Manhood in America: A Cultural HistoryFree Press, 1996 - 544 pages In 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 But just as Terman's categories and questions seem outdated to us, so will our own standards seem temporary to our successors.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 172
... economic stagna- tion and thwarted economic mobility , fraternal orders provided a symbolic arena in which men were moving up the ladder . At virtually every meeting someone was being initiated into the next , highest , level of the ...
... economic stagna- tion and thwarted economic mobility , fraternal orders provided a symbolic arena in which men were moving up the ladder . At virtually every meeting someone was being initiated into the next , highest , level of the ...
Page 192
... economy au- gured well for economic success . In their work and in their families , middle - class men entered the decade optimistically convinced that they could be successful breadwinners . But such reassurances soon gave way to a new ...
... economy au- gured well for economic success . In their work and in their families , middle - class men entered the decade optimistically convinced that they could be successful breadwinners . But such reassurances soon gave way to a new ...
Page 217
... economic hardship . " The roads became crowded with men raven- ous for work , murderous for work , " Steinbeck wrote in The Grapes of Wrath ( 1939 ) . " What's it coming to ? " asks Tom Joad . " Fella can't make a livin ' no more ...
... economic hardship . " The roads became crowded with men raven- ous for work , murderous for work , " Steinbeck wrote in The Grapes of Wrath ( 1939 ) . " What's it coming to ? " asks Tom Joad . " Fella can't make a livin ' no more ...
Contents
The Birth of the SelfMade Man | 13 |
SelfControl and Fantasies of Escape | 43 |
Captains of Industry White Collars | 81 |
Copyright | |
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