Pleck: the Myth of Masculinity (Paper) - Softcover

"Joe Pleck's "Myth of Masculinity" is an extraordinary feat of synthesis, analysis, and original thinking. It will be the touch stone for all future scholarship on the male sex role.... Pleck is a pioneer."--Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author of "Growing Up Free"

In this book, Joseph Pleck examines and analyzes the full body of research literature on the male role that has appeared since the 1930s and subjects it to a devastating critique. He identifies the components of the "male sex role paradigm" which has been the basis of research for the past forty years, and notes numerous instances of blatant misrepresentation of data, twisted reinterpretations of disconfirming results, misogyny, homophobia, and class bias. He proposes a new theory, the "sex role strain paradigm," offers a reinterpretation of sex role stereotyping, and a critique of research by sociobiologists that allegedly demonstrates a biological basis for male aggression.