''Manliness'' is a book by

Harvey C. Mansfield Harvey Claflin Mansfield Jr. (born March 21, 1932) is an American political philosopher. He is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1962. He has held Guggenheim and NEH Fellowships a ...

first published by

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

in 2006. Mansfield is a professor of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In this book, he defines manliness as "confidence in a situation of risk" and suggests this quality is currently undervalued in Western society. He suggests the quality is more common in men than in women, but does not strictly exclude women, for example he names

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. He also suggests the quality is "good and bad", not all good, but not all bad. His main point is that

gender neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...

ideology denies both the reality of sex-specific qualities, and the valuable components of these, to the detriment of society. Mansfield attributes the rise of gender neutral ideology firstly to

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

, and then to

feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male poi ...

who repackaged the ideas as part of a political program. He names

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

and

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literatu ...

Overview

Today the very word ''manliness'' seems quaint and obsolete. We are in the process of making the English language gender-neutral, and manliness, the quality of one gender, or rather, of one sex, seems to describe the essence of the enemy we are attacking, the evil we are eradicating. -Harvey Mansfield, ''Manliness''

Mansfield evaluates the concept of manliness as it has been expressed over the course of

Western civilization Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

, and considers its virtues. As Mansfield stated to

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Tom Ashbrook Thomas E. Ashbrook is an American journalist and radio broadcaster. He was formerly the host of the nationally syndicated, public radio call-in program ''On Point'', from which he was dismissed after an investigation concluded he had created a ho ...

, "Some people say manliness doesn't exist. Others say it does exist and it's bad. I say it exists and it's good ... and bad."Harvey Mansfield
"Manliness,"
''

On Point ''On Point'' is a radio show produced by WBUR-FM in Boston and syndicated by American Public Media (APM). The show addresses a wide range of issues from news, politics, arts and culture, health, technology, environmental, and business topics, t ...

'', August 30, 2006. Accessed November 7, 2007. Drawing on classical philosophy, literature, and science, Mansfield argues that manliness is a virtue primarily associated with the male sex which is preferable to widespread institutional gender-neutral ideology. Beginning with modern scientific discoveries, Mansfield appropriates them for insights on how these innate biological realities might exert an influence on

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

and

gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

preferences. Mansfield then proceeds to literature, drawing on

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, and

Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

to support his thesis that manliness has been a perpetual component of the male psyche and behavior. Mansfield then offers an analysis of the historical forces in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, singling out

, and

as the key writers to have influenced, what he considers to be, the dismantling of manliness. These writers shared two common hypotheses they derived from earlier writers: from Marx they drew the theory of economic exploitation, and from Nietzsche their flirtations with

nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...

. Finally, Mansfield turns to

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

as the archetypal expounder of manliness to identify the quality of "philosophical courage," which Mansfield concludes is the ideal understanding of manliness.

Reviews

Scholarly reviews

* Cooper, Barry F. ''The Review of Politics'' 69 (2007): 471–474. * Henry, Douglas V. ''The Review of Politics'' 69 (2007): 469–471. *Lasch, LC. ''Perspectives on Political Science'' 35 (2006): 103–118. *Newart, Tatia. ''

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

'' 35 (2006): 693–696. * Norton, Anne. ''Perspectives on Politics'' 4 (2006): 759–761.
Ramachandran, Gowri
''Yale Journal of Law & Feminism'' 19 (2007): 201–220. * Jensen, Robert. ''Sexuality Research & Social Policy'' 3 (2006): 98–100.

Press

* Hoff Sommers, Christina.
Being a Man
. ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...

'' 4 April 2006. * Kirn, Walter.
Who's the Man?
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 19 March 2006. * Nussbaum, Martha.
Man Overboard
. ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'' 22 June 2006. *Piereson, James.
Is manliness obsolete?
''

The New Criterion ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' May, 2006. *Shea, Christopher.
The manly man's man
. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' 12 May 2006. *Solomon, Deborah.
Questions for Harvey Mansfield
Of manliness and men'. ''

'' 12 March 2006.

References

{{Reflist

External links

*Harvey C. Mansfield. Official facult
bio page

. * Cole, Bruce
Interview
with Harvey C. Mansfield, in connection with his

Jefferson Lecture The Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities is an honorary lecture series established in 1972 by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). According to the NEH, the Lecture is "the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished ...

for the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. *

Naomi Wolf Naomi Rebekah Wolf (born November 12, 1962) is an American feminist author, journalist and conspiracy theorist. Following her first book '' The Beauty Myth'' (1991), she became a leading spokeswoman of what has been described as the third wave ...

br>interviewed
Mansfield about ''Manliness'' for a one-hour ''

After Words ''After Words'' is an American television series on the C-SPAN2 network's weekend programming schedule known as ''Book TV''. The program is an hour-long talk show, each week featuring an interview with the author of a new nonfiction book. The pro ...

'' presentation broadcast on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

26 March 2006. *

br>interviewed
Mansfield with input from Jack Beatty of the ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'',

Katha Pollitt Katha Pollitt (born October 14, 1949) is an American poet, essayist and critic. She is the author of four essay collections and two books of poetry. Her writing focuses on political and social issues from a left-leaning perspective, including abo ...

and callers for ''

'' aired on

WBUR WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. It is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM and produces several nationally distributed program ...

Boston, 30 August 2006. *Ross Robertso
interviewed
Mansfield for '' What Is Enlightenment?'' magazine on the topic ''In Defence of Manliness'', 1 June 2008 (recorded on ''WIE Unbound''). 2006 non-fiction books Andrology Books about men English-language books Men's studies Yale University Press books Masculinity Masculist books