Across the Western world 'crisis' is the word most commonly used to describe the state of masculinity today, but how new is this idea? Can we identify a time when masculinity was actually stable and secure? Masculinity in the Modern West engages with these questions by examining how traditional ideals about male physical prowess have clashed with the lifestyle changes that accompanied the rise of modern civilization since 1700. In countries like America, Britain, France, Germany and Russia, modernity bolstered male dominance in commerce, politics, technology and the world of ideas; yet images of masculinity have continued to be haunted by the negative effects that polite, cerebral, consumerist and sedentary lifestyles might have on the minds and bodies of men. Modernity thus exercises a double logic that supports male privilege while diminishing the physical difference used to legitimate that privilege. By focusing on the male body, this wide-ranging study proposes that 'crises' of masculinity may be structural, and thus inescapable, features of life in our world.
'Forth's ambitious panoramic history of western masculinity is sweepingly broad, yet Forth has a keen eye for the revealing detail. With an analysis as sharp as his style is clear and erudite, Forth's reach never exceeds his grasp. This is a most impressive work!' - Michael Kimmel, Professor of Sociology and editor of Men and Masculinities
'Christopher Forth's survey of masculinity in the West is the first historical synthesis of the rich literature in this field. He puts familiar materials together in surprising new ways and presents readers with some highly original and provocative interpretations that will prove to be important contributions to gender studies and cultural history. The wit and deftness of Forth's style and his well-chosen examples make it a sheer delight to read.'
- Robert A. Nye, Horning Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History Emeritus, Oregon State University
Introduction: Civilization and its Malcontents
PART I: MAKING AND UNMAKING THE GENTLEMAN
Four Faces of Civilization, c.1530-1750
Balancing Acts: The Paradox of the Gentleman
PART II: MALE BODIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES
The Armor of Health and the Diseases of Civilization
A Diet of Pleasures? The Incorporation of Manhood
Building Bodies: Violence, Pain and the Nation
PART III: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND BEYOND
Modern Primitives: Manhood and Metamorphosis around 1900
Men of Steel: Technologies of the Male Body
The Last Men? Consuming Manhood since 1945
Conclusion: The Return of the Repressed
CHRISTOPHER E. FORTH is the Howard Professor of Humanities & Western Civilization at the University of Kansas. His books include Zarathustra in Paris: The Nietzsche Vogue in France, 1891-1918, The Dreyfus Affair and the Crisis of French Manhood, and (co-edited with Bertrand Taithe) French Masculinities: History, Politics and Culture.
Description
Across the Western world 'crisis' is the word most commonly used to describe the state of masculinity today, but how new is this idea? Can we identify a time when masculinity was actually stable and secure? Masculinity in the Modern West engages with these questions by examining how traditional ideals about male physical prowess have clashed with the lifestyle changes that accompanied the rise of modern civilization since 1700. In countries like America, Britain, France, Germany and Russia, modernity bolstered male dominance in commerce, politics, technology and the world of ideas; yet images of masculinity have continued to be haunted by the negative effects that polite, cerebral, consumerist and sedentary lifestyles might have on the minds and bodies of men. Modernity thus exercises a double logic that supports male privilege while diminishing the physical difference used to legitimate that privilege. By focusing on the male body, this wide-ranging study proposes that 'crises' of masculinity may be structural, and thus inescapable, features of life in our world.
Reviews
'Forth's ambitious panoramic history of western masculinity is sweepingly broad, yet Forth has a keen eye for the revealing detail. With an analysis as sharp as his style is clear and erudite, Forth's reach never exceeds his grasp. This is a most impressive work!' - Michael Kimmel, Professor of Sociology and editor of Men and Masculinities
'Christopher Forth's survey of masculinity in the West is the first historical synthesis of the rich literature in this field. He puts familiar materials together in surprising new ways and presents readers with some highly original and provocative interpretations that will prove to be important contributions to gender studies and cultural history. The wit and deftness of Forth's style and his well-chosen examples make it a sheer delight to read.'
- Robert A. Nye, Horning Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History Emeritus, Oregon State University
Contents
Introduction: Civilization and its Malcontents
PART I: MAKING AND UNMAKING THE GENTLEMAN
Four Faces of Civilization, c.1530-1750
Balancing Acts: The Paradox of the Gentleman
PART II: MALE BODIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES
The Armor of Health and the Diseases of Civilization
A Diet of Pleasures? The Incorporation of Manhood
Building Bodies: Violence, Pain and the Nation
PART III: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND BEYOND
Modern Primitives: Manhood and Metamorphosis around 1900
Men of Steel: Technologies of the Male Body
The Last Men? Consuming Manhood since 1945
Conclusion: The Return of the Repressed
Authors
CHRISTOPHER E. FORTH is the Howard Professor of Humanities & Western Civilization at the University of Kansas. His books include Zarathustra in Paris: The Nietzsche Vogue in France, 1891-1918, The Dreyfus Affair and the Crisis of French Manhood, and (co-edited with Bertrand Taithe) French Masculinities: History, Politics and Culture.
|