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 But just as Terman's categories and questions seem outdated to us, so will our own standards seem temporary to our successors.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
... fraternal lodges nationwide.44 At a time of 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 ...
... fraternal lodges nationwide.44 At a time of 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 ...
Page 173
... fraternal order . " 46 Fraternal orders attempted to create a domestic sanctuary outside the home - a place where men might experience fellowship and inti- macy without the feminizing influence of women . The fraternal order was the ...
... fraternal order . " 46 Fraternal orders attempted to create a domestic sanctuary outside the home - a place where men might experience fellowship and inti- macy without the feminizing influence of women . The fraternal order was the ...
Page 174
... fraternal members were framing their identities . Thus did middle - class , white - collar men proclaim their ... fraternal orders , wrote suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage , was “ to set one sex against another . " 51 Some of them ...
... fraternal members were framing their identities . Thus did middle - class , white - collar men proclaim their ... fraternal orders , wrote suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage , was “ to set one sex against another . " 51 Some of them ...
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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