simplistic stereotypes of boys and men and recognize their humanity. A must read for those interested in what boys and men really want rather than what we think they want.”
—Niobe Way, Ph.D.
Professor of Applied Psychology, New York University
Past President of the Society for Research on Adolescence
Author of Deep Secrets
“We all ‘know’ that males are biologically hard-wired and propelled by evolution towards promiscuity. And it’s actually true of – get this! – less than five percent of males. In this careful, and empirically grounded book, Andrew Smiler methodically dismantles such facile explanations, and teases out the Casanova complex from the actual experiences of actual American men.”
—Michael Kimmel, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Sociology, SUNY Stony Brook
Author of THE GENDERED SOCIETY
“With remarkable precision, Andrew Smiler dismantles the theory that boys will be boys and replaces it with the reality that most adolescent males are complex, emotional, relational, and well on their way to becoming good men.”
–Christopher Kilmartin, Ph.D.
University of Mary Washington
Author of The Masculine Self
“Challenging Casanova pulls back the sheets on young men’s sexuality to reveal a stunning truth: our societal expectations of boys actually encourages sexual behaviors in young men that we’d like to see curbed. Ultimately, this book challenges us — as parents, teachers, and a society — to rethink our beliefs about boys and to use the tools Dr. Smiler provides for positively influencing the sexual lives of young men.”
–Will Courtenay, Ph.D., LCSW
“The Men’s Doc”
Author of Dying to Be Men
“This book is for anyone who has wondered about the harm caused by male stereotypes, particularly in regards to young men and sexuality. Well-researched, well-constructed and thoughtful, it is a surprising and fascinating look at what happens when society’s stereotypes about young Casanovas turn out to be wrong, and what we, together, can do about it.”
–Lisa Hickey
CEO, Good Men Media, Inc.
Publisher, The Good Men Project
“It’s refreshing to see a book about young men and sex that has actually done the legwork of asking the people involved what they are really thinking, because when it comes to young people and sex, that is a quality only rarely brought to the table. We need to step away from our assumptions about their lives and start involving them in the conversation. Smiler’s book is, I hope, only the opening salvo in bringing the authentic experience of real teens to the debates about them and their lives.”
–Dr Brooke Magnanti
The Telegraph
“Andrew Smiler helps us see the often unnoticed stereotypes that affect boys and men’s lives. Readers will learn about ways of being masculine that bring the most lasting satisfaction, for men and the women who love them.”
–Betsy Crane, Ph.D.
Professor, Center for Human Sexuality Studies, Widener University
“if you listen to popular culture, or canvass the opinions of the masses, then men like Shane Warne, Tiger Woods or Charlie Sheen aren’t deviant, sex-addicted outliers. They’re typical men, behaving how young men are expected to behave, as society winks to itself and sighs, ”Well, boys will be boys”. But hold on a second. What if this is not true?”
–Nick Miller
Sydney Morning Herald
Smiler’s “discussion for parents was helpful, and his awareness and concern for the harm we cause young men by reinforcing male stereotypes comes through clearly. I also appreciate his dividing men into different groups (Casanovas, emos, romantics, etc.) to sort male behavior into a few different temperaments, and I could not help but listen to his statistics with interest and compare myself to them. At the end, I was left encouraged that, according to Smiler’s statistics, there are many men who wanted to love someone and settle down.”
–Tony Rafetto
New Male Studies
“The book is grounded in research but nonetheless accessible and not exceedingly academic. It dares us to consider what might happen if we forgot everything we thought we knew about young men and began accepted the truth that they are largely interested in relationships, not endless one-night stands.”
–Tracy Clark-FLory
Salon
“Romantic young men who feel great affection for the women they bed still outnumber randy jocks, but they’ve been drowned out by a toxic cultural message.”
–Zosia Bielski
The Globe and Mail
“The Casanova Complex is rooted as much in sex negativity as it is in notions of sex as liberation. It posits that at its heart, male sexuality is a dark and dangerous force.”
–Rachel Hills
The Atlantic
“Young men today don’t have any less testosterone than did their dads, but when it comes to sex, they’re thinking and acting differently. Biology hasn’t changed, but boys have, and for the better. May they teach their parents well.”
–Hugo Schwyzer
Jezebel
“Andrew P. Smiler believes that most men are not the man whores that they are stereotyped to be.”
–Paul Hudson
Elite Daily
“It’s good that more experts are directly addressing that aspect of male behavior, particularly when it’s one that’s so widely generalized by men and women alike.”
–Samantha Escobar
The Gloss
“There is real opportunity for change just by busting the myth and redefining normal based on the real distribution of behaviors and attitudes.”
–Susan Walsh
Hooking Up Smart
“Research that exposes the folly of stereotypes tends to be a good thing, so hats off to Smiler.”
–Rebecca Kamm
New Zealand Herald
“We heard it again after the Patreaus affair: “All men really want is sex with as many women as possible, and that’s natural. It’s part of our evolution. After all, Boys will be boys.” The idea is as widespread as it is insulting and stereotypical.”
–John Stonestreet
The Point
