Manhood in America: A Cultural HistoryOxford University Press, 2006 - 322 pages For more than three decades, the women's movement and its scholars have exhaustively studied women's complex history, roles, and struggles. In Manhood in America, Second Edition, author Michael S. Kimmel--a leading authority in gender studies--argues that it is time for men to rediscover their own evolution. Drawing on a myriad of sources, including advice books, magazine columns, political pamphlets, and popular novels and films, he demonstrates that American men have been eternally frustrated by their efforts to keep up with constantly changing standards. Kimmel contends that men must follow the lead of the women's movement; it is only by mining their past for its best qualities and worst excesses that men will free themselves from the constraints of the masculine ideal. Condensed and revised in this second edition, Manhood in America features updated chapters and examples that extend its coverage through the Bush administration. Touching on issues of masculinity as they pertain to current events, the book discusses such timely topics as post-9/11 politics, "self-made" masculinities (including those of Internet entrepreneurs), presidential campaigns, and gender politics. It also covers contemporary debates about fatherlessness, the biology of male aggression, and pop psychologists like John Gray and Dr. Laura. Outlining the various ways in which manhood has been constructed and portrayed in America, this engaging history is ideal as a main text for courses on masculinity or as a supplementary text for courses in gender studies and cultural history. |
From inside the book
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Page 2
... gender in shaping social life . By gender I mean the sets of cultural meanings and prescriptions that each culture attaches to one's biological sex . And these meanings become one of the poles around which our experiences revolve.2 3 ...
... gender in shaping social life . By gender I mean the sets of cultural meanings and prescriptions that each culture attaches to one's biological sex . And these meanings become one of the poles around which our experiences revolve.2 3 ...
Page 3
... gender do not refer only to the marginalized " others " ; they also describe me . Writing a history of men in America , I have placed gender in the center of my his- torical analysis . I argue that the quest for manhood - the effort to ...
... gender do not refer only to the marginalized " others " ; they also describe me . Writing a history of men in America , I have placed gender in the center of my his- torical analysis . I argue that the quest for manhood - the effort to ...
Page 240
... gender discrimination in schools . After all , what happens to boys in schools ? They have to sit quietly , take naps , raise their hands , be obedient — all of which do extraordinary violence to their “ natural ” testosterone ...
... gender discrimination in schools . After all , what happens to boys in schools ? They have to sit quietly , take naps , raise their hands , be obedient — all of which do extraordinary violence to their “ natural ” testosterone ...
Contents
The Birth of the SelfMade Man | 11 |
SelfControl and Fantasies of Escape | 30 |
Captains of Industry White Collars and | 57 |
Copyright | |
8 other sections not shown
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