In early-twentieth-century motion picture houses, offensive stereotypes of African Americans were as predictable as they were prevalent. Watermelon eating, chicken thievery, savages with uncontrollable appetites, Sambo and Zip Coon were all representations associated with African American people. Most of these caricatures were rendered by whites in blackface.

Few people realize that from 1915 through 1929 a number of African American film directors worked diligently to counter such racist definitions of black manhood found in films like D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, the 1915 epic that glorified the Ku Klux Klan. In the wake of the film's phenomenal success, African American filmmakers sought to defend and redefine black manhood through motion pictures.

Gerald Butters's comprehensive study of the African American cinematic vision in silent film concentrates on works largely ignored by most contemporary film scholars: African American-produced and -directed films and white independent productions of all-black features. Using these "race movies" to explore the construction of masculine identity and the use of race in popular culture, he separates cinematic myth from historical reality: the myth of the Euro American-controlled cinematic portrayal of black men versus the actual black male experience.

Through intense archival research, Butters reconstructs many lost films, expanding the discussion of race and representation beyond the debate about "good" and "bad" imagery to explore the construction of masculine identity and the use of race as device in the context of Western popular culture. He particularly examines the filmmaking of Oscar Micheaux, the most prolific and controversial of all African American silent film directors and creator of the recently rediscovered Within Our Gates-the legendary film that exposed a virtual litany of white abuses toward blacks.

"Black Manhood on the Silent Screen" is unique in that it takes contemporary and original film theory, applies it to the distinctive body of African American independent films in the silent era, and relates the meaning of these films to larger political, social, and intellectual events in American society. By showing how both white and black men have defined their own sense of manhood through cinema, it examines the intersection of race and gender in the movies and offers a deft interweaving of film theory, American history, and film history.

Increasing numbers of people in our culture, particularly middle-aged men, are finding that the things they worked for over the past two decades are simply not providing the fulfillment they originally expected from them. We are coming to realize that our homes, vehicles, jobs and possessions are not sufficient to stave off the crisis of meaning many of us find when life does not meet our expectations. Sojourn reminds us that life is often messy--complex and full of fear--just as it should be. Learning from the few wild places still available to us in our culture can provide us with the realization that a weighty life is a life on its way to an important integration of body, soul, heart, and spirit.

Izikhothane―township youth from impoverished backgrounds who engage in mock battles of conspicuous consumption where luxury items are often destroyed―gained notoriety in South Africa in the early 2000s.

Sifiso Mnisi delves into the life of the izikhothane, providing an in-depth account of what it means to be a young man within the ukukhothana (Zulu slang for “boasting”) subculture and showing how their seemingly destructive behavior can be a complex way of asserting their masculinity and demanding recognition in a society that has historically dehumanized them.

Deco dandy contests the supposedly exclusive feminine aspect of the style moderne (art deco) by exploring how alternative, parallel and overlapping experiences of decorative modernism, nationalism, gender and sexuality in the years surrounding World War I converge in the protean figure of the 'deco dandy'. The book suggests a broader view of art deco by claiming a greater place for the male body, masculinity and the dandy in this history than has been given to date. Important and productive moments in the history of the cultural life of Paris presented in the book provide insights into the changing role performed by consumerism, masculinity, design history and national identity. -- .

This book provides a much-needed evaluation of the history of men's fashion advertising in the first half of the twentieth century. Arguably, modernism provided the most visually arresting and playful poster and press advertising campaigns ever launched. Undoubtedly one of the most fecund and complex periods in the history of menswear promotion, the period saw vast sums of money spent on advertising men's clothing by the likes of Austin Reed, the Fifty Shilling Tailors, Simpson and Barratt shoes. Replete with confident head-turners, many posters of the period featured dandies knowingly offering up their bodies for the delectation of women - an irony made doubly rich by the fact that these images were consumed almost exclusively by men. As Jobling expertly shows, the erotic charge in evidence in the representation of the buff gymnos in Calvin Klein's 80's campaigns had much earlier antecedents. There was, surprisingly, a pronounced fetishistic aspect coupled with sexual ambiguity in publicity for underwear in the interwar period. Looking well beyond issues of representation to broader socio-economic contexts in this deeply researched and original study, Jobling addresses an exciting range of discourses relating to professionalization, modernity, mass-communication and marketing, display and consumer psychology.

An examination of the meanings and experiences of six young African-American men. The study seeks to expand our understanding of the complexities of the lives of African-American men and simultaneously challenge seemingly unidimensional images of black men.

These essays add a unique perspective to studies that reconstruct the identity of manhood in early modern Europe, including France, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany. The authors examine the ways in which sixteenth- and seventeenth-century authorities, both secular and religious, labored to turn boys and men into the Christian males they desired. Topics include disparities among gender paradigms that early modern models prescribed and the tension between the patriarchal model and the civic duties that men were expected to fulfill. Essays about Martin Luther, a prolific self-witness, look into the marriage relationship with its expected and actual gender roles. Contributors to this volume are Scott H. Hendrix, Susan C. Karant-Nunn, Raymond A. Mentzer, Allyson M. Poska, Helmut Puff, Karen E. Spierling, Ulrike Strasser, B. Ann Tlusty, and Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks.

With limited resources to contextualize masculinity in colonial Mexico, film, literature, and social history perpetuate the stereotype associating Mexican men with machismo--defined as excessive virility that is accompanied by bravado and explosions of violence. While scholars studying men's gender identities in the colonial period have used Inquisition documents to explore their subject, these documents are inherently limiting given that the men described in them were considered to be criminals or otherwise marginal. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century resources, too, provide a limited perspective on machismo in the colonial period. The Origins of Macho addresses this deficiency by basing its study of colonial Mexican masculinity on the experiences of mainstream men. Lipsett-Rivera traces the genesis of the Mexican macho by looking at daily interactions between Mexican men in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In doing so she establishes an important foundation for gender studies in Mexico and Latin America and makes a significant contribution to the larger field of masculinity studies.

