The male body : a new look at men in public and in private

An exciting new popular study of the male body--fresh, honest, and full of revelations In this surprising, candid cultural analysis, Susan Bordo begins with a frank, tender look at her own father's body and goes on to perceptively scrutinize the presentation of maleness in everyday life. Men's (and women's) ideas about men's bodies are heavily influenced by society's expectations, and Bordo helps us understand where those ideas come from. In chapters on the penis (in all its incarnations), fifties Hollywood, male beauty standards, and sexual harassment, and in discussions of topics ranging from Marlon Brando and Boogie Nights to Philip Roth and Lady Chatterley's Lover , Bordo offers fresh and unexpected insights. Always--whether she is examining Michael Jordan or Humbert Humbert, the butch phallus or her own grade-school experiences--she rejects rigid categories in favor of an honest, nuanced version of men as flesh-and-blood human beings.

A fresh, unconventional look at the male body and contemporary notions of masculinity.

The male nude is everywhere now, from mainstream movies to magazine covers. What do we see when men take off their clothes, in public and in private? Is the male body truly exposed? In this candid cultural analysis, Susan Bordo speaks to men and women alike, scrutinizing the images and experiences of everyday life.

Drawing on personal anecdotes and insights from movies, novels, advertisements, news stories, and academic work, she inspects the assumptions that influence our perspectives on date rape, harassment, homosexuality, and pornography. She also considers recent changes in perceptions of masculinity, including a look at ad campaigns displaying the male body, the booming male beauty industry, and androgynous body ideals. Playboy, Marlon Brando, Viagra, Calvin Klein, The Full Monty, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Michael Jordan, and Philip Roth are all subjects of discussion. But whether she is examining Clarence Thomas, John Travolta, or Humbert Humbert, the butch phallus or her own grade-school experiences, Bordo rejects rigid characterizations. In exchange, she gives us a frank, tender view of her own father's body, a refreshing look at the penis in all its incarnations, and, overall, a clear and candid vision of men as flesh-and-blood human beings.

Richard Eder

...[M]ixes more or less conventional cultural scholarship with a personal memoir....[Very] interesting are Ms. Bordo's own memories and what she makes of them....Neither Mars nor Venus: what is at issue is one same small patch of mortalitymore naturally cultivated that divided and warred over. —The New York Times

"In this surprising, candid cultural analysis, Susan Bordo begins with a frank, tender look at her own father's body and goes on to perceptively scrutinize the presentation of maleness in everyday life. Men's (and women's) ideas about men's bodies are heavily influenced by society's expectations, and Bordo helps us understand where those ideas come from. In chapters on the penis (in all its incarnations), fifties Hollywood, male beauty standards, and sexual harassment, and in discussions of topics ranging from Marlon Brando and Boogie Nights to Philip Roth and Lady Chatterley's Lover, Bordo offers fresh and unexpected insights. Always--whether she is examining Michael Jordan or Humbert Humbert, the butch phallus or her own grade-school experiences--she rejects rigid categories in favor of an honest, nuanced version of men as flesh-and-blood human beings." --Publisher description The male nude is everywhere today, from mainstream movies to magazine covers. What do we really see when men take off their clothes, in public and in private? In this surprising, candid cultural analysis, Susan Bordo, author of Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body, writes about men and their bodies, both at home and in the media. Beginning with a frank, tender look at her own father's body, and drawing on personal history as well as insights from her analysis of movies, novels, advertisements, news stories, and biology, she perceptively scrutinizes the presentation of maleness in everyday life. In this surprising and candid cultural analysis of men in public and private life, Bordo begins with a frank and tender look at her own father's body and goes on to perceptively scrutinize the presentation of maleness in everyday life. 45 photos throughout. In this candid analysis, Susan Bordo speaks to men and women alike, scrutinising the images and experience of everyday life. She takes a frank, tender look at her own father's body and goes on to analyse the presentation of maleness in wider society