Imagined Masculinities: Male Identity and Culture in the Modern Middle East [Hardcover]

Mai Ghoussoub (Editor), Emma Sinclair-Webb (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0863560970 | ISBN-13: 978-0863560972

Writings on gender in the Middle East have tended to focus overwhelmingly on the status of women, on the rise of Islamist politics and veiling, and on the social construction of female identity. In the process issues of male identity in a region which has seen enormous social transformations over the past thirty years have been somewhat neglected. This book looks at the process by which stereotypical male identities get constructed, reproduced and contested in different parts of the Middle East.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Takes the reader into new territory ... rich and stimulating.' Susannah Tarbush, al-Hayat 'It is a welcome change to find a volume devoted to aspects of being and becoming a man.' Denys Johnson-Davies, Al-Ahram 'Interesting and valuable ... Ghoussoub and Sinclair-Webb should be congratulated.' Issa Boullata, al-Jadid Magazine --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description

Writings on gender in the Middle East have tended to focus overwhelmingly on the status of women, on the rise of Islamist politics and veiling, and on the social construction of female identity. In the process issues of male identity in a region which has seen enormous social transformations over the past thirty years have been somewhat neglected. This book looks at the process by which stereotypical male identities get constructed, reproduced and contested in different parts of the Middle East.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Saqi Books (September 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0863560970
• ISBN-13: 978-0863560972
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,316,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Middle Eastern Masculinities, May 26, 2004

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Imagined Masculinities: Male Identity and Culture in the Modern Middle East (Saqi Essentials) (Paperback)

There have been close to no books on men's studies in the Middle East, despite Western depictions of the region as a very gendered society. In this way this book was a much-needed intervention. It divides into the following three parts: sociology, cultural studies, and autobiography.

The book is pretty representative. Firstly, it includes both Muslims and Jews: most books cover either solely the former or the latter. Women and gays are brought up. It's geographically diverse, discussing Iraq, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, etc. Like the editors, the contributors are both Arab and non-Arab. Most importantly, this book covers all the topics one would imagine coming up in this area: the military, circumcision, moustaches, heterosexual relationships, father-son dynamics, etc.

I have three opinions on the text. First, readers will be surprised to see that these academics do not feign objectivity in the slightest. They are very opinionated and critical. Sexism, Saddam, and Gaza-based violence are called out and condemned very pointedly. Second, masochism comes up a lot here. This book is filled with guys enduring pain solely because their communities expect them too. Ouch! Third, this book just wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. I ended up reading it intermittently.

This book was written pre-911. However, post-911 readers will still find it incredibly useful. As more people become interested in the Mideast, let's hope they are interested in studying its intersection with gender matters.