Presenting a survey of the social, cultural and theoretical issues which surround and inform our understanding of masculinity, this book explores the interface between traditional sociological approaches and the work covered by more post-structural, media-driven or cultural perspectives. Edwards well known for his work on representations of masculinities, uses grounded examples of the job market and domestic violence to set his theoretical discussion. He argues that there is a need for more dialogue on men and masculinities between disciplines, and considers the validity of the concerns and anxieties which surround masculinity in the contemporary world through a range of key topics, including: the new man, the new lad and 'men's movements' men, masculinity and violence marginalized masculinities: black masculinity and gay male sexuality queer theory, performativity and fashion cinema, representation and the body. One of the most comprehensive and progressive studies of modern masculinity available, this book will be essential reading for students of gender, culture and sociology.

Despite Soviet Russia having been one of the first major powers to decriminalise homosexual acts between men, attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in contemporary Russia and the other post-Soviet states have become increasingly hostile, with the introduction of laws restricting their rights and an increase in homophobic violence. This book explores how this situation has come about. It discusses how meanings attached to non-heteronormative sexualities have been constructed for specific socio-political purposes by elites in line with Marxist-Leninist or nationalist thought, explores how attitudes to non-normative sexualities developed historically and examines the current situation in the post-Soviet space, including Russia, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and the Baltic States. The book provides a wealth of detail on this understudied subject and assesses how LGBT subjects are responding to this state of affairs.

From the Delivered to the Dispatched: Masculinity in Modern American Fiction (1969-1977) focuses on masculinity in late twentieth-century American fiction. This rigorous study shows the ways post-war American authors engage with the tension between capitalist consumer culture and traditional national conceptions of American manhood. Drawing on examples from the works of prolific contemporary American writers, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison and Michael Herr, Stilley investigates hypermasculine male violence, the classical and grotesque body, as well as specific regional themes such as the Western frontier, the American Adam, the Southern Gothic and the Suburban Gothic.

Masculinities in Chinese History is the first historical survey of the many ways men have acted, thought, and behaved throughout China's long past. Bret Hinsch introduces readers to the basic characteristics of historical Chinese masculinity while highlighting the dynamic changes in male identity over the centuries. He covers the full span of Chinese history, from the Zhou dynasty in distant antiquity up to the current era of disorienting rapid change. Each chapter, focused on a specific theme and period, is organized to introduce key topics, such as differences between the sexes and the mutual influence of ideas regarding manhood and womanhood, masculine honor, how masculine ideals change, the use of high culture to bolster masculine reputation among the elite, and male role models from the margins of society. The author concludes by exploring how capitalism, imperialism, modernization, revolution, and reform have rapidly transformed ideas about what it means to be a man in contemporary China.

When Americans talked about politics in the 1950s they always seemed to be talking about sex. Political discourse was inundated with refernces to soft and hard, to masochism and impotency, to thrusts and ecstacies. Cuordileone argues that the gendered and sexualised language of Cold Warriors was produced by specific anxieties about masculinities. To support this interpretation she offers subtle readings of figures like Norman Mailer, Arthur Schlesinger and JFK.

When Americans talked about politics in the 1950s they always seemed to be talking about sex. Political discourse was inundated with refernces to soft and hard, to masochism and impotency, to thrusts and ecstacies. Cuordileone argues that the gendered and sexualised language of Cold Warriors was produced by specific anxieties about masculinities. To support this interpretation she offers subtle readings of figures like Norman Mailer, Arthur Schlesinger and JFK.

This book explores images of single and married men in C.B. Brown's "Monthly Magazine" and concludes that Brown used his periodical as a vehicle for validating bachelorhood as a viable alternative form of masculinity.

How did gender shape the expanding Jesuit enterprise in the early modern world? What did it take to become a missionary man? And how did missionary masculinity align itself with the European colonial project? This book highlights the central importance of male affective ties and masculine mimesis in the formation of the Jesuit missions, as well as the significance of patriarchal dynamics. Focusing on previously neglected German actors, Strasser shows how stories of exemplary male behavior circulated across national boundaries, directing the hearts and feet of men throughout Europe toward Jesuit missions in faraway lands. The sixteenth-century Iberian exemplars of Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, disseminated in print and visual media, inspired late-seventeenth-century Jesuits from German-speaking lands to bring Catholicism and European gender norms to the Spanish-controlled Pacific. The age of global missions hinged on the reproduction of missionary manhood in print and real life.

