As a group, normal middle-aged men tend to fly well below the radar screen of public scrutiny. They are neither deviants nor superheroes. Rarely the subject of movies or newspaper headlines, regular guys arena (TM)t fabulously wealthy, nor are their ambitions circumscribed. They contribute to society, raise their children, and respect other people. Nevertheless, these regular guys have experienced their share of adversity and emotional challengesa "such a divorce, death, illness, and loss of jobsa "but reflect a continuing core of emotional stability.

Regular Guys follows 67 well-adjusted mostly white males, who were initially chosen during the 1960s, to test theories of normal adolescent functioning. They were reinterviewed at age 48 to examine male functioning at middle age. This unique, 34-year study contrasts the critical period of adolescent development, which has been culturally characterized by stress and turmoil, with the relative stability of middle age. It addresses such issues as:

- Attitudes and behaviors concerning work, sex, religion, and self.

- Relationships with parents, siblings, spouses, and children.

- Coping and resilience in response to trauma.

- Negative health behaviors (particularly overeating and problem drinking as adults).

- Memories of their teenage years.

The authorsa (TM) findings are likely to be of considerable interest and use to clinicians and academics alike. In addition, the results provide a baseline as to what, by contrast, reflects psychopathology. Regular Guys provides a much-needed portrait of individuals rarely studied across several decades of time.

Drawing on recent theoretical developments in gender and men's studies, Pre-Raphaelite Masculinities shows how the ideas and models of masculinity were constructed in the work of artists and writers associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Paying particular attention to the representation of non-normative or alternative masculinities, the contributors take up the multiple versions of masculinity in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's paintings and poetry, masculine violence in William Morris's late romances, nineteenth-century masculinity and the medical narrative in Ford Madox Brown's Cromwell on His Farm, accusations of 'perversion' directed at Edward Burne-Jones's work, performative masculinity and William Bell Scott's frescoes, the representations of masculinity in Pre-Raphaelite illustration, aspects of male chastity in poetry and art, TannhAuser as a model for Victorian manhood, and masculinity and British imperialism in Holman Hunt's The Light of the World. Taken together, these essays demonstrate the far-reaching effects of the plurality of masculinities that pervade the art and literature of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Some semi-public, exclusive male settings, most noticeably in the military, encourage the production of intimacy and desire. Yet whereas in most instances this desire is displaced through humor and aggressive gestures, it becomes acknowledged and outright declared once associated with sites of heroic death. In his provocative study of interrelations between friendship in everyday life and national sentiments in Israel, the author follows selected stories of friendship ranging over early childhood, school, the workplace, and some unique war experiences. He explores the symbolism of friendship in rituals for the fallen soldiers, the commemoration of Prime Minister Yzhak Rabin, and the national infatuation with recovering bodies of missing soldiers. He concludes that the Israeli case offers an extreme instance of a much broader cultural phenomenon: declaring the friendship for the dead epitomizes the political "blood pact" between men, taking precedence over the traditional blood ties of kinship and heterosexual unions. The book underscores nationalism as a homosocial-based emotion of commemorative desire.

In its specially-commissioned fourteen chapters, this important book discusses an impressively wide range of issues around the theme of male spirituality in the nineteenth century, drawing from history, cultural studies, art history and literary criticism. Topics explored include: ideological and iconographical representations of masculinity across the major Christian denominations; militarism and hymnody; male homosexuality and homoeroticism. The book is not afraid to explore controversial areas, nor to go beyond the generally acknowledged 'canon' of prescribers of gender identity: it includes, for example, leading nonconformist figures like William Booth and Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and early gay writers like John Addington Symonds.

Because of his lengthy screen resume that includes almost eighty appearances in such movies as Camille and Waterloo Bridge, as well as a marriage and divorce to actress Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor was a central figure of Hollywood's classical era. Despite this, he can be regarded as a "lost" star, an interesting contradiction given the continued success he enjoyed during his lifetime. In Robert Taylor: Male Beauty, Masculinity, and Stardom in Hollywood, author Gillian Kelly investigates the initial construction and subsequent developments of Taylor's star persona across his thirty-five-year career. By examining concepts of male beauty, men as object of the erotic gaze, white American masculinity, and the unusual longevity of a career initially based on looks, Kelly highlights how gender, masculinity, and male stars and the ageing process affected Taylor's career. Placing Taylor within the histories of both Hollywood's classical era and mid-twentieth-century America, this study positions him firmly within the wider industrial, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts in which he worked. Kelly examines Taylor's film and television work as well as ephemeral material, such as fan magazines, to assess how his on- and off-screen personas were created and developed over time. Taking a mostly chronological approach, Kelly places Taylor's persona within specific historical moments in order to show the complex paradox of his image remaining consistently recognizable while also shifting seamlessly within the Hollywood industry. Furthermore, she explores Taylor's importance to Hollywood cinema by demonstrating how a star persona like his can "fit" so well, and for so long, that it almost becomes invisible and, eventually, almost forgotten.

