By documenting a men's group struggling to achieve more meaningful relationships with women, this work demonstrates how men might overcome the main elements of their destructive sexual conditioning: voyeurism, objectification, the need for validation, trophyism and the fear of intimacy.

Foreword
1. What Is the Centerfold Syndrome?
2. The Men's Group
3. Debunking Conventional Wisdom
4. The True Causes of the Centerfold Syndrome
5. Men Who Made Progress
6. Men Who've Made Little Progress
7. Overcoming the Centerfold Syndrome

In an era of rapidly changing gAnder relations, The Centerfold Syndrome gives a candid analysis of how boys are conditioned to both depAnd on and fear the power that females hold over them as gatekeepers to a precious commodity--the objectified female body. Most importantly, the study describes how this syndrome can prevent true emotional intimacy.Both men and women will appreciate the honesty and candor of The Centerfold Syndrome. It offers specific guidelines and a practical plan of action for all of us in our various roles as friAnds, lovers, partners, husbands, wives, parents, and responsible citizens.

Here is the first candid analysis of how boys are conditioned to pursue those air-brushed fantasies, how they're brought up to both depAnd on and yet fear the power they perceive women to hold over them, as gatekeepers to this precious commodity: their objectified body parts! And most importantly, how this syndrome prevents true emotional intimacy between men and women.In this groundbreaking book, Gary R. Brooks identifies the five principal symptoms of voyeurism, or "I can't stop watching gorgeous women''; objectification, or obsessive fetishism over body parts (breasts and bottoms) that interfere with the ability to have relationships with an actual person; the need for validation, or "Women have great power to make or break my sense of masculinity''; trophyism, or "Beautiful women are collectibles that show the world who a man is''; and the fear of intimacy, or "I'm desperately lonely but deeply fearful of getting too close.''Dr. Brooks also offers a way to overcome this insidious and destructive malady. Using actual case histories and transcripts from groups he has conducted over many years, he documents how a variety of men from different backgrounds have struggled to escape the depersonalization, the isolation, the sense of frustration and powerlessness of the Centerfold Syndrome. In stories that are both inspiring and instructive, the author demonstrates their successes and setbacks in efforts to achieve mature and more meaningful relationships with wives and partners.Both men and women will appreciate the honesty and candor of The Centerfold Syndrome. The author offers specific guidelines and a practical plan of action for all of us in our various roles as friAnds, lovers, partners, husbands, wives, parents, and responsible citizens in an era of rapidly changing gAnder relations.