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Reading this, you may think that my dad’s 5 supremacy and white male dominance over
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less-desirable behavior is pretty normal for a cis 1 black men and women of all races.
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Identity white guy, and I agree with you, it is. (I would know,
I’ve dated lots of them.) But when I try to confront • • •
Perhaps your students would benefit from my dad, or most of the cis men who I am close to
an exploration of the meaning of “cis” and about their misogyny, their responses have always In her seminal book on the issue, Manliness and
“cisgender.” These terms are defined in the been a genuine — but unwelcome — shock. When Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and
footnote, but you might want to position I describe their unsavory qualities as rooted in what Race in the United States, 1880–1917, author Gail
them with other terms of gender identity. bell hooks calls the “disease” that is masculinity — Bederman writes: “I don’t see manhood as
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You also might have them use the Google punching walls, talking over women, screaming at either an intrinsic essence or a collection of
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
Trend search for the terms (see the anno- a sporting event in a tone that should only be traits, attributes, or sex roles. Manhood — or
tation note on page 292) for a snapshot of ‘masculinity,’ as it is commonly termed
their history. reserved for encounters with killers — they’ve
looked at me quizzically, angrily. today — is a continual, dynamic process.” The
Last week, comedian Michael Ian Black first thing we need to do, according to Bederman,
wrote a compelling and heartfelt piece for is stop arguing that masculinity has traits that are
DIFFERENTIATION The New York Times titled “The Boys Are Not inherent. “Gender,” she writes, “is dynamic and
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
All Right.” Acknowledging, in the wake of the always changing.”
Connections to Text Parkland mass shooting that claimed the lives Between 1820 and 1860, according to 10
Students might be interested in reading of 17 students and teachers, that “Girls aren’t Bederman, more and more white men were
Michael Ian Black’s article, too. If so, they pulling the triggers. It’s boys. It’s almost always beginning to identify as middle class: entrepre-
could add that as one of the sources within boys,” Black made a plea to interrogate the state neurs, professionals, and managers. And with
this Conversation synthesis set. You might of boyhood and manhood in the United States. that distinction, there came about a new and
also have students discuss Meyerson’s He writes, “There has to be a way to expand important gender identification for men, one
choice to use Black’s article to set up her what it means to be a man without losing our that centered around civility. As opposed to
thesis as a counterargument (and quote masculinity. I don’t know how we open our- brutishness or violent tendencies, manliness
from it in her conclusion). selves to the rich complexity of our manhood.” during this period was focused on a civilized
Black is starting from the same place that character, holding off on marriage to accrue
many of the men in my life are: that certain wealth. And then a man should focus on pro-
DIFFERENTIATION qualities of masculinity are natural and immov- viding a good life for his wife, his children, or
able, and what’s important is that we expand his employees.
Inquiry on its innate properties to include more femi- Between 1879 and 1910, the number of
Beginning with paragraph 9, Meyerson nine ones, instead of scrutinizing, or, dare middle-class men who were self-employed
summarizes the changing definitions of I even say, proposing to rid ourselves of the dropped, from 67 percent to 37 percent,
ding to Bederman’
s work.
, accor
masculinity
masculinity, according to Bederman’s work. whole category. prompting another shift. “Middle class Victo-
You might have students create a timeline It might sound rash, getting rid of masculin- rian men were obsessed with manhood at the
that notes each era and bullet point the ity. But it’s really not a crazy thought. We only turn of the century,” writes Bederman. They
corresponding definitions. They could then, have to look back a little over 100 years to became “obsessed” with cowboy novels, and
using their own historical knowledge or understand that, in America, the concept of hunting and fishing. At the same time new
their research skills, speculate on the cul- masculinity was constructed to defend white epithets, like “sissy,” “pussy-foot,” “cold feet”
tural shifts and events that corresponded 1 Short for cisgender; people who are cisgender have a gender identity and “stuffed shirt, ” emerged, indicating
with each era. You might ask them if they that aligns with the biological sex they were assigned at birth. — Eds. “behavior which had once appeared self-
bell hooks (1952–2021) was an American feminist activist, writer,
could define any sort of historical line of 2 and scholar. She purposely chose to spell her name in all lowercase possessed and manly but now seemed
reasoning based on their timeline: over to maintain her audience’s focus on her ideas rather than her over-civilized and effeminate,” writes Bederman.
time, what has been the evolution of the identity. — Eds. Around 1890, a noun defined as “the essence of
term?
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DIFFERENTIATION
Collaborative Learning
Meyerson leans heavily on Bederman from
paragraphs 9–14. You could have students
examine how she uses that other source
within her own argument. Students, with part-
ners, could highlight the quotations and direct
summaries from Bederman, and then exam-
ine Meyerson’s commentary. Do they feel
Meyerson successfully uses Bederman, or do
they feel she could use the source differently?

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