The Men from the Boys: Rites of Passage in Male America (Paperback)

by Ray Raphael (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This book of pop sociology attempts to explain modern-day male insecurity by the absence of initiation rituals. In these, boys were elevated to manhood through tribal ceremonies that included often-painful tests of strength and hunting skill, seclusion and name changes. Achieving manhood is more complicated in our post-industrial society, says Raphael ( Edges , Cash Crop ), principally because separate and private definitions of maturity are involved. To make his case, the author interviews 100 American men, aged 15 to 50, and lets them tell their own coming-of-age stories in "oral history" style. Among the contemporary "rites of passage" they mention are military service, athletics, a job involving arduous physical labor, sexual conquests and fraternity initiations. Raphael raises interesting questions but offers no clues as to how his research could help solve the insecure man's dilemma.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

In other times and places the passage from boyhood to manhood was dramatized and facilitated by initiation rites. In ritualized fashion, the complex problems of personal development were translated into clear and concrete tasks. But in the dazzling variety of modern America there is no universal test or ceremony that bestows manhood: each male must find a group with its special initiations, or devise an initiation of his own. He may climb mountains, play football, join the army, pledge fraternities, impress the girls, and get drunk with the guys. But where do these free-style initiations lead in the end?

To find out, Ray Raphael conducted in-depth interviews with one hundred American males ranging from a Mr. America body-building to a practitioner of witchcraft, from a “right stuff” fighter pilot to a draft dodger, from a self-proclaimed Don Juan to a “superdad.” The Men from the Boys is the first and only book-length study of contemporary simulations of classical male initiations.



The results of this study are unsettling. Initiations today function more as tests to determine who can make the grade than as educational tools that encourage the development of all young men. In the absence of inclusive rituals, Raphael’s subjects struggle to overcome doubts as they negotiate their own paths to maturity. Their personal tales, told with dramatic and emotional intensity, speak to all American males who find themselves torn between a unisex modernity and more archaic notions of masculinity.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (May 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803289375
• ISBN-13: 978-0803289376
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,194,490 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible resource for a national epidemic, March 23, 2004

By	Robert Lord "nevada2" (Dunedin, FL United States) - See all my reviews

If you liked Iron John by Robert Bly, you will love this book. While Robert Bly looks to our past (literature and history) to find the key ingredients to a successful transition into manhood (using the Grimm Brothers' tale of Iron John), Ray Raphael focuses more on our current day transitions (or attempts thereof) into manhood. He takes the pulse of our efforts, both individually and collectively, with incredible accuracy. The book flows smoothly, focused around interviews with unofficial male icons of our day, including a champion body builder and a fighter pilot intermixed with "regular Joes" and others including a doctor, a fraternity brother, and an amateur athlete. Their candid responses and the author's talent for reading between the lines result in one of the most honest evaluations of male insecurities in print and the most powerful. After about three or four chapters when I realized how insightful and dead on the author is, I started to anticipate what his suggestions for addressing the problem might be. Chapter after chapter I found myself saying, "You're right, you're exactly right, so what do you suggest?" To spare you the same plight, I must tell you the "solution" never came. After some consideration, I think this minor let down is the result of the authors knowledge, it seems he has left no stone unturned in his assessment, he has such a grasp of the subject, it's only natural for me to want a solution from him. That being said, this is a great book. Ray Raphael's The Men From The Boys is an incredible resource thoroughly lifting the veil of mystery off epidemic male insecurity caused by ineffective initiations and poorly defined transitions into manhood.