Manhood in America: A Cultural HistoryIn a time when psychologists are rediscovering Darwin, and much of our social behavioral is being reduced to ancient, hard-wired patterns, Michael Kimmel's history of manhood in America comes as a much needed reminder that our behavior as men and women is anything but stable and fixed. Kimmel's authoritative, entertaining, and wide-ranging history of men in America demonstrates that manhood has meant very different things in different eras. Drawing on advice books, magazines, political pamphlets, and popular novels and films, he makes two surprising claims: First, manhood is homosocial - that is, men need to prove themselves to each other, not to women. Second, definitions of manliness have evolved in response to women's movements. When women act, men react. Originally, manliness was an internal virtue and a democratic ideal - British men were viewed as fops, and American men had to be independent, honest, and responsible. By the 1890s, however, manhood changed to masculinity, something that had to be constantly proven through the new explosion of sports, fraternities, and fashion. Finally, in 1936, Lewis Terman, the creator of the IQ test, developed an "M-F" test to analyze adolescents' masculinity and femininity. Until well into the 1960s, the test penalized boys who preferred to draw flowers instead of forests, or who knew that a teacup was used for drinking tea. But just as Terman's categories and questions seem outdated to us, so will our own standards seem temporary to our successors. |
From inside the book
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Page 6
A history of manhood must , therefore , recount two histories : the history of the
changing “ ideal ” version of masculinity and the parallel and competing versions
that coexist with it . 8 It is this tension between the multiplicity of masculinities that
...
A history of manhood must , therefore , recount two histories : the history of the
changing “ ideal ” version of masculinity and the parallel and competing versions
that coexist with it . 8 It is this tension between the multiplicity of masculinities that
...
Page 472
This reliance on a static sex - role model of masculinity has come under
significant criticism since the mid - 1980s . Critics challenged the utility of a model
that posits the early childhood sorting of biological males and females into these
sex ...
This reliance on a static sex - role model of masculinity has come under
significant criticism since the mid - 1980s . Critics challenged the utility of a model
that posits the early childhood sorting of biological males and females into these
sex ...
Page 507
The Cult of Masculinity : American Social Character and the Legacy of the
Cowboy . ” In Beyond Patriarchy : Essays by Men on Pleasure , Power and
Change , M . Kaufman , ed . Toronto : Oxford University Press , 1987 . - , ed .
Changing Men ...
The Cult of Masculinity : American Social Character and the Legacy of the
Cowboy . ” In Beyond Patriarchy : Essays by Men on Pleasure , Power and
Change , M . Kaufman , ed . Toronto : Oxford University Press , 1987 . - , ed .
Changing Men ...
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MANHOOD IN AMERICA: A Cultural History
User Review - KirkusKimmel (Sociology/SUNY, Stony Brook) applies the methodology of feminist history to the experience of being male in America. Rejecting the idea that almost every history book is about the male ... Read full review
Manhood in America: a cultural history
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictKimmel, a noted men's studies authority, coeditor of Against the Tide (LJ 2/1/92), and editor of The Politics of Manhood, reviewed below, presents in his own words the first cultural history of men in ... Read full review
Contents
The Birth of the SelfMade Man | 13 |
SelfControl and Fantasies of Escape | 43 |
PART | 79 |
Copyright | |
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American argued Artisan become believed body bonding boys called century character child cited City Civil claimed course critic Culture David decades domestic early economic efforts equality example experience expression father fear feel feminine feminization fraternal frontier gender George girls hand hero Heroic homosexual ideal independent James John labor less liberation lives male man's manhood manly masculinity means men's moral mother movement nature never novel offered organization parents physical play political popular prove race responsibility Robert role seemed Self-Made sense sexual social society sons success thing tion traditional transformed turn University Press virtue western woman women workers writes wrote York young