It is often said that men are 'in crisis, ' blighted by the adverse effects of corrosive masculinity norms ranging from emotional disconnection to aggression. Consequently, with men in considerable 'trouble' relative to their female counterparts - from higher levels of suicide, alcoholism and violence to poorer health and educational outcomes - the question of how to help men 'change' is pressing. This book offers one possible solution. It shows how a group of men learned to overcome their masculine inheritance by taking up meditation. Tim Lomas follows their difficult but ultimately rewarding life journeys as they sought and found an elusive sense of wellbeing. The book interweaves these personal narratives with the very latest research and theory at the intersection of gender and mental health, together with practical recommendations for those working with men (and indeed for men themselves)

Is midlife for gay men the start of a slide towards the rejection, exclusion and misery associated with the spectre of the lonely old queen? Whilst exclusion is possible as gay men age, Middle Aged Gay Men, Ageing and Ageism offers a more nuanced view of gay ageing, using sociological tools to advance understanding beyond stereotypes.

What are men doing in feminist discourse? Although many feminists have commented on the relation, actual or possible, of men to feminist thinking and practice, and although some male academics have written about feminism, there has so far been little shared discussion. Men in Feminism is the first substantial attempt to produce a dialogue between feminists and their male allies. This lively book, comprised of essays by both men and women, is a controversial sally in the current debate over the future of feminist theory. Its focus is one seemingly direct and yet surprisingly prickly question: the actual and potential relationship of men to the now impressive and widely recognized body of feminist writing. Each essay attempts to assess the benefits or damage of male participation in feminism; several of the contributions stand in direct dialogue with others. The editors present, mediate and reflect upon the agreements and arguments in the book, as well as between themselves as editors. Their dialogue-afterword draws together the questions at the heart of the volume. Offering few comfortable answers, Men in Feminism will open up discussion of this theoretical and thoroughly political issue.

"Male Subjectivity and Poetic Form in "New American" Poetry" examines the crucial, yet sometimes fraught connections between poets associated with Donald Allen's groundbreaking 1960 anthology, "The New American Poetry." Focusing in particular on pairings of writers within the larger grouping of poets, including Robert Duncan, Charles Olson, and Nathaniel Mackey, this book suggests how literary partnerships became pivotal to the writing, especially at early stages in these poets' careers. Mossin then goes on to examine the role that male friendship, rivalry, and camaraderie play in the production of poetic texts. "No one listens to poetry," Jack Spicer famously wrote. This book shows how a particular group of poets did listen to each other and what they made of what they heard.

Aesthetic Modernism and Masculinity in Fascist Italy is an interdisciplinary historical re-reading of a series of representative texts that complicate our current understanding of the portrayal of masculinity in the Italian fascist era. Examining paintings, films, music and literature in light of some of the ideological and material contradictions that animated the regime, it argues that fascist masculinity was itself highly contradictory. It brings to the fore works that have tended to be under-studied, and argues that, while fascist inclusive strategies of patronage worked to bind artists to the regime, an official policy of non-interference may inadvertently have opened up a space whereby the arts expressed a more complicated and contestatory view of masculinity than the one proffered by kitsch photos of a bare-chested Mussolini skiing.

Champagne seeks to evaluate how the aesthetic analysis of the artefacts explored offer a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of what world politics is, what is at stake when something like masculinity is rendered as being an element of world politics, and how such an understanding differs from more orthodox cultural analyses common to international relations.

Providing a significant contribution to understandings of representations of masculinities in modernist art, this work will be of great interest to students and scholars of gender studies, queer studies, political science, Italian studies and art history.

Over the past several years, the question of men's relation to feminism has become a fiercely and sometimes bitterly debated subject. Engendering Men demonstrates the creative impact that feminist modes of inquiry have already had on a new generation of male critics. In the wake of feminism, many men have found it imperative to begin the task of retheorizing the male position in our culture. This collection of new essays brings together seventeen male critics whose work - on poetry, fiction, the Broadway stage, film and television, and broader cultural and psychoanalytic texts - is opening up new avenues in criticism, as well as in gender and feminist theory.