In the space of barely fifteen years, the history of masculinity has become an important dimension of social and cultural history. John Tosh has been in the forefront of the field since the beginning, having written A Man's Place: Masculinity and the Middle-Class Home in Victorian England (1999), and co-edited Manful Assertions: Masculinities in Britainsince 1800 (1991). Here he brings together nine key articles which he has written over the past ten years. These pieces document the aspirations of the first contributors to the field, and the development of an agenda of key historical issues which have become central to our conceptualising of gender in history. Later essays take up the issue of periodisation and the relationship of masculinity to other historical identities and structures, particularly in the context of the family. The last two essays, published for the first time, approach British imperial history in a fresh way. They argue that the empire needs to be seen as a specifically male enterprise, answering to masculine aspirations and insecurities. This leads to illuminating insights into the nature of colonial emigration and the popular investment in empire during the era the New Imperialism.

When Men in Groups was first published in l969, the New York Times daily critic titled his review "The Disturbing Rediscovery of the Obvious." What was so obvious was male bonding, a phrase that entered the language. The links between males in groups Tiger describes extend through many other primate species, through our evolution as hunters/gatherers, and cross-culturally. Male bonding characterizes human groups as varied as the Vatican Council, the New York Yankees, the Elks and Masons the secret societies of Sierra Leone and Kenya.aThe power of Tiger's book is its identification of the powerful links between men and the impact of females and families on essentially male groups. While the world has changed much, the argument of the book and its new introduction by the author suggest that a species-specific pattern ofamale bonding continues to be part of the human default system. Perhaps one day concrete evidence of its location will emerge from the startling work on the human genome, just as the elaborate and consequential sex differences to which Men in Groups drew such pioneering attention have already become part of the common wisdom. Meanwhile, Men in Groups remains a measured andaresponsibleabut intrepid inspection of a major aspect of human social organization and personal behavior. The book was controversial when it first appeared, and often foolishly and unduly scorned. But it has remained a fundamental contribution to the emerging synthesis between the social and natural sciences. "The most creative contribution to the social sciences since David Riesman's The Lonely Crowd."--Robert Ardrey, Life Magazine " Tiger's] enquiry into male bonding is an important step towards the possibility of discovering a genuine human dimorphisma"--James Hamilton-Paterson, New Statesman "The implications of Men in Groups are manifold. We should all be grateful to Dr. Tiger for drawing our attention to a neglected aspect of human behavior."--Anthony Storr, Times (London) Lionel Tiger is the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University. He is the author of The Decline of Males, Optimism, The Pursuit of Pleasure, and, with Robin Fox, The Imperial Animal, available from Transaction.

This book provides critical insights into the many, often overlooked, challenges and societal issues that face contemporary black men, focusing in particular on the ways in which governing societal expectations result in internal and external constraints on black male identity formation, sexuality and black 'masculine' expression. Presenting new interview and auto-ethnographic data, and drawing on an array of theoretical approaches methodologies, Hyper Sexual, Hyper Masculine? explores the formation of gendered and sexual identity in the lives of black men, shedding light on the manner in which these are affected by class and social structure. It examines the intersecting oppressions of race, gender and class, while acknowledging and discussing the extent to which black men's social lives differ as a result of their varying degrees of cumulative disadvantage. A wide-ranging and empirically grounded exploration of the intersecting roles of race, masculinity, and sexuality on the lives of black men, this volume will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, social stratification and intersectionality.

Long sentenced young people are a small but significant part of the juvenile prison population. The current approach to young people convicted of serious crime speaks to wider issues in criminal and social justice, including the idealisation of (some) childhoods, processes of racialisation and identity and the sociology of the body. Analysing the relationships between biography, trauma and habitus reveals the ways in which class, racial and legal status are experienced and resisted. Young Men's Experiences of Long-Term Imprisonment: Living Life considers the need for the reinvigoration of prison ethnography and calls for a phenomenological approach to understanding youth crime and punishment. An insightful ethnographic study on imprisoned 15- to 17-year-olds in England, this volume examines how young people experience long-term imprisonment, manage their time and imagine and shape their futures. Drawing on observations, interviews and correspondence, Tynan situates long-term imprisonment of young men within the wider social context of criminal and social justice; and analyses constructs and practices that locate responsibility for crime with individuals and communities. Young Men's Experiences of Long-Term Imprisonment: Living Life will be of interest to students and researchers interested in the sociology of prisons, punishment and youth justice and qualitative research methodology.

Drawing on interviews with a breadth of different showgirls, from shows in Paris, Las Vegas, Berlin, and Los Angeles, as well as her own artworks and those by other contemporary and historical artists, this book examines the experiences of showgirls and those who watch them, to challenge the narrowness of representations and discussions around what has been termed 'sexualisation' and 'the gaze'. An account of the experience of being 'looked at', the book raises questions of how the showgirl is represented, the nature of the pleasure that she elicits and the suspicion that surrounds it, and what this means for feminism and the act of looking. An embodied articulation of a new politics of looking, Viewing Pleasure and Being a Showgirl engages with the idea (reinforced by feminist critique) that images of women are linked to selling and that women's bodies have been commodified in capitalist culture, raising the question of whether this enables particular bodies - those of glamorous women on display - to become scapegoats for our deeper anxieties about consumerism.

