Full Description
Take this test. You think today's sensitive, caring man is: (a) a myth, (b) an oxymoron, or (c) a moron. No matter whether you laugh at this bit of folk humor, its wide circulation bespeaks a modern predicament for American men.
Men's "manly" traditions have been shaken in an age of "sensitivity." Some observers have even referred to a crisis of masculinity for a new generation of boys. In Manly Traditions, established scholars in the fields of folklore, men's studies, and gender studies identify the folkloric roots of what it means to be a man in America. In a lively volume they examine the traditions men inherit and adapt for their own purposes in contemporary life.
Contents
Acknowledgments
IntroductionSimon J. Bronner
MenfolkSimon J. Bronner
Part I.Manly Displays and Performances
1. In the Company of Men: Female Accommodation and the Folk Culture of Male Groups Gary Alan Fine
2. "Running the Yard": The Negotiation of Masculinities in African American SteppingTom Mould
3. Muy Macho: Traditional Practices in the Formation of Latino Masculinity in South Texas Border CultureNorma E. Cantú
4. Performing Manliness: Resistance and Harmony in Japanese American TaikoHideyo Konagaya
5. "I Feel That I'm Freer to Show My Feminine Side": Folklore and Alternative Masculinities in a Rave SceneAnthony P. Avery
6. The Circuit: Gay Men's Techniques of EcstasyMickey Weems
Part II. Manly Expressions and Texts
7. The Folklore of Mother-Raised Boys and MenJay Mechling
8. Be Careful What You Wish For: Images of Masculinity in Tragedies of Wish FulfillmentGreg Kelley
9. Manly Characters in Contemporary Legends: A Preliminary SurveyW. F. H. Nicolaisen
10. Mountain Masculinity: Jokes Southern Mountain Men Tell on ThemselvesW. K. McNeil
11. Secret Erections and Sexual Fabrications: Old Men Crafting ManlinessSimon J. Bronner
12. "Letting Out Jack": Sex and Aggression in Manly RecitationsRonald L. Baker and Simon J. Bronner
Afterword: Many Manly Traditions—A Folkloristic MaelstromAlan Dundes
Contributors
Index
