Product Description

Adam Sandler movies, HBO's Entourage, and such magazines as Maxim and FHM all trade in and appeal to one character& mdash;the modern boy-man. Addicted to video games, comic books, extreme sports, and dressing down, the boy-man would rather devote an afternoon to Grand Theft Auto than plan his next career move. He would rather prolong the hedonistic pleasures of youth than embrace the self-sacrificing demands of adulthood.

When did maturity become the ultimate taboo? Men have gone from idolizing Cary Grant to aping Hugh Grant, shunning marriage and responsibility well into their twenties and thirties. Gary Cross, renowned cultural historian, identifies the boy-man and his habits, examining the attitudes and practices of three generations to make sense of this gradual but profound shift in American masculinity. Cross matches the rise of the American boy-man to trends in twentieth-century advertising, popular culture, and consumerism, and he locates the roots of our present crisis in the vague call for a new model of leadership that, ultimately, failed to offer a better concept of maturity.

Cross does not blame the young or glorify the past. He finds that men of the "Greatest Generation" might have embraced their role as providers but were confused by the contradictions and expectations of modern fatherhood. Their uncertainty gave birth to the Beats and men who indulged in childhood hobbies and boyish sports. Rather than fashion a new manhood, baby-boomers held onto their youth and, when that was gone, embraced Viagra. Without mature role models to emulate or rebel against, Generation X turned to cynicism and sensual intensity, and the media fed on this longing, transforming a life stage into a highly desirable lifestyle. Arguing that contemporary American culture undermines both conservative ideals of male maturity and the liberal values of community and responsibility, Cross concludes with a proposal for a modern marriage of personal desire and ethical adulthood., reviewing a previous edition or volume

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #621431 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-27
• Released on: 2008-09-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 328 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Cross, a professor of history at Penn State University, seeks the contemporary social puzzle of why men are refusing to grow up and commit to marriage and family. With declining marriage statistics, Cross (The Cute and the Cool) explains that these American boy-men reject the traditional notions of mature masculinity, while opting for vanity and narcissism with a new motto: manhood is play and it never ends. He cites the example of Hugh Hefner's popular concept of childish male wish fulfillment, an empire built on sexually available women, carnal fantasies and eternal playtime. Feminism, extended adolescence and an aggressive media culture promoting conflicting signals about maleness and fatherhood only add to this immaturity trend. Not only does Cross outline the dilemma, but he cites a cure: We must recognize that as adults, and equally as men, we have responsibilities to our partners, families, and communities beyond our own need for experience and pleasure. In this perceptive, eloquent book, Cross concludes that growing-up has never been more difficult in this complicated time. (Sept.)
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From School Library Journal
Gender studies have for so long focused almost exclusively on women that the term is sometimes taken to mean women's studies, a focus that has left a major gap in gender studies courses and texts. These four books represent the most recent attempts to understand men and their role in society.Cross (history, Pennsylvania State Univ.; The Cute and the Cool) posits that men are not acting like adults, but like big kids, pointing out that many men, even into their thirties, play video games, enjoy radio programs such as Howard Stern's, and still live at home with their parents. He uses the term boy-men to describe these males who refuse to grow up and act their age. Although many people in the social sciences will recognize Cross's primary point, his term boy-men seems prone to possible misinterpretation. Nonetheless, Cross provides an interesting take on the history and development of boy-men, which he argues began in the 1950s. He points out that popular TV shows watched by boys in the 1950s and 1960s were child-friendly versions of the Old West, e.g., Gunsmoke, and other examples of watered-down masculinity, e.g., The Courtship of Eddie's Father. He cites Hugh Hefner's playboy, hedonistic, pleasure-seeking persona as the envy of many men who wished simply to live a carefree life and be surrounded by beautiful women. Cross argues that the boy-men of today are basically a product of several generations wherein men were coddled as boys and not expected to take on the responsibilities traditionally associated with adult males.Journalist Garcia (The New Mainstream) argues that men's role in society has become compromised as women continue to make huge strides in many social spheres, including employment and education. With their traditional role as breadwinner taken away from them, men are less sure about their place. As a result, Garcia argues, young men have formed and embraced a "Jackass culture" that keeps men in a perpetual spring-break mode.Kimmel (sociology, SUNY, Stony Brook; Manhood in America) puts forth the argument, similar to Cross's, that guys are not growing up and instead are listening to Howard Stern and playing video games, both of which behaviors contribute to the stunting of their maturity. Kimmel's "Guyland" is both a stage of life and the places where men gather to be guys. Kimmel spends time on the "Guy Code," which emphasizes the ways in which men are identified as men, including being emotionless, displaying masculinity whenever possible (e.g., never wearing pink), and remaining loyal to one's male friends.The only woman among these authors, syndicated columnist Parker argues in her antifeminist book that there is a smear campaign against men, especially white men. She believes men are blamed for everything and that if they even look at a woman in a certain way they face harassment charges. She highlights the declining role of men in society by pointing out the gradual eradication of fathers from children's lives (30 to 40 percent of children sleep in a home without their father present), the crisis in educating boys, the need for male elementary teachers, discrimination against men in child custody suits, the gradual feminizing of men in culture, the cultural acceptance of The Vagina Monologues but the denial of the male counterpart, The Penis Monologues, and the "girling" down of the military.The underlying themes of all four books involve the idea that parents have become enablers of their kids' (especially boys') refusal to mature and take on adult responsibilities. Further, as men have confronted the changing role of women, the corresponding concern over what it means to be a man has been lambasted by many in the mainstream. The material found in these books thus goes against politically correct flags. For some, this may be a welcome relief. These accessible books are highly recommended for all libraries because they provoke discussion and keep the conversation on gender alive.—Tim Delaney, SUNY at Oswego
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"[A] perceptive, eloquent book." -- Publishers Weekly

"Cross slides through 20th-century culture in loping, eloquent paragraphs. He gives us informed wryness -- as when he observes that the patron saint of modern manhood has morphed from Cary Grant (mature) to Hugh Grant (not) -- and then tells us what it means." -- Dan Zak, Washington Post

"[A] thoughtful journey through the male-strom of modern masculinity." -- Kay Hymowitz, Wall Street Journal

"An interesting take on the history and development of boy-men... Highly recommended." -- Library Journal

"A thought-provoking read for men and women of all walks of like." -- The Futurist

"Cross contributes important lessons to gender and masculinity studies in this roller coaster ride through an intersection of biography and history... Essential." -- Choice

"[This] copiously researched, subtly argued, and lucidly written account of modern immaturity... serves as a needed hair shirt for the regressive adult." -- Christopher Benson, The Weekly Standard

"an important contribution to our understanding of major shifts in cultural values in the second half of the twentieth century." -- Lisa Jacobson, H-Childhood