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 But just as Terman's categories and questions seem outdated to us, so will our own standards seem temporary to our successors.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 161
Parents debated the question in the letters column of the Sears, Roebuck catalog
and eventually flipped over to the present color arrangement. But as late as 1939
the debate continued, as "What Color for Your Baby?," an article in Parents ...
Parents debated the question in the letters column of the Sears, Roebuck catalog
and eventually flipped over to the present color arrangement. But as late as 1939
the debate continued, as "What Color for Your Baby?," an article in Parents ...
Page 202
30 In the 1920s and 1930s many writers attempted to resolve parental anxieties
by discouraging women from working outside the home and encouraging men to
participate in domestic life. For example, some states passed laws that required ...
30 In the 1920s and 1930s many writers attempted to resolve parental anxieties
by discouraging women from working outside the home and encouraging men to
participate in domestic life. For example, some states passed laws that required ...
Page 203
not for any intrinsic pleasures or important experience of the parents themselves.
So while Watson promised mothers directly that they, too, could raise bankers,
artists, merchants, if they set their minds to it, his interest was in the children's ...
not for any intrinsic pleasures or important experience of the parents themselves.
So while Watson promised mothers directly that they, too, could raise bankers,
artists, merchants, if they set their minds to it, his interest was in the children's ...
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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 |
Captains of Industry White Collars | 81 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown
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