Manhood in America

Fourth Edition

Michael Kimmel

For more than three decades, the women's movement and its scholars have exhaustively studied women's complex history, roles, and struggles. In Manhood in America: A Cultural History, Fourth Edition, author Michael Kimmel argues that it is time for men to rediscover their own evolution. Drawing on a myriad of sources, he demonstrates that American men have been eternally frustrated by their efforts to keep up with constantly changing standards. Kimmel contends that men must follow the lead of the women's movement; it is only by mining their past for its best qualities and worst excesses that men will free themselves from the constraints of the masculine ideal.

New to this Edition:

A revised and updated Preface, which addresses the issue of diversity and makes explicit one of the core questions that the book tackles: How did a straight, white, middle-class version of American manhood become the dominant model of masculinity?
A revised and more extensive epilogue
Updated secondary sources

Manhood in America

Fourth Edition

Michael Kimmel

Description

For more than three decades, the women's movement and its scholars have exhaustively studied women's complex history, roles, and struggles. In Manhood in America: A Cultural History, Fourth Edition, author Michael Kimmel argues that it is time for men to rediscover their own evolution. Drawing on a myriad of sources, he demonstrates that American men have been eternally frustrated by their efforts to keep up with constantly changing standards. Kimmel contends that men must follow the lead of the women's movement; it is only by mining their past for its best qualities and worst excesses that men will free themselves from the constraints of the masculine ideal.

Manhood in America

Fourth Edition

Michael Kimmel

Preface to the Fourth Edition
Acknowledgements
Introduction

Part I: THE MAKING OF THE SELF-MADE MAN IN AMERICA, 1776-1865
Chapter 1: The Birth of the Self-Made Man
Chapter 2: Born to Run: Self-Control and Fantasies of Escape

Part II: THE UNMAKING OF THE SELF-MADE MAN AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
Chapter 3: Men at Work: Captains of Industry, White Collars, and the Faceless Crowd
Chapter 4: Playing for Keeps: Masculinity as Recreation and the Re-Creation of Masculinity
Chapter 5: A Room of His Own: Socializing the New Man

Part III: THE NEW MAN IN A NEW CENTURY, 1920-1950
Chapter 6: Muscles, Money, and the M--F Test: Measuring Masculinity Between the Wars
Chapter 7: "Temporary About Myself": White-Collar Conformists and Suburban Playboys, 1945-1960

Part IV: THE CONTEMPORARY "CRISIS" OF MASCULINITY
Chapter 8: The Masculine Mystique
Chapter 9: Wimps, Whiners, and Weekend Warriors: The Contemporary Crisis of Masculinity and Beyond
Chapter 10: From Anxiety to Anger Since the 1990s: The "Self-Made Man" Becomes "Angry White Men"

Epilogue
Notes
Index

Manhood in America

Fourth Edition

Michael Kimmel

Author Information

Michael Kimmel is Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University, State University of New York. A leading researcher and writer on gender and men and masculinity, he is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Gendered Society, Sixth Edition (OUP, 2016), The Gendered Society Reader, Sixth Edition (with Amy Aronson, OUP, 2016), and Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men (2009).

Manhood in America

Fourth Edition

Michael Kimmel

Reviews and Awards

"Manhood in America is the gold standard for a broad-ranging cultural history of masculinity. It is a must-read in the study of masculinities."--Lauren Weis, American University

"I love how the book is at once a study of masculinity and American culture. Manhood in America is an excellent resource for students who need historical and social grounding in order to make sense of the idea that gender, along with other human attributes of identity, are dependent on contextual definitions. It is a true wealth of information."--Joyce Janca-Aji, Coe College

"This is the most comprehensive critical history of American masculinity in print. It is essential reading for anyone seeking a solid grounding in the field."--Christopher E. Forth, University of Kansas