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 present 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 30
... seemed possible : Stay and compete , or try to escape . American men chose both . They struggled to build themselves into powerful , imper- vious machines , capable of victory in any competition . And they ran away to the frontier , to ...
... seemed possible : Stay and compete , or try to escape . American men chose both . They struggled to build themselves into powerful , imper- vious machines , capable of victory in any competition . And they ran away to the frontier , to ...
Page 131
... seemed to promise . The chief problem seemed to be women , both at work and at home , as coworker , as mother , and as symbol . Everywhere men looked , there were women . Work itself was seen as increasingly feminized , with more women ...
... seemed to promise . The chief problem seemed to be women , both at work and at home , as coworker , as mother , and as symbol . Everywhere men looked , there were women . Work itself was seen as increasingly feminized , with more women ...
Page 173
... seemed to me that men weren't really the enemy - they were fellow victims , suffering from an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily inadequate when there were no bears to kill . -Betty Friedan The Feminine ...
... seemed to me that men weren't really the enemy - they were fellow victims , suffering from an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily inadequate when there were no bears to kill . -Betty Friedan The Feminine ...
Contents
The Birth of the SelfMade Man | 11 |
SelfControl and Fantasies of Escape | 30 |
Captains of Industry White Collars and | 57 |
Copyright | |
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