Performing American Masculinities

This collection highlights the fluidity of masculinity in American popular culture at the turn of the new millennium and beyond by examining possibilities for male identity formation. Each chapter mines American popular culture -- theatre, film, literature, music, advertising, internet content, television, photography, and current events -- to pose questions about the process of gender creation and the contestation of masculinities as constantly changing political forms. The first section explores masculinities within late capitalism and includes studies of Seinfeld, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,and reality television. The second section addresses identity when masculinity intersects with race, religion, disability, and sexuality, including chapters on Barack Obama, the O.J. trial, and popular movies.

Elwood Watson is Professor of History, African American Studies, and Gender Studies at East Tennessee State University. He is author of Outsiders Within: Black Women in the Legal Academy after Brown v. Board. Marc E. Shaw is Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at Hartwick College. His recent publications include contributions to the book Twilight and Philosophy.