Not available to order
Publication date:
06 August 2015Length of book:
214 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442232945
In Masculinities in the Making, James W. Messerschmidt unravels the mysteries surrounding the question of how masculinities are actually “made.” One of the most respected scholars on the subject of masculinities, Messerschmidt brings together three seemingly disparate groups—wimps, genderqueers, and U.S. presidents—to examine what insight each has to offer our understanding of masculinities. The book is unique in its coverage, including a revised structured action theory; an intersectional analysis of sex, gender, and sexuality; and an examination of the differences among masculinities from the local to the global. Messerschmidt provides a fresh, accessible, and provocative argument that significantly advances our knowledge on masculinities.
This book is indispensable for anyone working in the area of gender. James W. Messerschmidt, one of the founders of masculinities studies, refines and expands the concept and theory of masculinities as structured action, and illustrates this analysis with wimps and genderqueers. He ends by provocatively focusing on Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both of whom portrayed themselves in their speeches as ‘hegemonic masculine heroic protectors.’ The result is an excellent combination of original theory and close-read data.