Men S Lives

An eloquent portrayal of a disappearing way of life of the Long Island fishermen whose voices--humorous, bitter and bewildered--are as clear as the threatened beauty of their once quiet shore.

A moving exploration of how gay men construct their identities, fight to be themselves, and live authentically It goes without saying that even today, it’s not easy to be gay in America. While young gay men often come out more readily, even those from the most progressive of backgrounds still struggle with the legacy of early-life stigma and a deficit of self-acceptance, which can fuel doubt, regret, and, at worst, self-loathing. And this is to say nothing of the ongoing trauma wrought by AIDS, which is all too often relegated to history. Drawing on his work as a clinical psychologist during and in the aftermath of the epidemic, Walt Odets reflects on what it means to survive and figure out a way to live in a new, uncompromising future, both for the men who endured the upheaval of those years and for the younger men who have come of age since then, at a time when an HIV epidemic is still ravaging the gay community, especially among the most marginalized. Through moving stories—of friends and patients, and his own—Odets considers how experiences early in life launch men on trajectories aimed at futures that are not authentically theirs. He writes to help reconstruct how we think about gay life by considering everything from the misleading idea of “the homosexual,” to the diversity and richness of gay relationships, to the historical role of stigma and shame and the significance of youth and of aging. Crawling out from under the trauma of destructive early-life experience and the two epidemics, and into a century of shifting social values, provides an opportunity to explore possibilities rather than live with limitations imposed by others. Though it is drawn from decades of private practice, activism, and life in the gay community, Odets’s work achieves remarkable universality. At its core, Out of the Shadows is driven by his belief that it is time that we act based on who we are and not who others are or who they would want us to be. We—particularly the young—must construct our own paths through life. Out of the Shadows is a necessary, impassioned argument for how and why we must all take hold of our futures.

Understanding the experiences of men in U.S. society Edited by two of the field's most prominent researchers, Men's Lives, 9th edition, reflects on the question "What does it mean to be a man in contemporary U.S. society?" Organized around themes that define masculinity, this reader uses a social-constructionist view to examine how men construct masculinity within a social and historical context. Learning Goals Upon completing this book, readers will be able to: Understand how different groups--working class men, men of color, gay men, older men, younger men, and boys--construct different versions of masculinity Examine the social roles of both men and women and the different forms that gender inequality can take Consider gender relations and how men and women relate to each other Understand how recent research by feminist scholars and pro-feminist men links to social change activism

THE STORY: The play chronicles the fate of a fishing family on the East End of Long Island. Walt, father of the family, is a quiet and decent man, who senses he may be the last of his line to make a living from the sea. Alice, his wife, is cut from

There are two marriages in every marital union, his and hers. Men and women live in worlds that are organized around gender, and their marriages reflect differing realities. As life companions, they respond to each other; but they also respond to the cultural definitions of what it means to be a husband and a wife. What has fascinated social and behavioral scientists for several years, however, is not only that husbands' and wives' experiences are different, but also that 'his' marriage is better than 'hers'. Numerous findings have reported that married men are better off than married women on measures of both physical and mental health, but the reasons are not yet fully understood. In Marriage in Men's Lives Dr. Nock proposes an explanation to this issue. He focuses on marriage as a system of rules, customs, and expectations. The book shows that marriage changes men on basic dimensions of achievement, participation in public social life, and philanthropy because marriage reinforces such behaviors as part of adult masculinity. Men in modern society crave well-being, comfort, luxury, and prestige, and marriage affords a means of achieving these things within circumscribed legitimate boundaries. Using a huge data base of over 6,000 interviews with men the author has studied since 1979, Nock draws some interesting and far-reaching conclusions about the nature of marriage, and predicts that marriage is definitely here to stay.

Her stunning bestsellers Passages and New Passages brilliantly mapped the changes we live through from youth to maturity. Now Gail Sheehy guides contemporary men through the turbulent challenges and surprising pleasures that begin at forty. As a man crosses that threshold, he is bound to ask midlife's most troubling question: Now what? Work anxieties, concerns over sexual potency, marital and family stress, issues of power, all take on new urgency as men contemplate the decades ahead. But as Gail Sheehy reveals in this major new book, midlife is precisely the period when men are most likely to reinvent themselves and become masters of their fate. In Understanding Men's Passages, Sheehy offers all men--and the women in their lives--an essential guide to self-discovery. Hundreds of bold, imaginative men--celebrities as well as everyday heroes--share here their most intimate desires, deepest fears, and most fervent cravings for renewal. Decade by decade, Sheehy uncovers the real issues facing men today: finding new passion and purpose to invigorate the second half of their lives, dealing with "manopause," surviving job change, enjoying post-nesting zest, defeating depression, and learning what keeps a man young. Informative and inspiring, grounded in fact and full of fascinating life stories, Understanding Men's Passages is a landmark that will take its place beside Gail Sheehy's epoch-making Passages and New Passages.

The first comprehensive exploration on the subject of older men, Older Men's Lives offers a multidisciplinary portrait of men and their concerns in later life. Using both a life-course and gendered perspective, the contributors to this collection of original articles point out that the image and self-image of men are continuously reconstructed over the life cycle. They examine older men's position in society and the changes wrought in their status and roles over time. Their relationship with their spouses, children, grandchildren, and friends are also explored, as are policy implications of a gendered, life-cycle view of masculinity. This volume also discusses faith development in older men, masculinity identity from work to retirement, older men's sexuality, and older men's friendship patterns. Older Men's Lives will be of interest to professionals and students interested in gender, men's studies, gerontology, and sociology. "This book begins to remedy the lack of information and provides data and research on aging men. . . .The strength of this book is the specificity of its focus. By focusing solely on male concerns the book is able to identify issues in the male aging process and discuss them on their own terms rather than simply as a contrast to females." --Clinical Gerontologist