Reviews for The image of man

The average rating for The image of man based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-06-11 00:00:00 Trevor Berger Mosse examines the roles of factors such as athletics, medicine, social and religious institutions, et al in the construction of masculine identity, and how that normative or stereotypical identity influenced the social, political, and cultural landscape of modern Europe. He also considers the role of institutions in perpetuating gender stereotypes and linking them to the well-being of the nations and social classes. The idea of masculinity did not change markedly between the French Revolution and the Second World War. "The construction of modern masculinity," Mosse argues, "was closely linked to the new bourgeois society that was in the making at the end of the eighteenth century" when aristocratic ideas of manliness were reconfigured to reflect middle class concerns about moral purpose and activities. Mosse's subtitle "The Creation of Modern Masculinity" reveals his argument: masculinity is socially constructed and externally imposed. More ground-breakingly, he argues that "the masculine stereotype" is as much a part of national or social identity as of personal, leaving "hardly one modern ideology untouched" and therefore an examination of the concept(s) is essentially to understanding "the ideals and functioning of normative society." Mosse posits a mutually affective relationship between moral and behavioral standards and ideals of masculinity; this model is applicable to any given period, although the content of the ideals is of course subject to alteration. In this study Mosse focuses on the normative masculine stereotype which he identifies as dominant throughout the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, examining the process by which it evolved and the effect these ideas had on western society. The ideal of masculinity, Mosse, argues, must be examined as "a totality" not by study of any of several component attributes. His reason for taking this position is his argument that masculine identity has historically been "regarded as of one piece from the very beginning: body and soul, outward appearance and inward virtue were supposed to form one harmonious whole, a perfect construct where every part was in its place." Mosse makes an interesting distinction between ideals or standards of masculinity, which have always existed, and masculinity as a stereotype, which he says developed only in the modern period. He puts this development in the context of "a general quest for symbols" which arose as a reaction to the confusions and instability of modern times. He also attributes this stereotyping process to the increasingly important role of science, which perforce classes men as a homogenous group rather than as individuals. Mosse also touches on the way in which this stereotyping was reinforced by negative stereotyping of marginalized groups, such as Jews, gypsies, and blacks. An intriguing question raised by Mosse is the relationship between the growth of stereotypes masculinity and the corresponding emergence of the women's rights movement. Perhaps the increasing independence of women was perceived as a threat by men, whose insecurity was expressed by the strengthening of masculine stereotypes. On the other hand, the causal relationship may go in the other direction, with women's increasing "mannishness" being a response to their internalization of the masculine ideal; Mosse suggests that women may have adopted the idealized masculine virtues in an attempt to take part in the defense of their national or cultural integrity. In a broader socio-political context, Mosse devotes much of the book to exploring the relationship between ideals of masculinity and the trends of fascism, socialism, and imperialism. But Mosse does not neglect the chronological placement of masculinity, either; he traces the modern stereotype of masculinity back to the ideas of the Enlightenment and, even further, to the influence of medieval chivalric ideals, although these of course underwent transmutation over time, especially in response to the development of the bourgeois class. Mosse views customs such as dueling as ligaments connecting these disparate eras. Mosse's examination of this topic is comprehensive. As well as taking more obvious questions of morality and behavior into consideration, he also discusses issues ranging from ideals of beauty and attitudes toward physical fitness to Pietism to anti-Semitism to the labor movement to hysteria to war propaganda, drawing connections between them. Appropriately, in light of wide range of issues, Mosse makes use of a wide range of source material, from literature to legal precedents. His brief but well-balanced study of uses of the myth of the Wandering Jew could easily serve as the basis for a longer examination of this image. He does an excellent job of extrapolating from specific events or individuals - Oscar Wilde and his green carnation, for instance, or a poster advertising a cure to neurasthenia - to broader social or political conclusions which are coherent and convincing. Mosse titles his last chapter with a question, "Toward a New Masculinity?" Here he summarizes post-war developments in the masculine stereotype and its perception, moving chronologically toward the present day. At the end of this summation he restates his thesis in no uncertain terms: "The fate of modern masculinity was and is bound up with that society of which it is a part, and especially with society's attitude toward respectability. Respectability, however, provides society with essential cohesion, and it is difficult to envision its downfall or even radical change." In the following paragraph he poses the question, "If manliness has reflected the hopes and wishes of modern society, what then would happen if these changed drastically, if there was no further need to reconcile order and progress, and if the dynamic thought vital to the functioning of society was no longer perceived as threatening the longing for harmony?" Although Mosse is no optimistic about the likelihood of such a change, his work in this field is of use for anyone striving to affect such social alterations.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-06-15 00:00:00 Buck Nekkid George L. Mosse was one of the most important German historians of his generation. As a Jewish homosexual emigre and survivor of the Third Reich, he was critical to the re-thinking and nuancing of the understanding of National Socialism and the Holocaust that took place beginning in the mid-1960s. The journal he founded with Walter Laqueur, _The Journal of Contemporary History_, has become established as one of the most important locations for debate on twentieth-century History. This book represents something of a swan-song for Mosse. It was written and published shortly before his death in 1999, by which time he was sufficiently established to guarantee that nearly anything with his name on it would get a release. The subject of this book is the kind that requires that degree of security to undertake - he claims to be able to trace the modern concept of masculinity from its intellectual roots in the ancient Greeks through its reinterpretation in the Enlightenment all the way to the (post-)modern world of MTV and "be all you can be." The boldness of the attempt combines with Mosse's erudition and engaging writing to make a very exciting read that is well worth engaging. This is not to say that it is without flaws, however. Mosse vastly simplifies masculinity by reducing it to a psychological "stereotype" that lacks the subtle nuances of R.W. Connell's conception of "hegemonic" and "marginalized" masculinities. For Mosse, the hegemonic version is the only one, and it exists without challenge, isolating and destroying competitors until some kind of quantum paradigm-shift occurs to displace it. Mosse not only fails to engage Connell's systematized approach, he fails to mention Connell or any previous writer on the subject of masculinity, presenting himself as completely original and alone in considering the subject (actually, apparently as an afterthought, he mentions John Tosh's work in a footnote near the end of the book, but manages to add insult to injury by misspelling his name). I've rated the book as highly as four stars despite these flaws, partly on the assumption that most of those who find this review in goodreads will be unfamiliar with the more advanced work on masculinity and because this is an engaging and enjoyable read for a novice to the subject. I think that the first chapters, particularly, identify some very interesting figures in the history of masculine thought - his work on Winckelmann and Lavater could easily be integrated into our understanding of the intellectual roots of "hard" manliness. His analysis of the Fascist concept of masculinity, the area with which he is most familiar, is also valuable, even if he does inevitabilize it in his narrative a bit overmuch. It is too bad that Mosse didn't have the time (or perhaps the interest) to go farther with this project, to bring it into line with the most current research of the time, but what he has given us at the end of his career is a fascinating insight into a part of the human story, especially as it relates to men.