The power of character David Tjeder

1. The power ofcharacterDavid Tjeder ChapTER 1 & 9

2. IntellectualApproach • Beyond the question of « male norm », a problematicmasculinity • Focus on men discourseson men • 1800 – 1900 • Middle-class • Advicemanuals and autobiographies

3. To whatextentcanmasculinitybesaid to have been an homosocial construction ? • How didcountertypesinform the normative ideals ? •  How where power hierarchiesbetween men and women or between men legitimised ?

4. A problematicmasculinity • Intense middle-class preoccupation with the question of what a real man is . • “So, if men were problematic, then what was the problem with them? “ • The mastering of passions : “Real manliness must be built in mastery over passions” • The gambling and drinking issue • The question of the seduction : married men vs. bachelors

5. The Ideal Man • The moralistsconsider the married man as the ideal man • The man who has controlledhisowndesires • He has not been tempted by the public woman

6. The question of The Homosocial construction Of masculinity • The preoccupation of men with masculinity was mainly a preoccupation with men’s relation to other men. • But when considered, women could play four possible roles in men lives : • The wives • The negative counterparts • The sexual threat s • The victims • Implicit misogynies

7. The question of Countertypes • The perception of George L. Mosse : “ Ideal masculinity needed its others to strengthen and legitimise the ideal […]. The distinction betweenideal and countertype strengthened the ideal • A more complex relation between ideal and countertypes • Clear opposition : Egoistic / caring for the greater good • Intertwinment : Man of the world (effeminate ?) / real manhood. The absence of homophobia

8. The question of Power hierarchies • On the nineteencentury the power of men on womenissoevidentthatthereis no need to legitimiseit or even to state it • Whereasmen’s power over other men was an important issue

9. Conclusion • Constant crisis of masculinity • Men werealwaysmanlier in a pastage, manlinesswassomethingcontemporaries has lot. • Masculinity has no intrinsicqualities : it changes over time. • « As a concluding point, this book shows that for as long as we continue to perceive the upbringing of girls into women, boys into men, as crucial and important elements of life, we are bound to reproduce gender and inequality. Nineteenth-century men do not supply us with a solution to men’s domination. For this, we need feminism.”

10. Do youthink the old male idealissomething men stillstrive for in modern times ?