White males, 100 million strong, constitute approximately 35 percent of the U.S. population, a percentage that declines slightly each year. They matter very much to discussions of race, ethnicity, and gender in the US due to their numbers and the enormous influence they have wielded--and continue to wield. In this highly original and readable work, Dominic Pulera offers the broadest and most balanced treatment of the white male experience in American to date. He contends that virtually all white males are sharing the American dream with women and people of color, in response to the nation's changing demographics and the multicultural mindset that informs policies and attitudes in our nation. Some white males are sharing the dream voluntarily; others are doing so involuntarily. The author also explores the heterogeneity of white male America, taking into account such factors as age, ethnicity, ideology, social class, regional background, occupational status, and sexual preference. This timely work relies on a broad range of sources, including extensive field research and hundreds of interviews along with the best primary and secondary sources available. It includes original historical treatments, discussion of contemporary dynamics, and comparative material that takes into account the experiences of peoples in other countries. In doing so, Pulera places white males in the context of America's ongoing transition from a predominantly white country to one where minorities are increasingly numerous and consequently becoming more visible.

How are men, masculinities and gender power implicated within global institutions? How are global institutions to be understood in terms of men, masculinities and gender power? What are men up to in such arenas as: global finance, corporate law, military intelligence, world sporting bodies and nationalist politics? Unsustainable Institutions of Men examines men's dealings in transnational processes across the economy, politics, technologies and bodies. In exploring the men's domination of institutions in national and transnational realms this volume underpins a novel approach built around multiple "dispersed centres" of men's power. Indeed, in critical discussions of men and masculinities there has been a gradual shift in focus from the local, so-called 'ethnographic moment', to a broader view encompassing several dynamics (e.g. global, transnational, international, postcolonial and the global north-south). Building on this conceptual move, Unsustainable Institutions of Men focuses on pinpointing masculine actions and influences that support and enact transnational processes, disclosing those connections and examining institutional alternatives which could contribute to more inclusive and democratic transnational dialogues. Comprised of a range of international contributions, Unsustainable Institutions of Men will appeal to students, researchers, experts and activists seeking to understand the deep structural conditions of contemporary globalized threats, created by old and new patterns of gender power and transnational patriarchies.

Black men are cool. But most books about black men miss the mark, making the same points - difficult childhood, white racism, poverty - they describe without meaningful explanation. bell hooks' brilliant new book We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity goes where everyone else has been unwilling to go. Without casting blame, hooks tells hard truths: black men are feared, admired, made the objects of sexual fantasy, envied, but rarely loved. Black men are hated, and hooks tells us why. In these critical essays, hooks examines what black males fear most (maternal sadism, lopss, emasculation) and probes the depths of their longing for intimacy, for fathers, for meaningful relationships. Highlighting the value of a feminist approach to understanding black masculinity, hooks looks at the way patriarchal thought and action undermine black male self-esteem. With compassion and generosity, bell hooks contends that black men become loving individuals only as the accept full accountability for shaping their destiny. Taking as her starting point powerful writing on black masculinity from the sixties and seventies, bell hooks looks seriously at the problems black males face - both the ones nop

This book examines the intersections of representations of race and gender identity in writings by contemporary US men. The author seeks strategies for approaching ostensibly sexist or homophobic texts by men of colour in ways which grasp how homophobia or sexism coexist or are engendered by certain articulations of anti-racism, or conversely, how certain articulations of gender concerns help produce reactionary ideas about race.

This book presents an analysis of representations of white, heterosexual, working-class masculinities in British culture between 1945 and 1989 to trace the development of the sociocultural and material conditions that shaped the masculinities which are helping to shape contemporary culture. This book seeks to fan the 'spark of hope' in the past that informs our present. The period which saw the establishment of the welfare state and the construction and breakdown of the post-war consensus in British politics was of great significance in the formation and maintenance of working-class masculinities and their correspondent representations. The author engages with a variety of cultural texts across various modes and media including films (Alfie), plays (Don't Look Back in Anger), television (Boys from the Blackstuff), and music (The Beatles), and employs the analysis of the representation of working-class masculinities as a lens through which to examine a range of historical and cultural moments. This book reinstates class as a central precept in the study of British cultural representations and offers a timely intervention in ongoing debates around class and gender identities in Britain. The book will be key reading for students and researchers with interests in twentieth-century social and cultural British history, masculinities and gender studies, twentieth-century British literature, British television, and cultural studies more broadly.

