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--- bederman_manliness_civilization [2026/02/25 06:50] – hprior
+++ bederman_manliness_civilization [2026/03/11 05:10] (current) – [Chapter 3: "Teaching Our Sons to Do What We Have Been Teaching the Savages to Avoid": G. Stanley Hall, Racial Recapitulation, and the Neurasthenic Paradox] hcovin
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 ====== Manliness and Civilization ======
-Middle class manhood constructed their definition of manhood through a civilized lens. Middle class white men viewed manhood as a combination of civilized and primitive masculinity. This is interesting because civilization takes ideas of race, gender, and evolution into account when creating the definition and demographic of a civilized individual. Civilized individuals are seen as only white, protectors, and domestic providers. On the contrary, uncivilized individuals are all nonwhite and seen as aggressive, emotional, and encumbered by labor. These definitions are important to understand when identifying the middle class white man’s definition of manhood, because contradictions arise when these men fail to hold “primitive” behaviors to different standards depending on the race it is practiced by. It is contradictory to see middle class manhood as a balance between being civilized and primitive, when primitive behaviors are distasteful to the demographic of middle class white men. This behavior works to reinforce racial prejudices discrediting the representation and works of prominent African American figures like Frederick Douglas. Overall, this construction of manhood and the discourse around civilization was not innate and heavily influenced by race, class, and gender. (Reiley Gibson)
-The construction of middle class manhood through race, class, and gender identity was challenged by shifts in economics at the hands of demographics deemed inferior to white men. Middle class white men faced declines in self employment and leadership opportunities due to threats of the immigrants and the working class, who challenged the authority of the middle class. In addition, women have evolved to pursue education and careers which threaten male roles. To mitigate this reality, middle class white men turned to reclaiming masculine roles through physical means like boxing, as well as manly occupations like fatherhood. This transition birthed the usage of new languages referring to men in less masculine roles. (Reiley Gibson)
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 This chapter claims that due to changes to traditional ideals of manhood, men started to create a new version where it would fit with their position as middle-class men. They emphasized participation in organizations like the free masons and the odd fellows. Additionally, these men sought to turn their young boys into men by making engage with organizations like the boy scouts and the YMCA. (Henry Prior)
+From a conceptual perspective, G. Bederman argues against two historiographically prevalent views of manhood: as an intrinsic essence and as a collection of traits. Partially inspired by Foucauldian discourse analysis, Bederman offers a substantial critique of these approaches, insisting that they oversimplify the mechanisms of gender and power relations. Instead, he suggests that manhood should be understood as a process of producing “men” by connecting anatomy and identity to the broader discources of power and authority. - Nikolai Kotkov
+Bederman argues that depending on the overarching social, economic, and cultural changes of the time, manhood as been constantly redefined in order to maintain white supremacy. Hence, why Jack Johnson was such a controversial figure. With each shifting version of manhood, he adjusted. For example, he was physically very strong and a heavyweight champion to align with the idea of physical power meaning peak manhood; and he was also a successful suburban self made man. He aligned with both major versions of manhood at the time basically proving that white men weren't superior. Therefore, in order to prevent him from dismantling the link between white supremacy and manhood in this time period, there was efforts to get rid of him. (Katherine Hamilton)
+Bederman explains that the self control that defined Victorian manhood became irrelevant due to industrialization and urbanization, thus, manhood had to be redefined. This is another example of how factors such as unpredictable economic changes leads to social changes which can contribute to the end of an era which then contributes to new shifts in social, economic, and cultural factors. All of these changes and shifts feed into each other hence why Bederman states that manhood is constantly being remade rather than manhood being a constant list of characteristics. (Katherine Hamilton)
+In order to demonstrate use of the ideology of civilization in practice, Bederman details the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago that depicted the "White City" and the "Midway Plaisance" in both gendered and racialized ways. The White City was meant to portray the advancement of white civilization, which happened to almost entirely exclude women, invoking both whiteness and manhood as essential to civilization. Meanwhile, the Midway Plaisance portrayed the "underdeveloped barbarism" of uncivilized "dark races." This portrayal linked racialized barbarism to a total lack of manliness, contrasting heavily with White City's linking of civilization with powerful manhood and whiteness. (Noah Rutkowski)
