This text challenges both feminist orthodoxy and men's movement thinking to show how several important male writers have drawn creative strength from their identification with, even envy of, a positive image of the feminine. Writers covered include D.H. Lawrence and Cesare Pavese.

Williamson opposes the feminist argument that men cannot really empathize with female experience, as well as the men's movement's insistence that female identification is common but psychically dangerous. As he explores the psychic confusion, even torment, and ambivalence toward women that accompanied their mixed gender identification, Williamson honors the works and imaginative courage of such diverse writers as Rainer Maria Rilke, Randall Jarrell, D. H. Lawrence, and Cesare Pavese.