Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men
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Why do so many guys seem stuck between adolescence and adulthood? Why do so many of them fail to launch? Just what is going on with America's young men?
The passage from adolescence to adulthood was once clear, coherent, and relatively secure: in their late teenage years and early twenties, guys "put away childish things" and entered their futures as responsible adults. Today growing up has become more complex and confusing as young men drift casually through college and beyond—hanging out, partying, playing with tech toys, watching sports. But beneath the appearance of a simple extended boyhood, a more dangerous social world has developed, far away from the traditional signposts and cultural signals that once helped boys navigate their way to manhood.
The average young American man today is moving through a new stage of development, a buddy culture unfazed by the demands of parents, girlfriends, jobs, kids, and other nuisances of adult life. Sociologist and gender studies authority Michael Kimmel has identified this territory as "Guyland," a place that is both a stage of life and a new social arena.
Guyland is the locker room writ large: the world where young men both test and prove themselves as men and develop the defining attitudes and self-images they will carry into adulthood. Kimmel has interviewed hundreds of young men ages sixteen to twenty-six in high schools and college fraternity houses, military academies and sports bars, to better understand Guyland's rules and restrictions, its layers of peer pressure and gender policing, its features and artifacts—from the ordinary (video games, sports, and music) to the extreme (violent fraternity initiations, sexual predation).
In mapping the social world where tomorrow's men are made, Kimmel offers a view into the minds and times of America's sons, brothers, and boyfriends, and works toward redefining what it means to be a man today—and tomorrow. Only by understanding this world and this life stage can we enable young men to chart their own paths, to stay true to themselves, and to travel safely through Guyland, emerging as responsible and fully formed men of integrity and honor.
DESCRIPTION:
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.310973
EAN: 9780060831349
ISBN: 0060831340
Label: Harper
Manufacturer: Harper
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2008-09-01
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: 2008-08-26
Studio: Harper
SIMILAR ITEMS:
• The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators Must Do
• Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School
• Outliers: The Story of Success
• Manhood in America: A Cultural History
• Men to Boys: The Making of Modern Immaturity
CUSTOMER REVIEWS:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice transaction! Thank you!
Comment: Nice transaction! Thank you!
Good delivery time.
The book was in the same shape as mentioned.
Great condition!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Rings True
Comment: This is an important book and it rings true. I am a psychotherapist and many of my patients are 20-something women who date men who disrespect them and who spend their free time playing video games, surfing internet porn, smoking pot and binge drinking. When I was in my 20s (I'm 45) I knew no woman who would tolerate this behavior from a boyfriend. Now many young women seem to think they have no choice because so many young men act this way. Kimmel's book describes how and why men from Generations "X" and "Y" became the "guys" they are, and he offers some solutions.
Kimmel hits the nail on the head when he describes how young white men grow up with a sense of entitlement that is at odds with the reality of the lives they are expecting. Economic and social changes have taken away much of white male privilege, and young men are enraged. Kimmel also points out how adolescence is biologically and socially longer than it used to be. But he mostly blames the abdication of parents and school administrators who should be responsible for molding young men but who instead live vicariously through their exploits or who simply can't be bothered to be positive influences. Kimmel's book is a welcome antidote both to conservative writers who blame women ("feminism") for men's faults and to liberal apologists who "explain" away the misbehavior and even crimes of young men. His emphasis is on responsibility and accountability.
My only complaint with Kimmel's book is that I think he has the age range wrong. It isn't just guys ages 16 to 26. I come across men in their 30s who are "guys." They are unable to relate empathetically to women and spend their time surfing porn, binge drinking and in some cases using prostitutes. The change occured after the Boomer generation, not just in the past 10 years. Actually Kimmel's own examples point this out. Men in their 30s grew up with the vast economic changes of the Reagan era and with video games and violent gangsta rap. Young men in their 20s are now inundated with pornography and "reality" tv that degrades women. Kimmel sees the media as a symptom, but I'm not so sure; I think the media has great influence.
If you had told me 25 years ago that in the future, young men would be more sexist than they were in 1984, I would not have believed you. I am surprised there is not more of a national debate about this. But then again, who runs the media? Kimmel describes in biting detail the "culture of silence" that promotes "Guyland." He is dead on target. No one wants to talk about what is really going on with young people or take responsibility for it.
I didn't think I would learn much that was new in this book but Kimmel explicates many phenomena I have casually observed. This book is fascinating and should be read by young men and women and anyone who works with them or has a child of that age.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book
Comment: Finally, a truthful, revealing and accurate analysis of an entire generation of failures and bozos. There are some exceptions to this rule, but not nearly enough. While many of their generation are in denial, even the casual observer will quickly note how many twentysomething males today are perpetually immature, childish, irresponsible, incapable, and failures as men, sons, and employees. Unfortunately, very few of them are able to see themselves as they are, which only deepens their descent and keeps them trapped in their childish world. It's very sad, but this book reveals them as they truly are.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Interesting Look at the Modern Guy World
Comment: This is a shocking look into the world of young men from 16 to 24. The book is a interesting read because of the uncertainty of masculinity during those years. There is a constant fight to be accepted and manly during those years which causes some terrible immature behavior. The landscape is changing from young men, especially during the college days where the majority of time is spent playing video games, hooking up, and watching pornography. Instead of becoming men, there is a delaying of the desire through binge drinking and hazing. This book can be a hard read because of some of the language but it is a useful read because of the need to understand what young men are dealing with in the presence world. For a shocking look into "guyland" check this book out. You will be disappointed at what is happening but helped in dealing with the challenges of this time of age.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Topic, Good Information but Poorly Written
Comment: With 4 kids of my own and 5 more that I advocate for, I'm constantly trying to understand why they do what they do and how can I help them become engaged and responsible adults.
Most of the topics in this book I had already read about or discussed with other educators and parents. However, the reminder of why young men are so desperately trying be accepted among "Guyland" is well worth the 3 hours I spent reading this book.
The main critique I offer is that the arrangement of the information is less than cohesive and somewhat redundant. Also, Mr. Kimmel's political slant came through from time to time, chipping away at his credibility.
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