While dance has always been as demanding as contact sports, intuitive boundaries distinguish the two forms of performance for men. Dance is often regarded as a feminine activity, and men who dance are frequently stereotyped as suspect, gay, or somehow unnatural. But what really happens when men dance?
When Men Dance offers a progressive vision that boldly articulates double-standards in gender construction within dance and brings hidden histories to light in a globalized debate. A first of its kind, this trenchant look at the stereotypes and realities of male dancing brings together contributions from leading and rising scholars of dance from around the world to explore what happens when men dance. The dancing male body emerges in its many contexts, from the ballet, modern, and popular dance worlds to stages in Georgian and Victorian England, Weimar Germany, India and the Middle East. The men who dance and those who analyze them tell stories that will be both familiar and surprising for insiders and outsiders alike.

A man's image is one of his most alluring characteristics. In Restoring the Male Image.A Look From the Inside Out, Ellis aims to restore the pride of men looking back to the Harlem Renaissance Era when men dressed with a sense of purpose and dignity. A man's image is defined by the blend of character, style, and sophistication. It is his heart, his purpose and God-given authority that most accurately reflects his true self. Ellis introduces the reader to a powerful acronym by exploring a series of qualities to help men identify and understand their IMAGE: I=Integrity; M=Manhood; A=Authority; G=Generosity; E= Excellence. This book will provoke men to take a deeper look both inside and out and determine whether what they convey is a reflection of their authentic self. Restoring the Male Image will challenge men to arise and confidently dress for their appointment with destiny! Alexis Ellis is driven to impact image in our society. Ellis holds a Masters in Theology, with a concentration in Urban Ministry from New Brunswick Theological Seminary as well as a M.S. Degree in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University. Hailing from New Jersey, he serves as a mentor for the "Boys to Men" Program, and is a Chaplain for the New Brunswick Fire Department. Ellis also serves as the Assistant to Bishop George C. Searight of Abundant Life Family Worship Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey and is the Special Events Coordinator. Ellis is CEO of Simply Ellis LLC, a custom clothing company specializing in suits, shirts, neckwear, and cuff links. He is a member of The Berkeley College Fashion Advisory Board, The Custom Tailors and Designers Association of America, 100 Black Men ofAmerica, and National Urban League Young Professionals. Also visit www.simplyellis.com.

Depression in men often goes undiagnosed or improperly treated because of unique qualities that make it different from depression in women. In this volume, Dr. Kantor explains that depression in men is not strictly the product of major life events; it also regularly appears in response to minor troubling issues that often go entirely overlooked by others or, if recognized at all, are downplayed. In this jargon-free text, Kantor explains how many men are able to navigate the big stresses successfully only to succumb to the little ones. And he challenges the current widespread tendency now viewing depression in men as a strictly biological event to be treated first and foremost with pharmaceuticals. Psychiatrist Martin Kantor takes us into his treatment rooms and daily experience to show the signs and causes of depression in men, and how they do not display the disorder most often in the way we typically associate with depression. Many men who feel depressed deny it by shifting into hypomania. Trying to hide, reject or downplay the feeling, they may become excessively elated, have a decreased need for sleep, find their thoughts racing and their sexual desire fueled out of control. Where there was, initially with depression, a withdrawal and a desire to weep, then enters attention-seeking behavior, clowning and flighty energy, explains Kantor. That makes the depression far more difficult for laypeople and professionals-even for the men themselves-to recognize and deal with. That is unfortunate because a small amount of medical attention and personal affection can work wonders, rechanneling the man into a life of happiness he might never have known, and a level of achievement he might never othewise have attained, says Kantor Long thought to be a feminine disorder connected to hormones and the premenstrual syndrome, depression actually strikes millions of men each year. With absorbing vignettes, and insights into a faulty culture that urges men to always have a stiff upper lip and shun medical attention, Dr. Kantor shows the unique ways in which depression is very much a men's disorder. And he helps us understand what we can do to treat it, to help ourselves and the men we care about recover.

A man's image is one of his most alluring characteristics. In Restoring the Male Image.A Look From the Inside Out, Ellis aims to restore the pride of men looking back to the Harlem Renaissance Era when men dressed with a sense of purpose and dignity. A man's image is defined by the blend of character, style, and sophistication. It is his heart, his purpose and God-given authority that most accurately reflects his true self. Ellis introduces the reader to a powerful acronym by exploring a series of qualities to help men identify and understand their IMAGE: I=Integrity; M=Manhood; A=Authority; G=Generosity; E= Excellence. This book will provoke men to take a deeper look both inside and out and determine whether what they convey is a reflection of their authentic self. Restoring the Male Image will challenge men to arise and confidently dress for their appointment with destiny! Alexis Ellis is driven to impact image in our society. Ellis holds a Masters in Theology, with a concentration in Urban Ministry from New Brunswick Theological Seminary as well as a M.S. Degree in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University. Hailing from New Jersey, he serves as a mentor for the "Boys to Men" Program, and is a Chaplain for the New Brunswick Fire Department. Ellis also serves as the Assistant to Bishop George C. Searight of Abundant Life Family Worship Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey and is the Special Events Coordinator. Ellis is CEO of Simply Ellis LLC, a custom clothing company specializing in suits, shirts, neckwear, and cuff links. He is a member of The Berkeley College Fashion Advisory Board, The Custom Tailors and Designers Association of America, 100 Black Men ofAmerica, and National Urban League Young Professionals. Also visit www.simplyellis.com.