Michael S. Kimmel has not given up trying to start a journal for
scholars who study masculinity.
The professor of sociology at the State University of New York at
Stony Brook is a tireless spokesman for "pro-feminist" men and
the author of Manhood in America: A Cultural History (Free
Press, 1996). His hard work has paid off. Gender studies now takes
men seriously. Books and articles on young men, white men, black
men, gay men, men at work, and men at play are abundant.
A scholarly journal has been more difficult to sustain. In 1993, he
founded masculinities, a peer-reviewed journal published by the
Guilford Press. The journal was designed to appeal to scholars, but
was offered as a benefit for members of the National Organization
of Men Against Sexism, an advocacy group.
Two years and eight issues later, masculinities folded, unable to
draw a large enough readership. Now Mr. Kimmel is trying again
with the new Men and Masculinities. The journal is put out by Sage
Publications, which also publishes a book series on masculinity
edited by Mr. Kimmel, as well as the related journals Sexualities
and Gender & Society.
Unlike its predecessor, Men and Masculinities has no affiliation
with a political organization. But leading gender-studies scholars
continue to be involved. "The big difference is that I'm not the
only editor," says Mr. Kimmel. "Now we are really international."
The other editors are Robert Connell, of the University of Sydney;
Victor Seidler, of the University of London; and Oystein Holter, of
Norway's Work Research Institute. Mr. Kimmel says he hopes that
libraries around the world will subscribe, since men's studies is
often more central outside the United States.
The journal's first issue has a lengthy piece on "global
masculinities" by Mr. Connell, and a short essay on Viagra and
impotence by Susan Bordo, of the University of Kentucky. C. Peter
Bankart, a professor of psychology at the all-male Wabash College,
describes how his students respond to the men's movement.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com
Date: 08/07/98
Section: Research & Publishing
Page: A17
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