Men's Lives [Paperback]

Michael S. Kimmel (Author), Michael A. Messner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0205485456 | ISBN-13: 978-0205485451 | Edition: 7

Edited by two of the field's most prominent researchers, this best-selling reader on men and masculinity contains the most current articles available. Organized around themes that define masculinity, this reader takes a life-course perspective, using the idea that men (as well as women) are "gendered" and that this gendering process is a central experience for men.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Edited by two of the field's most prominent researchers, this best-selling reader on men and masculinity contains the most current articles available. Organized around themes that define masculinity, this reader takes a life-course perspective, using the idea that men (as well as women) are “gendered” and that this gendering process is a central experience for men.

New to This Edition

Twenty-four readings are new to this edition. New topics include: being a male, pro-feminist college instructor; the meaning of being labeled a "fag"; growing up as a "sissy" (gender non-conforming) boy; ritualized homosexual behavior among the "Tarfs," a subculture of the Nacirema; sexual assault in military academies; male cheerleaders; drag queens; fathering in modern American society; images of masculinity in beer and liquor ads; sexuality and sports talk radio; and the culture of aggression and violence among ice hockey players.

About the Author

Michael S. Kimmel is Professor of Sociology at SUNY at Stony Brook.  He is the author of Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men (HarperCollins, 2008) which was featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America and featured on over one hundred radio and newspaper and blog reviews.  His other books include Changing Men (1987), Men’s Lives(8^th edition, 2009) Against the Tide: Profeminist Men in the United States, 1776-1990 (1992), The Politics of Manhood (1996), Manhood: A Cultural History (1996, 10^th anniversary second edition, 2006), and The Gendered Society (3^rd edition, 2008).  He co-edited The Encyclopedia on Men and Masculinities (2004) and Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities (2004).  He is the founder and editor of Men and Masculinities, the field’s premier scholarly journal, a book series on Gender and Sexuality at New York University Press, and edited the Sage Series on Men and Masculinities.  He lectures extensively in corporations and on campuses in the U.S. and abroad.  He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and co-author, Amy Aronson, and their 10 year old son, Zachary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon; 7 edition (April 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205485456
• ISBN-13: 978-0205485451
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #749,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging and diverse anthology of forefront scholarship., December 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Men's Lives (Paperback)

The fourth edition of Kimmel and Messner's Men's Lives is an engaging anthology accessing the forefront of scholarship about diverse men and masculinities. Going beyond earlier texts and collections, Men's Lives now reflects the development of greater theoretical sophistication and coherence in a field once often represented as anecdote and generalization. It is not simply "good men's studies," it is good gender studies. An instructor's resource manual is available and provides relevant summaries, experiential learning exercises, and examination questions, plus key terms, films, and internet resources.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kimmel and Messner: a critique of gender, December 21, 2006

By 

feminist reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Men's Lives (Paperback)

While some reviewers seem to state that Kimmel and Messner are painting men in a particularly bad light, these reviews seem to miss the key points that the authors are trying to make: the problem is masculinity and the way men perform masculinity, not males themselves. Kimmel and Messner critique gender and all the stereotypes surrounding it to present a manual for understanding masculinity as a social construction. Some articles in this reader are less helpful than others but overall it is a great introduction to masculinity studies and I highly recommend it. The book presents a variety of men's voices while sadly leaving out men with disabilities and trans men. The book cities arenas of oppression and explains how men AND women contribute to a culture where oppressive masculinity is allowed to reign.

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy Customer :), September 8, 2011

By 

glamour girl - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Men's Lives (8th Edition) (Paperback)

Received on time and as described. I am very happy with my purchase!! It is exactly what I needed...
Product was in great condition!