Synopses & Reviews
"[W]e can't come off as a bunch of angry white men.and#8221;Robert Bennett, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party
One of the enduring legacies of the 2012 Presidential campaign was the demise of the white American male voter as a dominant force in the political landscape. On election night, after Obama was announced the winner, a distressed Bill Oand#8217;Reilly lamented that he didnand#8217;t live in and#147;a traditional America anymore.and#8221; He was joined by others who bellowed their grief on the talk radio airwaves, the traditional redoubt of angry white men. Why were they so angry? Sociologist Michael Kimmel, one of the leading writers on men and masculinity in the world today, has spent hundreds of hours in the company of Americaand#8217;s angry white men and#150; from white supremacists to men's rights activists to young students and#150;in pursuit of an answer. Angry White Men presents a comprehensive diagnosis of their fears, anxieties, and rage.
Kimmel locates this increase in anger in the seismic economic, social and political shifts that have so transformed the American landscape. Downward mobility, increased racial and gender equality, and a tenacious clinging to an anachronistic ideology of masculinity has left many men feeling betrayed and bewildered. Raised to expect unparalleled social and economic privilege, white men are suffering today from what Kimmel calls "aggrieved entitlement": a sense that those benefits that white men believed were their due have been snatched away from them.
Angry White Men discusses, among others, the sons of small town America, scarred by underemployment and wage stagnation. When Americaand#8217;s white men feel theyand#8217;ve lived their lives the and#145;rightand#8217; way and#150; worked hard and stayed out of trouble and#150; and still do not get economic rewards, then they have to blame somebody else. Even more terrifying is the phenomenon of angry young boys. School shootings in the United States are not just the work of and#147;misguided youthand#8221; or and#147;troubled teensand#8221;and#151;theyand#8217;re all committed by boys. These alienated young men are transformed into mass murderers by a sense that using violence against others is their right.
The future of America is more inclusive and diverse. The choice for angry white men is not whether or not they can stem the tide of history: they cannot. Their choice is whether or not they will be dragged kicking and screaming into that inevitable future, or whether they will walk openly and honorably and#150; far happier and healthier incidentally and#150; alongside those theyand#8217;ve spent so long trying to exclude.
Synopsis
One of the headlines of the 2012 Presidential campaign was the demise of the white American male voter as a dominant force in the political landscape. On election night four years later, when Donald Trump was announced the winner, it became clear that the white American male voter is alive and well and angry as hell. Sociologist Michael Kimmel, one of the leading writers on men and masculinity in the world today, has spent hundreds of hours in the company of America s angry white men from white supremacists to men's rights activists to young students in pursuit of an answer. Angry White Men presents a comprehensive diagnosis of their fears, anxieties, and rage.
Kimmel locates this increase in anger in the seismic economic, social and political shifts that have so transformed the American landscape. Downward mobility, increased racial and gender equality, and a tenacious clinging to an anachronistic ideology of masculinity has left many men feeling betrayed and bewildered. Raised to expect unparalleled social and economic privilege, white men are suffering today from what Kimmel calls "aggrieved entitlement": a sense that those benefits that white men believed were their due have been snatched away from them.
Angry White Men discusses, among others, the sons of small town America, scarred by underemployment and wage stagnation. When America s white men feel they ve lived their lives the right way worked hard and stayed out of trouble and still do not get economic rewards, then they have to blame somebody else. Even more terrifying is the phenomenon of angry young boys. School shootings in the United States are not just the work of misguided youth or troubled teens they re all committed by boys. These alienated young men are transformed into mass murderers by a sense that using violence against others is their right.
The election of Donald Trump proved that angry white men can still change the course of history. Here, Kimmel argues that they should walk openly and honorably alongside those they ve spent so long trying to exclude, in order to be happier and healthier."
About the Author
Michael Kimmel is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University in New York. An author or editor of more than twenty books, including Manhood in America, The Gendered Society, The History of Men, and Guyland, he lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.
Table of Contents
Preface: American Masculinity at the End of an EraAcknowledgments
Introduction: America, the Angry
1. Manufacturing Rage: The Cultural Construction of Aggrieved Entitlement
2. Angry White Boys
3. White Men as Victims: The Menand#8217;s Rights Movement
4. Angry White Dads
5. Targeting Women
6. Mad Men: The Rage(s) of the American Working Man
7. The White Wing
Epilogue
Notes
Index