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 But just as Terman's categories and questions seem outdated to us, so will our own standards seem temporary to our successors. |
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Page 199
Anderson wrote , in words reminiscent of Tocqueville a century earlier , man was
a member of a lost sex with no definite connection with the things with which he is
surrounded , no relations with the clothes he wears , the house he lives in .
Anderson wrote , in words reminiscent of Tocqueville a century earlier , man was
a member of a lost sex with no definite connection with the things with which he is
surrounded , no relations with the clothes he wears , the house he lives in .
Page 218
success a “ peritonitis of the soul , ” Odets wrote against the myth of abundance
and described instead the “ unmanning fiscal panic ” and the “ demoralized
resignation ” that came with the fact of scarcity . In Awake and Sing the playwright
...
success a “ peritonitis of the soul , ” Odets wrote against the myth of abundance
and described instead the “ unmanning fiscal panic ” and the “ demoralized
resignation ” that came with the fact of scarcity . In Awake and Sing the playwright
...
Page 400
See also Nathaniel Shaler , “ European Peasants as Immigrants , ” Atlantic
Monthly 71 , May 1893 , who wrote that the “ Negro has little or no more place in
the body politic than he has in the social system . ” Other social scientists joined
in ...
See also Nathaniel Shaler , “ European Peasants as Immigrants , ” Atlantic
Monthly 71 , May 1893 , who wrote that the “ Negro has little or no more place in
the body politic than he has in the social system . ” Other social scientists joined
in ...
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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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