"Involved Fathering and Men's Adult Development" is an interdisciplinary book that synthesizes theoretical, empirical, and anecdotal writings from different fields and provides an analysis of extensive interviews with 40 fathers. Along with the exploration of the distinct contribution that fathers make to their children's development, the author pursues the parallel theme of the effect this involvement has on the fathers' own development in adulthood.
This book will provide its readers with a realistic and useful beginning point to bring a synthesis of developmental theories, family studies perspectives, and men's insights about fathering that will enhance our academic understanding of fathering and adult development. This book can also spark reflective and practical application for fathers and families, whether readers are academicians, practitioners, policymakers, or fathers in the trenches.

Young, Disabled and LGBT+ brings together the work of an international team interested in exploring the intersection of sexuality, gender identity, and disability in the lives of young people and aims to further develop this area as a distinct area of study. This volume features original research and writing into lives that are often misunderstood, marginalised and under-represented in research. It is framed with artwork, poetry and writing from young disabled LGBT+ people, and centralises the voices and lives of young disabled LGBT+ people throughout. Drawing from disciplines including: sociology, psychology, disability and youth studies, and with contributions from practitioners, it examines experiences and research from a number of perspectives, such as education, personal lives and activism. Featuring work from the UK, Canada, United States, India and Australia, it is a timely and topical book which will appeal to scholars particularly interested in sexuality, gender, disability and youth studies; professionals within health, education, social work and youth work who aim to understand and support young disabled LGBT+ people; and young people themselves.

This book is a discussion of 75 of the most popular films in America from 1921 through 1999 and the changes that have taken place in how masculinity is portrayed in the movies over that period of time. Traditionally in popular films, men have met challenging tasks, but what they accomplish and how successful they are have been drastically changed since the early 1920s. Prior to World War II, men were most often presented within the context of a family. After the war, men were presented as concerned with issues beyond their immediate families, and after 1970, they were portrayed as being overwhelmed by their situations. Recently, popular films have tended to focus on the relationships between men. This work documents these changes over eight decades, using the movies as vehicles to illustrate the major transformations.

This book is one of the first scholarly analyses of the current social constructions of Chinese American masculinities. Arguing that many of these notions are limited to stereotypes, Chan goes beyond this to present a more complex understanding of the topic. Incorporating historical references, literary analysis and sociological models to describe a variety of masculine identities, Chan also examines popular novels (Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan), films (Bruce Lee), comic books (Master of Kung Fu), and literature (M. Butterfly).

Gender analysis of development focuses on gender relations, rather than women and men as separate gender categories, but it has necessarily been women-orientated in its concerns with subordination. This work moves gender analysis towards a fuller understanding of men's diverse gendered identities, and how these are implicated in their everyday working lives in developing country contexts. The questions addressed in the papers range from conceptual and methodological issues of definitions and measurement of men's work, to case studies of working men in specific settings, but all are concerned with the recognition of gendered vulnerabilities of (some) men as men, as well as with a re-thinking of gender relations in the light of consideration of the subjectivities of specific groups of men.

Statistics show roughly 50 percent of men struggle with a pornography addiction; boys are being exposed to porn at younger ages each year; and technology now provides an environment of access where you no longer need to search for porn-it comes looking for you. Despite these facts, this epidemic is largely being ignored. When it is addressed, the message is always "Try harder, get an Internet filter, be a better man." At best, this message merely addresses the symptoms of a much deeper issue. At worst, it feeds the lies men believe that have contributed directly to their addiction. 10 Lies Men Believe about Porn uncovers the true cause of pornography addiction, exposes the lies that are trapping men in their bondage, and shows them the biblical path to true and lasting freedom.

Ever wonder what happily married couples do that miserable couples don't? How things might be different if your wife thought of you as a ROCK STAR husband? Whether you've been married for 3 years or 30, the formula for making magic happen in your relationship is the same. Author James T. Horning knows what a woman wants and how filling her needs on her terms fuels her passion, desire and attraction for her man. His uncommon and often disruptive insights into the dynamics between the sexes are unabashedly poignant and profoundly on target. "Winning At The Game of Wife" reveals the secret sauce for transforming what you have into an rewarding, adventurous, and passionate experience. If that doesn't sound like your marriage, you just aren't doing it right. What does a woman want anyway? How do I bring sex back into our marriage? Where did the passion go and how do I get it back? How can I take infidelity and divorce off the table? If you've ever asked any of these questions, "Winning At The Game of Wife" will initiate you into an exclusive club of men who know what a woman wants and how giving that to her will make her want and adore you like never before.