Manly traditions: the folk roots of American masculinities

Abstract

Take this test. You think today's sensitive, caring man is: a myth, an oxymoron, or a moron. No matter whether you laugh at this bit of folk humor, its wide circulation bespeaks a modern predicament for 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. Simon J. Bronner is a distinguished, University Professor of Studies and Folklore at the Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg. He is the author of over a dozen books, including Following Tradition: Folklore in the Discourse of Culture; Grasping Things: Material Culture and Mass Society in America; Carver's Art: Crafting Meaning from Wood; Folk Nation: Folklore in The Creation of Tradition; American Children's Folklore; Piled Higher and Deeper: The Folklore of Student Life; Old-Time Music Makers of New York State; and American Folklore Studies: An Intellectual History.