Insurance for White Masculinity: Methods of Control to Ensure a Dominant Race
The nineteenth-century saw great changes within America and from these changes an ideology was created in an effort of understanding and unification among white men. Changes were occurring so rapidly that they could not be digested and readily accepted, therefore opposition to these rose very significantly. The nineteenth century saw for a great number of political changes as the black race began to collect rights, the arrival of immigrants on an unprecedented scale, the colonization of the remaining world, and the change of women’s roles. White women started to become more educated and moved out of the house and into workplace disrupting the domestic order that was essential to keeping men’s lives stable as Tocqueville claims that the “regularity of [women’s] affection was the safeguard of American men’s lives” and without this regularity a hysteria and insanity developed. (Barker-Benfield 47) White women were immediately labeled as threat to the lineage of white men because the civilized woman began to be considered a “Race of Hysteria.” (Briggs 1) Women were considered hysterical as it was believed that as a civilization became more civilized it became a “breeding place for insanity” and these ideals were pushed upon women because their roles in society were significantly changing and men were not apt to accept these changes readily. (Barker 52) White Masculinity was developed out of the idea of making sure that white women would not become a “racial threat” to white men’s lineage; white women were supposedly becoming civilized and hysterical at the same time and then began to significantly lose in population because of these problems to the other...
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...aura. “The Race of Hysteria: ‘Overcivilization’ and the ‘Savage’ Women in
Late Nineteenth-Century Obstetrics and Gynecology.” American Quarterly 52.2 (2000).
In Gail Bederman’s Manliness and Civilization, she aims to describe the concepts of manliness and masculinity at the turn of the century. Bederman explains that the concept of what it means to be a man is ever changing as a result of the ideology of the time as well as the material actions of the men. During the Progressive Era, many forces were at work that put pressure on the supremacy of white, middle class men. Some of these forces included the growing move toward empowered women, the unionization of the working class, and the move from self-employment to big, corporate business. She delves into the way that both racism and sexism were used to build up the concept of masculinity and the turn of the century discourse on civilization.
In Gail Bederman’s, Manliness & Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States 1880-1917, Bederman asserts, manhood, race, and gender are three cultural issues that are inseparable and have shaped our American and human history (4-5). Bederman supports her theory using the journalistic works of those effected, political giants using these social constructions for personal gain, and through pop culture during the period being analyzed.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.
American Literature is widely known for possessing themes of disillusionment. Faulkner, Harper Lee, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway dominate this category of literature. However, the most influential piece of American Literature is arguably J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. What makes this piece of art stand so far out from any other work of literature is the attributes that make this novel so relatable. The source of this raw, real emotion that completely captivates the reader is Salinger himself. The Catcher in the Rye ‘s main character Holden Caulfield is undeniably Salinger. This work of fiction nearly resembles an autobiography. J.D. Salinger uses his novel to express his disillusionment through motifs, pathos, and symbols.
Salinger, J. D.. The Catcher in the Rye. [1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 19511945. Print.
It has defined “manhood” in terms of it’s own interest and “femininity” likewise” (Beale, 146). Because gender roles in American society are so skewed it is viewed with negative connotation if the women is “dominant” in a relationship. Men should, in the eyes of society, be more powerful than the woman. Moynihan connects the lack of dominance in the black male with economic and educational downfall.
Salinger, J. D.. The Catcher in the Rye. [1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 19511945. Print.
Works Cited Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.
n.d. Web 12 Nov 2013 Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1951.
Roemer, Danielle M. "The Personal Narrative and Salinger's Catcher in the Rye". Western Folklore 51 (1992): 5-10.
While America was just in its infancy during the late eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century, expanding and competing for its own national identity, there were ideals of manhood competing for dominance amidst the chaos. A couple of notions of masculinity were brought to the New World straight from Europe; the idea that men were to work hard for success and value family, while others maintained wealth and landownership as the characteristics of a man. However, the eminence of industrialization soon made these notions obsolete. Without these longstanding notions, American men were left in a crisis without an identity. It is within this framework that specific paintings serve as material expressions and vehicles for gendering beliefs and constructs.
Jerome David Salinger, also known as J. D. Salinger, is a fascinating author best known for his novel, Catcher in the Rye. Although Salinger only published one novel, he wrote several short stories for magazines like The New Yorker and Story. A large number of these stories went on to be compiled into books such as Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction. Despite the fact Salinger has not published any stories in over 45 years, his reputation is still quite popular. Salinger's stories are studied in high schools and colleges, introducing thousands of individuals to his writing and ultimately increasing his fan base. Catcher in the Rye continues to sale 250,000 copies a year world wide. With increasing popularity, Salinger slowly secluded himself from the world, eventually avoiding all requests for interviews and public appearances. With Salinger unwilling to share personal information and no authorized biography to date, gathering material on him is difficult. To better understand Salinger's life, readers look towards his stories in which Salinger tends to write about familiar territory which incorporates personal experience. In an interview in 1974, referring to his life Salinger stated, “It's all in the books, all you have to do is read them.”(Bloom 16)
The meaning and penalties of rape have progressed throughout the history of America to ensemble the mindset of the time. Records show that a man in the seventeenth century was convicted of attempted rape if "he used enticement and then force toward a woman, driven by the sinful lusts that raged within him...and he allowed her...to scare or fight him off" (Dayton 238). Unfortunately, this definition was not always taken at face value. The leading men of the seventeenth century, likely white men, reformed this definition in a variation of ways to work in their favor when suspected of rape. It can be determined from study of historical information that the reason there are fewer reported rapes against white males in the seventeenth century and more against non-white males was because women gave in to a society driven by the influence and governance of white males in the legal system. This concept is demonstrated through a look into the outcome of a number of rape cases against both white men and non-white men, through an understanding of the helpless station of women, and through a view at the basis of the white man's resentment toward the non-white male: their view of the non-white male as the "other."
The late nineteenth century was a critical time in reshaping the rights of women. Commonly this era is considered to be the beginning of what is know to western feminists as “first-wave feminism.” First-wave feminism predominately fought for legal rights such as suffrage, and property rights. A major hallmark of first-wave feminism is the concept of the “New Woman.” The phrase New Woman described educated, independent, career oriented women who stood in response to the idea of the “Cult of Domesticity,” that is the idea that women are meant to be domestic and submissive (Stevens 27).
In the latter years of the nineteenth century, women's roles in American society underwent gradual but definite growth, spurred on by a rapidly changing society. As the nation recovered from its Civil War and slavery faded away, a massive transformation of industrialization took place, and revolutionary scientific ideas, such as those presented in Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, and by Sigmund Freud, caused people to question and to rethink fundamental aspects of their lives, religion, and beliefs. Social reforms in the fields of health, labor, and education developed as the publication of books and periodicals revealed to the public the problems therein. At the turn of the century, women's roles were severely limited by society's concepts of male supremacy and female inferiority. Women were perceived as weak, a notion upheld by the "prevalence of invalidism among nineteenth century women". (Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth) Fashions of the times didn't help either. Voluminous, billowing skirts hampered movement, and corsets caused dizzy spells and fainting. A woman's priority in young adulthood was to find a husband, and after doing so, raise a family and run a well-kept household. Women were not expected to harbor aspirations other than "... the acquisition of a husband, a family, and a home....". (Cowen, Ruth Schwartz) The male-d...