* What is 'masculinity'? Is 'masculinities' a more appropriate term? * How are masculinities socially, culturally and historically shaped? * How are particular masculinities created, enacted and represented in specific settings? * How can masculinities best be researched and theorized? Masculinities and Culture explores how 'masculinities', or ways of 'being a man', are anchored in time and place; the products of socio-historical and cultural circumstances. It examines the emergence of a masculinity fit for Empire in the mid to late nineteenth century and, by way of contrast, the more recent media-driven, commercial New Man and New Lad masculinity. The author considers some of the media discourses shaping masculinities today, and the formation of specific masculinities in specific settings (such as prisons, hospitals and schools) which both define, and in turn are defined by, strongly held conceptions of acceptable masculine behaviour. He concludes by reviewing a range of ways in which masculinities might be researched, from fieldwork and auto/biographical and life history approaches through to semiotics and the use of both film and literary texts. This lively text provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary debates concerning masculinities as gendered constructions, along with the means of researching and theorizing them.

Presenting a survey of the social, cultural and theoretical issues which surround and inform our understanding of masculinity, this book explores the interface between traditional sociological approaches and the work covered by more post-structural, media-driven or cultural perspectives. Edwards well known for his work on representations of masculinities, uses grounded examples of the job market and domestic violence to set his theoretical discussion. He argues that there is a need for more dialogue on men and masculinities between disciplines, and considers the validity of the concerns and anxieties which surround masculinity in the contemporary world through a range of key topics, including: the new man, the new lad and ‘men’s movements’ men, masculinity and violence marginalized masculinities: black masculinity and gay male sexuality queer theory, performativity and fashion cinema, representation and the body. One of the most comprehensive and progressive studies of modern masculinity available, this book will be essential reading for students of gender, culture and sociology.

Masculinities in Contemporary American Culture offers readers a multidisciplinary, intersectional overview of masculinity studies that includes both theoretical and applied lenses. Keith combines current research with historical perspectives to demonstrate the contexts in which masculine identities have come evolved. With an emphasis on popular culture -- particularly film, TV, video games, and music -- this text invites students to examine their gendered sensibilities and discuss the ways in which different forms of media appeal to toxic masculinity.

Critically exploring the ways in which men and masculinities are commonly theorized, this multidisciplinary text opens up a discussion around such relationships, and shows that, as with feminisms, there is a diversity of theoretical traditions. It draws on a variety of examples, and explores new directions in the complexities of diverse male identities and emotional lives across different histories, cultures and traditions. This book: considers the experiences of different generations explores connections between masculinity and drugs investigates men and masculinities in a post-9/11 world considers new ways of thinking about male violence recognizes the importance of culture and provides spaces to explore different class, ‘race’ and ethnic masculinities. Written in a practical, versatile manner by an established author in this field, it points to new directions in thinking, and makes essential reading for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in the fields of sociology, gender studies, politics, philosophy and psychology.

Analyzing the meanings of masculinity in contemporary culture, this book examines specific cultural male icons like Muhammad Ali, Harvey Keitel, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Newt Gingrich and explores the male stereotypes such as the cowboy, the father, the homosexual, and the Black terror.

Popular culture in the latter half of the twentieth century precipitated a decisive change in style and body image. Postwar film, television, radio shows, pulp fiction and comics placed heroic types firmly within public consciousness. This book concentrates on these heroic male types as they have evolved from the postwar era and their relationship to fashion to the present day. As well as demonstrating the role of male icons in contemporary society, this book’s originality also lies in showing the many gender slippages that these icons help to effect or expose. It is by exploring the somewhat inviolate types accorded to contemporary masculinity that we see the very fragility of a stable or rounded male identity.