This edited volume rethinks Masculinity Studies by breaking away from the notion of the perpetual crisis of masculinity. It argues that not enough has been done to distinguish patriarchy from masculinity and proposes to detox masculinity by offering a collection of positive representations of men in fictional and non-fictional texts. The editors show how ideas of hegemonic and toxic masculinity have been too fixed on the exploration of dominance and subservience, and too little on the men (and the male characters in fiction) who behave following other ethical, personal and socially accepted patterns. Bringing together research from different periods and genres, this collection provides broad, multidisciplinary insights into alternative representations of masculinity.
Author(s): Sara Martín, M. Isabel Santaulària
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 307
City: Cham
Acknowledgments
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Chapter 1: Introduction: Beyond Toxic Patriarchal Masculinity
Why Masculinity Needs to Be Detoxed (and Good Men Found)
How This Books Works
References
Part I: Literature
Chapter 2: The Visible-Invisible Good Man in Jane Austen’s The Watsons
“By Indirections Find Directions Out”
The Watsons
What Is Toxic Masculinity for Jane Austen?
Toxic Masculinity in The Watsons
Remedying Toxic Masculinity in Emma’s World
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 3: Ishmael’s Detoxing Process: Escaping Domestic Homogeneity in Moby-Dick
Introduction: A Novel of Escape
Escaping Toxic Homogeneity
Living-With in Pluralistic Dwellings
Cohabitation: Morality, Ethics, Goodness
“Unhousing”: The Need to Create More Pluralistic Dwellings
Notes
References
Chapter 4: From Brutal to Spiritual Men in T.S. Eliot’s Poetry and Drama: Sweeney and Beyond
Introduction: How Dual Sweeney Unites Eliot’s Men
Sweeney the Brute
Sweeney, or the Promise of Humanity
Harry Monchensey and Colby Simpkins, or Sweeney Purified
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Hybrid Masculinities in D.H. Lawrence’s “The Blind Man” and Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”
Introduction: Detoxing Masculinities
Rethinking Hybrid Masculinities
“Mortal Friendship”: Hybrid Masculinities in “The Blind Man”
“A Regular Blind Jack-of-All-Trades”: Hybrid Masculinities in “Cathedral”
Conclusion
References
Part II: Transnational Fictions
Chapter 6: Of Tender Hearts and Good Men: Reading Australian Masculinity in Tim Winton’s Fiction
Introduction
The Riders: A Man with “A Big Heart”
Eyrie, Breath, and The Turning: Of Goodness, Care, and Ethical Responsibility
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: “A Good Man is Hard to Find”: The Making of Michael ‘Digger’ Digson
Introduction: Caribbean Empowerment
Fighting Toxic Misogynistic Violence in the Caribbean
An Example of Toxic Masculinity: Malan
Digger, the Detoxed Man
Conclusions
References
Chapter 8: Black Masculinities in the Age of #BLM: Zadie Smith’s On Beauty
Introduction: Black Masculinities
Fluid Borders: Black Atlantic Identities in Zadie Smith’s On Beauty
Racialized Gender Performativity in Urban Spaces: The Case of Levi Belsey
Conclusion: Towards a Detoxed Black Masculinity
References
Part III: Fantasy
Chapter 9: “Some Wizards Just Like to Boast that Theirs Are Bigger and Better”: Harry Potter and the Rejection of Patriarchal Power
Introduction: Harry as Anti-patriarchal Hero
Casting Away the Elder Wand: Harry’s Rejection of Power
Harry, Just Harry: A Good But Imperfect Ordinary Boy
Conclusion
References
Chapter 10: A Lover Boy with Battle Scars: Romance, War Fiction, and the Construction of Peeta Mellark as a Good Man in The Hunger Games Trilogy
Introduction
Peeta the Lover Boy, or The Hunger Games as Romance
Battle Scars, or The Hunger Games as War Fiction
Conclusions
References
Chapter 11: Masculinity and Heroism in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: The Case of Good Captain Carrot
Introduction: Heroism, Goodness, and Masculinity
A Not So Predictable Hero: Law and Community
Charisma, Care, and Vulnerability
Conclusion
References
Part IV: Science Fiction
Chapter 12: Skywalker: Bad Fathers and Good Sons
Introduction: Detoxing the Jedi
Return of the Jedi: Patrilineal Tensions
Anakin Skywalker: Before Evil
The Rise of Skywalker: Detoxing Patrilinear Evil
Conclusion
References
Chapter 13: Changing the Script of “Human Is”: Re-visioning the Good (Hu)Man in Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
Introduction: Re-visioning Philip K. Dick
Re-visioning “Human Is”
Re-visioning Silas’s Toxic Masculinity
Re-visioning Silas: Embodied Alternative Masculinity
Conclusion: Re-visioning the Good (Hu)man
References
Chapter 14: Between Therapy and Revolution: Mr. Robot’s Ambivalence Toward Hacker Masculinity
Introduction: Mr. Robot as Contemporary Critical Dystopia
A Note on Sf and the (Re-)imagination of Masculinities
Mental Illness and Capitalist Realism in Mr. Robot
Elliot’s Transformation: Masculine Vulnerability
Conclusion: The Ambivalences of Hacker Masculinities
References
Part V: Close to Life
Chapter 15: A Few Good Old Men: Revising Ageing Masculinities in Last Tango in Halifax
Introduction: Ageing Masculinities
Ageing Masculinities and Fiction/Media in the Twenty-First Century
Alan Buttershaw in Last Tango in Halifax
Romantic Relationships and the Ageing Man
Alan in Intergenerational Relationships
Conclusion
References
Chapter 16: Let the Little Children Come to Me: Fred Rogers, the Good Man as TV Educator
Introduction: An Authentic Man
The Biography: The Unsolved Mystery of the Man and the Children
The Documentary Film: Defining Goodness
The Fiction Film: Issues in Anger Management
Conclusion
References
Chapter 17: The Part of the Iceberg That Doesn’t Show: Romance, Good Husbands, and Mr Julia Child
Introduction: Julie & Julia, Romance, and the Romance Hero
The Hero of Popular Romance: Old Patterns
A Real/Really Romantic Alternative: Mr Julia Child
Conclusion
References
Index