Sexuality is arguably the most under-researched of all diversity areas in work organizations. This book brings together and relates stories of minority sexual identity from six organizations drawn from three different industry sectors: the Emergency Services, the Civil Service and the Banking sector. Here sexual minorities freely recount stories of their own workplace experiences. Three main themes emerge from the data: silence, disclosure and response. Issues of voice and silence are particularly pertinent for those who are not part of the dominant heterosexual discourse; issues of disclosure are highly important for sexual minorities for whom coming out is a major defining moment; and, highly unusually, in this book readers get an insight into how people respond to sexual minorities, as other employees' reactions to stories are related too. This book makes a significant contribution to our understanding discursive construction of identity in the workplace, as experienced by sexual minorities and provides a snapshot of minority working lives at the beginning of the 21st century. This is an extremely well written, highly innovative, timely and engaging book which as well as human resources management, it will also be of interest to scholars in other areas such as sociology and general business and management.

Most men have given up on their dreams. Is that man you? Something is so clearly wrong, and the entire world knows it. The reality is that men have been sold a lie; they have been told that if they chase success in the world then everything will be ok. Instead, they end up with the cars, the house, the toys, and are still left in pain asking, "Is this all there is?" The cost of the lie is enormous. Becoming a Significant Man provides easy to digest ways on how to become the man you want to be and stay there. If you are tired of sleepwalking your way through life, then Becoming a Significant Man is for you. Warren Peterson, founder of Significant Man, is eager for all men who have fallen behind in the game of life to benefit from his unique and powerful message. Haven't you had enough? Enough of the struggle? Enough of feeling lost, without direction, and without hope? No more lies. No more pretending. Your time is now. You have the power and permission to stand up and scream the truth about who you are- the significant man you were created to be. Let's get started!

In Pop Masculinities, author Kai Arne Hansen investigates the performance and policing of masculinity in pop music as a starting point for grasping the broad complexity of gender and its politics in the early twenty-first century. Drawing together perspectives from critical musicology, gender studies, and adjacent scholarly fields, the book presents extended case studies of five well-known artists: Zayn, Lil Nas X, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Take That. By directing particular attention to the ambiguities and contradictions that arise from these artists' representations of masculinity, Hansen argues that pop performances tend to operate in ways that simultaneously reinforce and challenge gender norms and social inequalities. Providing a rich exploration of these murky waters, Hansen merges the interpretation of recorded song and music video with discourse analysis and media ethnography in order to engage with the full range of pop artists' public identities as they emerge at the intersections between processes of performance, promotion, and reception. In so doing, he advances our understanding of the aesthetic and discursive underpinnings of gender politics in twenty-first century pop culture and encourages readers to contemplate the sociopolitical implications of their own musical engagements as audiences, critics, musicians, and scholars.

This book explores men's attraction to violent extremist movements and terrorism. Drawing on multi-method, interdisciplinary research, this book explores the centrality of masculinity to violent extremist recruitment narratives across the religious and political spectrum. Chapters examine the intersection of masculinity and violent extremism across a spectrum of movements including: the far right, Islamist organizations, male supremacist groups, and the far left. The book identifies key sites and points at which the construction of masculinity intersects with, stands in contrast to and challenges extremist representations of masculinity. It offers an insight into where the potential appeal of extremist narratives can be challenged most effectively and identifies areas for both policy making and future research.

Peasant patriarchs, aristocratic dandies, anxious bureaucrats, workers seeking father-figures, and promiscuous bathhouse attendants populate this volume. Its essays examine how ideals of manliness intersected with historical developments, the formation of national identities, and changing definitions of intimacy. This book is essential reading for students and scholars of gender theory and Russian theory alike.

Most parliaments around the world are still mostly overwhelming populated by men, yet studies of male dominance are much rarer than are studies of female under-representation. In this book, men in politics are the subjects of a gendered analysis. How do men manage to hold on to positions of power despite societal trends in the opposite direction? And why do men seek to cooperate mainly with other men? Elin Bjarnegard studies how male networks are maintained and expanded and seeks to improve our understanding of the rationale underlying male dominance in politics. The findings build on results both from statistical analyses of parliamentary composition worldwide and from extensive field work in Thailand. A new concept, homosocial capital, is coined and developed to help us understand the persistence of male political dominance.

