Adam Sandler movies, HBO's "Entourage," and such magazines as
"Maxim" and "FHM" all trade in and appeal to one character--the
modern boy-man. Addicted to video games, comic books, extreme
sports, and dressing down, the boy-man would rather devote an
afternoon to Grand Theft Auto than plan his next career move. He
would rather prolong the hedonistic pleasures of youth than embrace
the self-sacrificing demands of adulthood.
When did maturity become the ultimate taboo? Men have gone from
idolizing Cary Grant to aping Hugh Grant, shunning marriage and
responsibility well into their twenties and thirties. Gary Cross,
renowned cultural historian, identifies the boy-man and his habits,
examining the attitudes and practices of three generations to make
sense of this gradual but profound shift in American masculinity.
Cross matches the rise of the American boy-man to trends in
twentieth-century advertising, popular culture, and consumerism,
and he locates the roots of our present crisis in the vague call
for a new model of leadership that, ultimately, failed to offer a
better concept of maturity.
Cross does not blame the young or glorify the past. He finds
that men of the "Greatest Generation" might have embraced their
role as providers but were confused by the contradictions and
expectations of modern fatherhood. Their uncertainty gave birth to
the Beats and men who indulged in childhood hobbies and boyish
sports. Rather than fashion a new manhood, baby-boomers held onto
their youth and, when that was gone, embraced Viagra. Without
mature role models to emulate or rebel against, Generation X turned
to cynicism and sensual intensity, and the media fed on this
longing, transforming a life stage into a highly desirable
lifestyle. Arguing that contemporary American culture undermines
both conservative ideals of male maturity and the liberal values of
community and responsibility, Cross concludes with a proposal for a
modern marriage of personal desire and ethical adulthood.
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