Review of “Violent Manhood”

Abstract

Reviewer: Ashleigh E. McKinzie, Middle Tennessee State University, USA Violent Manhood by J. E. Sumerau is an accessible monograph that details hegemonic definitions of what it means to be a man in contemporary US society. The book is particularly compelling as Sumerau includes discussions of #Metoo and Black Lives Matter in their analysis of violent manhood, making the manuscript important for instructors and students alike. Based on interviews with young, white, heterosexual, middle class men, Sumerau interrogates how conceptualizations of manhood include violence toward others, violence toward women, and toward people who are LGBTQ. After summarizing the book’s theoretical frameworks, mostly drawn from symbolic interactionism, Sumerau dedicates a chapter to participants’ responses to the question “what does it mean to be a man,” and investigates topics about manhood and violence such as violence and firearms, how men excuse violence, and then studies participants’ ideas about social movements. The book’s overall...