Pinks, Pansies, and Punks
The Rhetoric of Masculinity in American Literary Culture
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Indiana University Press
Published:23rd Dec '10
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This book traces the evolution of masculinity in American literature, highlighting the emergence of macho criticism and its cultural implications. Pinks, Pansies, and Punks offers a deep dive into gender attitudes.
In Pinks, Pansies, and Punks, the author provides a comprehensive cultural history that examines the evolution of masculinity in American literary culture from the 1930s to the 1970s. The book delves into the concept of 'macho criticism,' a term that encapsulates the intense debates surrounding masculine identity during this transformative period. By analyzing various literary forms, including novels, plays, and poetry, as well as diaries, manifestos, and sociological essays, the author reveals how these discussions shaped societal views on masculinity and influenced broader cultural movements.
Throughout the narrative, readers are introduced to the contrasting ideals of 'hard' and 'soft' masculinity, which played a crucial role in the class struggles of the 1930s, the anti-communist sentiments of the 1940s and 1950s, and the ideological battles between the Old Left and the New Left in the 1960s. The author meticulously documents how these debates not only reflect the attitudes of their time but also contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding gender and identity.
By extending the scope of literary culture, Pinks, Pansies, and Punks uncovers the rich tapestry of gender attitudes that emerged across the decades. This exploration invites readers to reconsider the complexities of masculinity and its representation in literature, offering valuable insights into the cultural dynamics of the 20th century.
Exhaustively researched and meticulously detailed, James Penner's [book] cuts an insightful swath through fifty years of 20th century macho literary criticism . . . Scholars, historians, and culture critics will have much to chew on here. May 2011
* Reno Tahoe Tonight *With a literary fluid style and a pleasant wit, Penner steers the reader through five decades of fluctuating visions of masculinity, not only in novels and criticism, but also in various artistic endeavors and in 'cultured society' as a whole. ...[A]n invaluable book.8/22/11
* GRAAT *A nice addition to the steadily lengthening shelf of literary gender studies, this perceptive, well-researched volume ... surveys a vast landscape of eclectic literary achievement: from hypermasculine warrior myths, anticommunist crusades, and the New Critics to Gore Vidal, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Norman Mailer, and William S. Burroughs ... [this] study merits a long look. Summing Up: Highly recommendedJuly 2011
* Choice *Pinks, Pansies, and Punks offers an indispensable text that compellingly theorizes the significance of masculinity's role in literary culture and the twentieth-century social contexts that shaped—and were shaped by—it.
* Twentieth Century Literature *All in all it [Pinks, Pansies, and Punks] is a recommendable, as informative introduction to the American culture and Gendergeschichte [gender studies] of the middle twentieth century.
* Orbis Litterarum *Penner's study is an ambitious and provocative look at mid-century delineations of masculinity in American literary culture. . . . [It] asks readers to reconsider and expand the horizons of their understanding of twentieth-century male identity, and to reflect on their critical efforts to fit writers, artists, and other critics into specific categories and definitions. In many ways, this is what makes it such a rich and potentially valuable a contribution not only to masculinity and gender studies, but to American literary and cultural studies as well.
* College Literature *In compelling ways, Penner navigates through layered textual materials to show how multiple configurations of masculinity can and do co-exist . . . This book proves a very interesting study for those interested in Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, or Literary Criticism. Vol. 40:6
* Women's StudiISBN: 9780253222510
Dimensions: 216mm x 140mm x 19mm
Weight: 386g
318 pages