Synopses & Reviews
"At long lasta carefully researched and wonderfully written ethnography that explodes the ubiquitous stereotype of Mexican men as invariably "macho" while tackling head on the inequality between men and women. Challenging the notion that men, masculinity, and male gender identity are simple and homogenous categories, Gutmann skillfully weaves together stories of working class men in a Mexico City colonia, including an outstanding in-depth consideration of 'men's domesticity.' This book does for the study of men what two generations of feminist anthropologists have done for the study of women."Lynn Stephen, author of
Zapotec Women"This is a significant addition to the literature on masculinity. In this well-constructed ethnography Gutmann's originalityto say nothing of his intellectual honestyshines through. His focus is on what men do and on what they say they do, and on the role of women in affecting both. He does not shy away from ambiguity but embraces it as a key theme in the attempt to understand how male identities are negotiated. A deft and subtle piece of scholarship."Michael Herzfeld, Harvard University
"The Meanings of Macho is a highly readable book, full of interesting vignettes recounting masculine behavior and conversations among men in a Mexico City colonia. Matthew Gutmann carefully critiques the stereotype of the 'macho' male and shows us how Mexican men are changingfrom holding babies, to helping with the housework, to accepting female leaders in the colonia. There is still public drunkenness, male violence, and wife abuse, but there is also a center for family violence, support groups for spouse abusers, and much discussion about the 'culture of violence and machismo.' Guttman presents a nuanced portrait of the variety of men he studied and the social and economic context of change."Louise Lamphere, University of New Mexico
"Recent scholarship has taught us much about what it means to be a woman world-wide. But what does it really mean to be a man? In this extremely important and pathbreaking work Matthew Gutmann deftly, carefully, beautifully answers this question, exploring the multiple meanings that manhood holds in the lives and thoughts of working class men and women in Mexico City."Ramón Gutièrrez, author of When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away
Review
and#8220;An ethnographic and analytic masterpiece. . . . Few sociological studies have combined structural and existential, object and subjective truths so memorably as this one.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;This beautifully written book will catalyse further important debates on the class dimensions of labour protest.and#8221;
Synopsis
In this compelling and readable study of machismo in one of Latin America's most populous cities, Matthew Gutmann overturns many stereotypes of male culture in Mexico. In their place he offers a sensitive, wide-ranging, often surprising look at how Mexican men see themselves, parent their children, relate to women, socialize among themselves, and talk about sex in their daily lives. Gutmann finds that men and women are responding to sweeping social forces in Mexico, just as they are in the United States, with women often initiating changes in male attitudes and behaviors.
The Meanings of Macho takes the reader into Santo Domingo, Mexico City, the working-class neighborhood where Gutmann and his family lived. Exploring women's conceptions about men as well as men's ideas about themselves, Gutmann uncovers intriguing, complicated sexual politics among friends and informants. He discovers that, against stereotype, many men's nuanced, complicated sense of sexual identity encompasses considerable child care responsibilities and recognition of a newfound female autonomy. He also considers the kinds of homosocial space men are afforded in their culture, how violence against women plays itself out in this community, and the role of alcohol in male socializing.
Synopsis
This study opens a critical perspective on the slow death of socialism and the rebirth of capitalism in the world's most dynamic and populous country. Based on remarkable fieldwork and extensive interviews in Chinese textile, apparel, machinery, and household appliance factories, Against the Law finds a rising tide of labor unrest mostly hidden from the world's attention. Providing a broad political and economic analysis of this labor struggle together with fine-grained ethnographic detail, the book portrays the Chinese working class as workers' stories unfold in bankrupt state factories and global sweatshops, in crowded dormitories and remote villages, at street protests as well as in quiet disenchantment with the corrupt officialdom and the fledgling legal system.
