Not all little boys want to grow up to be like their dads. The shy ones, the sensitive ones, the ones people mock as strange or call queer, sometimes want to grow up and be loved by men who stand in for their fathers. They'll put up with bullying from an older brother, taunts from the gym teacher, long work hours from a boss, and even discipline from a gay daddy, all as a means to discover what kind of man they truly want to be. In this poignant and provocative memoir, Steve Majors takes us on a journey of his own self-discovery as he grows from a gay boy in search of a father figure to a gay man grappling with what it means to be a father himself. In doing so, Majors creates various snapshots of time in which his - and the world's - understanding of what it means to be a gay man changes.
Steve Majors is the author of High Yella: A Modern Family Memoir. His writings have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, CNN Opinion, NBC Think, and elsewhere. He currently serves as chief of external affairs at Teach For America, where he leads work at the intersection of education and equity.
Part I. Boyhood Father Figure Pops This Old Man Manly Men Boyfriends Married Men Part II. Brotherhood Black Sheep Son Evil Stepbrother Bad Boys Dangerous Men Part III. Bachelorhood Faggoty Men Coach Our Father Gay Best Friend Part IV. Singlehood Manny Straight Boys Dirty Old Man Man About Town Gay Bros Part V. Adulthood Golden Boy He Men Daddy's Boy Part VI. Fatherhood Da Da Da Poppy My Gay Dads Modern Dad Playground Dad Black Dad Bad Dad Girl Dad Adoptive Dad Part VII. Manhood Baby Daddy Dead Man Father-in-Law Son-in-Law A Good Father Papi Dog Dad Bio Dad My Father's Dad
"With moving, honest, and incisive prose, Majors unravels his lifelong search for father figures, family, and allies, as he comes of age as a gay, Gen X, multiracial Black man - and eventually becomes a father himself - in a wounded and closeted world." - Anne Liu Kellor, author of Heart Radical: A Search for Language, Love, and Belonging "A quest of self-discovery told with aching tenderness and layered insights, Majors's Man Made captivates while providing context for a rethink of one's own notions of maleness." - Jeffrey Dale Lofton, author of Red Clay Suzie "An honest look at trying and failing and yearning and learning and sometimes succeeding to carve out one' s own shifting gay identity amid the storm of toxic masculinity we all must wade through since birth. These vividly rendered snapshots of childhood and family and lush encounters with a variety of men, though brief, are impactful. Majors is an incredibly wise, artful storyteller, and Man Made is a generous offering." - Christopher Gonzalez, author of I'm Not Hungry but I Could Eat "Much more than a 'memoir in essays,' Man Made takes us along the arc of Majors's life with candor, poignancy, and at times piercing wisdom. Its meditations on gayness, masculinity norms, parenting, and racial identity are deeply resonant with our times, and there were moments when, as a gay man, I found the book all too relatable. Majors's prose flies off the page and pierces the heart." - Michael Sadowski, author of Men I've Never Been