Masculinity and Irish Popular Culture is an interdisciplinary collection of essays by established and emerging scholars, analysing the shifting representations of Irish men across a range of popular culture forms in the period of the Celtic Tiger and beyond. From the self-stylings of GAA star Paul Galvin to theatrical depictions of an Irish masculinity in crisis, the essays firmly situate these diverse images of Irish manhood within the social and cultural contexts that produced them. Taking as its overall context the social changes instigated by the economic boom of the 1990s, the book traces the effects of these changes into popular understandings of what it is to be an Irish male. Through insightful analyses of film, theatre, literature and more, the essays in this collection argue that Irish masculinity has become a more heterogeneous concept within this period while critiquing the gender binaries that continue to structure Irish society and culture.

Rigid notions of masculinity are causing crisis in the global Islamic community. These are articulated from the Qur'an, its commentary, historical precedents and societal, religious and familial obligations. Some Muslims who don't agree with narrow constructs of manliness feel forced to consider themselves secular and therefore outside the religious community. In order to evaluate whether there really is only one valid, ideal Islamic masculinity, The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities explores key figures of the Qur'an and Indian-Pakistani Islamic history, and exposes the precariousness of tight constraints on Islamic manhood. By examining Qur'anic arguments and the strict social responsibilities advocated along with narrow Islamic masculinities, Amanullah De Sondy shows that God and women (to whom Muslim men relate but are different from) often act as foils for the construction of masculinity. He argues the constrainers of masculinity have used God and women to think with and to dominate through and that rigid gender roles are the product of a misguided enterprise: the highly personal relationship between humans and God does not lend itself to the organization of society, because that relationship cannot be typified and replicated. Discussions and debates surrounding Islamic masculinities are quickly finding their place in the study of Islam and Muslims, and The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities makes a vital contribution to this emerging field.

Fathering is a highly contested concept in popular, media, academic and policy discourses, yet in the areas of family studies and men 's studies the leisure component of family life is under-played. This book provides a long overdue and thorough investigation of the relationship between fatherhood, sport, and leisure.

Fathering Through Sport and Leisure investigates what fathers actually do in the time they spend with their children. Leading researchers from the fields of sport, leisure and family studies examine the tensions men encounter as they endeavour to meet the new expectations of fatherhood, and the central role that sport and leisure play in overcoming this. Analyzed in relation to social trends and current policy debates, this unique collection examines fathering in a wide range of contexts including:

• parental expectation and youth sports
• fathers and daughters
• leisure time and couple time in dual earner families
• divorce, fatherhood and leisure.

The book shows how contemporary fathers use sport and leisure to engage with their sons and daughters, achieve emotional closeness and fulfil their own expectations of what it means to be a good father . Drawing on research carried out in the UK, Australia, Canada and the United States, this is a crucial text for anybody with an interest in leisure studies, family studies or fatherhood.

This book examines how, from the late nineteenth century through the 1920s, British policymakers, welfare providers, and working-class men struggled to accommodate men's dependence on the state within understandings of masculine citizenship.

Maligned as "deadbeat dadsor sexually and financially irresponsible, inner-city fathers and overlooked in discussions of poverty and family policy, economically vulnerable nonresident fathers are a greatly misunderstood population. Failing our Fathers summarizes the most recent rigorous and ethnographic research and fills in important gaps with new analyses. The result is a comprehensive picture of who these fathers are, what types of relationships they have with their families and children, and the challenges they face meeting what they, taxpayers and their children and families expect from them. The book argues that in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 Great Mancession, nearly 6 million - almost one of every eleven - men will be unable to provide financial and other kinds of support for their children who live elsewhere. This population is far larger than the inner city, unmarried, Black and Latino men who have been the focus of the debate on disadvantaged fathers. Because so few could reduce the child support obligations that built up during the mass unemployment and incarceration over the previous two decades, they have long-term debts, which they may never be able to pay. Nevertheless, they play active roles as friends, mentors, educators, and disciplinarians for their children and they want to do more. However, they face several challenges, including: time and distance, new family obligations, contentious relationships with children's mothers - who just as often have new partners and children of their own - and personal problems with drugs, alcohol and past or present jail time. Besides requiring these fathers to support their children, we must enable them to do so in ways that parallel how we require and enable vulnerable single mothers to do the same. The book lays out specific reforms required to do this and practical tips for those who are Fathering without Means.