Synopsis
"For anyone interested in the world of labor today, there is no more important case than that of China. Ching Kwan Lee's rich ethnographic account takes us inside the largely hidden world of labor protest in the world's largest, most dynamic economy. Her nuanced comparison of the Chinese 'sunbelt' and 'rustbelt' and her emphasis on the centrality of the law and the discourse of legal 'rights' to Chinese labor politics are especially compelling.
Against the Law is a thoughtful, provocative book that deserves a prominent place on every labor scholar's bookshelf."and#151;Ruth Milkman, author of
L.A. Story: Immigrant Workers And the Future of the U.S. Labor Movement"Based upon impressive ethnographic research in multiple Chinese settings, this book reveals key regional differences in patterns of protest among China's restive workers. Professor Lee's important findings not only complicate our understanding of labor unrest; they also carry significant implications for the development of citizenship and legal reform in contemporary China."and#151;Elizabeth J. Perry, author of Patrolling the Revolution
"The book is based on simply the best field research yet done on Chinese workers' politics. Prof. Lee has gotten down and dirty with a wide range of workers. The interviews that make up so much of the rich narrative alone are worth the price of the book and the time invested in reading it. But there is more: the analysis is important, persuasive, balanced, and clear. It rings true."and#151;Marc Blecher, author of China Against the Tides
"This is an amazing book that will have a dramatic impact on people's view of China, exposing the underside of China's incredible growth, and the human sacrifice that may be as great as 'The Great Leap Forward' or Mao's Cultural Revolution. What we witness here is the Chinese working class being present in its own unmaking and remaking, its struggle to come to terms with the present through the lens of the past, and, finally, its uncertain hope for the future. This is one of the most important books I've read in years!"and#151;Michael Burawoy, Department of Sociology, University of California Berkeley
Synopsis
In this compelling study of machismo in Mexico City, Matthew Gutmann overturns many stereotypes of male culture in Mexico and offers a sensitive and often surprising look at how Mexican men see themselves, parent their children, relate to women, and talk about sex. This tenth anniversary edition features a new preface that updates the stories of the book's key protagonists.
Synopsis
Praise for the first edition: "Gutmann has done the hithertofore seemingly unthinkable. [A] wholly other vision of Mexican gender relations emerges."and#151;Josand#233; Limand#243;n, American Anthropologist
"This book does for the study of men what two generations of feminist anthropologists have done for the study of women."and#151;Lynn Stephen, author of Zapotec Women
Synopsis
Drawing on the life stories of 266 migrants in South China, Choi and Peng examine the effect of mass rural-to-urban migration on family and gender relationships, with a specific focus on changes in men and masculinities. They show how migration has forced migrant men to renegotiate their roles as lovers, husbands, fathers, and sons. They also reveal how migrant men make masculine compromises: they strive to preserve the gender boundary and their symbolic dominance within the family by making concessions on marital power and domestic division of labor, and by redefining filial piety and fatherhood. The stories of these migrant men and their families reveal another side to Chinaandrsquo;s sweeping economic reform, modernization, and grand social transformations.
About the Author
Ching Kwan Lee is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is author of Gender and the South China Miracle: Two Worlds of Factory Women (UC Press) and editor of Working in China: Ethnographies of Labor and Workplace Transformation and Re-envisioning the Chinese Revolution: The Politics and Poetics of Collective Memories in Contemporary China (with Guobin Yang).
Table of Contents
Preface
PART I: DECENTRALIZED LEGAL AUTHORITARIANISM
1. Chinese Workersand#8217; Contentious Transition from State Socialism
2. Stalled Reform: Between Social Contract and Legal Contract
PART II: RUSTBELT: PROTESTS OF DESPERATION
3. The Unmaking of Maoand#8217;s Working Class in the Rustbelt
4. Life after Danwei: Surviving Enterprise Collapse
PART III: SUNBELT: PROTESTS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
5. The Making of New Labor in the Sunbelt
6. Dagong as a Way of Life
PART IV: CONCLUSION
7. Chinese Labor Politics in Comparative Perspective
Methodological Appendix: Fieldwork in Two Provinces
Notes
Bibliography
Index