Author Description

The stereotype of masculinity embraces many qualities. To be manly one must be brave, daring, and cool under fire. A man must be physically strong—tough, skillful, dexterous. And one must also be honorable, honest, and courteous. A man must not complain. A man must not lose control of his emotions. A man must not cry. Even today, many men would accept these qualities as defining masculinity. But how did our idea of manliness evolve? How long have these qualities been the norm? And will they continue to be our basic image of man? In The Image of Man, noted historian George L. Mosse provides the first historical account of the masculine stereotype in modern Western culture, tracing the evolution of the idea of manliness to reveal how it came to embody physical beauty, courage, moral restraint, and a strong will. This stereotype, he finds, originated in the tumultuous changes of the eighteenth century, as Europe's dominant aristocrats grudgingly yielded to the rise of the professional, bureaucratic, and commercial middle classes. Mosse reveals how the new bourgeoisie, faced with a bewildering, rapidly industrialized world, latched onto the knightly ideal of chivalry. And he shows how the rise of universal conscription created a "soldierly man" as an ideal type. In England, the nineteenth century gave rise to an educational system that emphasized athletics, team sports, and physical strength, as did the gymnastics movement on the continent. At the same time, ideals of masculine beauty developed throughout the continent, intertwined with theories of art and personal comportment. And dueling experienced a renaissance, spreading throughout society, though tinged by each country's character (in France, many duels were fought, but few ended in death, whereas Germans evolved an almost bureaucratic set of rules governing such combats—participants used pistols rather than swords, leading to a high fatality rate). Indeed, in the nineteenth century, the idea of manliness appeare