Manhood Impossible

Men's Struggles to Control and Transform Their Bodies and Work

By Scott Melzer

Rutgers University Press

In Manhood Impossible, Scott Melzer argues that boys’ and men’s bodies and breadwinner status are the two primary sites for their expression of control. Controlling selves and others, and resisting being dominated and controlled is most connected to men’s bodies and work. However, no man can live up to these culturally ascendant ideals of manhood. The strategies men use to manage unmet expectations often prove toxic, not only for men themselves, but also for other men, women, and society. Melzer strategically explores the lives of four groups of adult men struggling with contemporary body and breadwinner ideals. These case studies uncover men’s struggles to achieve and maintain manhood, and redefine what it means to be a man.

Manhood Impossible is a thoughtfully conceived, well-written, and engaging book that speaks and adds to the literature on men, manhood, and masculinity. Melzer offers analysis grounded in rich description in this fresh addition to the field. Matthew B. Ezzell, associate professor of sociology at James Madison University

Manhood Impossible provides astute sociological insight into how men struggle to resuscitate their feelings of masculinity and access the exclusive dominion of manhood. With its intriguing case studies, accessible writing style, and ethnographic slant, this is an excellent book that students and scholars are sure to love. Kristen Barber, author of Styling Masculinity: Gender, Class, and Inequality in the Men's Grooming Industry

Stay-at-Home Dads Are Reshaping American Masculinity,' by Ashley Fetters The Atlantic

How Men Sabotage Themselves: And what entrepreneurs can do about it,' QA with Scott Melzer One37pm

Recommended.' Choice

Grounded in fieldwork, nicely written, and engaged with feminist research. Gender & Society

Manhood Impossible furthers the literature on gender and masculinity studies. It also contributes to the body of research on the sociology of the body and the sociology of the family. American Journal of Sociology

Why more men are becoming stay-at-home dads CNBC

SCOTT MELZER is a professor of sociology and chair of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Albion College in Michigan. He is the author of Gun Crusaders: The NRA's Culture War.

Contents
Introduction: The Manhood Dilemma
Part I The Body Dilemma
1          Ritual Violence in a Two-Car Garage
2          Fighting Back
3          Seeking Growth: The Penis Health Club
4          Compensating for Body Failures
Part II The Breadwinner Dilemma
5          Non-Breadwinners: Unemployed Men and Stay-at-home Dads
6          Unemployment Blues and Backlash
7          Redefining Manhood: Stay-at-home Dads as Real Men
Part III The Future of the Manhood Dilemma
Conclusion: Making Manhood Possible
Appendix: Studying Men and Manhood
Acknowledgments

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