+Civilization exists in this time as a hierarchical system which was the dominant way to distinguish groups of people, rather thsn culture. In this system, Civilization is on top, with barbarism below it, and finally at the bottom is Savagery. Civilization was largely based on non-coercive social diferentiwtion, specifically sex differentiation. Barbarism was seen as "almost civilized", as if all they needed was a bit of help to reach the point of civilized. They had gender differentiation and technology, yet they were still seen as living in a world shaped by violence and coercion. This was mostly used with Asian countries. Finally is the category of Savagery. This group was directed towards people in their "primative state", often in tribes or groups that europeans didn't see as having any structure. One of the biggest problems that Bederman lays out with Savagery is that Europeans couldn't ditinguish strict gender norms or sex differentiation. -Caroline Cochran
+Bederman explains that during the late 19th century the idea of civilized vs uncivilized people and societies was used to further justify white supremacy. However, he also argues that lower class customs as well as racial customs of non-Anglo-Saxons were deemed uncivilized and inferior. Further, immigrants and non-Anglo-Saxons due to discrimination tended to be lower class, and thus being lower class and non-Anglo-Saxon was linked. Therefore, their painted inferiority was two-fold and only made the ideal of the middle class Anglo-Saxon stronger. (Katherine Hamilton)
+For Bederman's explanation on how racial difference can bring the types of civilization in a very clear way. That for Anglo-saxon's who were believing that they had the highest racial advancement, they were the most civilized, since their women stayed at home and did not perform hard labor, and their men were providing the ability to keep their families and wives at home and away from the labor. The gender expectations for everyone to partake in made the racial aspect for how a society is civilized or uncivilized due to how different societies and races viewed the division of labor for men and women. (Sage Milton)
+There is a strong linkage between views of masculinity contemporary to a time period and the physical manifestation of men’s bodies. In the antebellum period, the ideal male body was tall and sleek, showing a man could restrain himself from acting in excess and did not need to bend himself to physical labor. The most popular sports of the time all involved cardiovascular capabilities, and physical strength and muscle would be of little benefit (baseball). By the late 19th century and early 19th century, the ideal male body changed to being much more muscular and strong. This change is reflected in popular sports and media of the time, in which body building, football, and boxing were the most popular which all require men to have more physical strength. (Tanner Gillikin)
 ===== Chapter 2: "The White Man's Civilization on Trial": Ida B. Wells, Representations of Lynching, and Northern Middle-Class Manhood =====
+In the chapter, it is claimed that the Victorian idea of masculinity was self control in the face of sexual desire. It was seen as unmanly to participate in masturbation, commercial sex, and rape making people see black men as less manly due to the black rapist myth. However, in marriage, it was seen as masculine to have a powerful sexual passion with a forceful virality and strong manliness. (Henry Prior)
+Discussing the civil activity of Ida B. Wells, G. Bederman frames her trip to Britain in 1893 and 1894 as an attempt to acquire substantial media coverage of lynching in the United States through its exposure in Britain. In particular, Wells acutely understood the intricacies of the civilization discourse in America, which led her to argue that lynching revealed barbarism in the United States. This claim alone was not sufficient to generate meaningful discussion in the United States, but the possibility of being viewed as “uncivilized” by Britain ultimately sparked a series of debates and discussions regarding lynching in the United States. - Nikolai Kotkov
+The creation of the control of sexual desire aiding in the ideals of masculinity was almost a strictly white American belief, and allowed for Northern white men to see themselves as superior in different ways to both African American men and Southern white men. The usage of lynching in the south as a punishment for their belief that all African American men were desiring sexual relations with white women and the "sexual fantasies" surrounding the myth of black rapists. Having these beliefs around lynching and the overtly sexual nature of African American men made the notion of civility as a major part of white American men's masculinity. (Sage Milton)
 ===== Chapter 3: "Teaching Our Sons to Do What We Have Been Teaching the Savages to Avoid": G. Stanley Hall, Racial Recapitulation, and the Neurasthenic Paradox =====
+According to G. Bederman, one of the major intellectual preoccupations of the psychologist and pedagogue G. Stanley Hall was the attempt to solve the neurasthenic paradox. From the perspective of American Victorian society, neurasthenia resulted from the overuse of the limited amount of nerve force spent on developing the intelligence necessary to meet the expectations and standards of civilization. The core of the paradox lay in the assumption that only white manhood could create civilization, but this form of civilization inevitably deprived white men of their nerve force. The psychologist Hall developed the recapitulation theory to find a possible solution to this paradox. In his view, white men could avoid nerve drainage by accumulating significant reserves through exposure to “savage” behavior during childhood. Hall argued that children were able to relive the “savage state” of their ancestors as a result of the developmental and gradual nature of the human evolutionary process. - Nikolai Kotkov
+After giving up on the making of a 'super-man' Hall shifted his focus to adolescent races that he believed would eventually become the perfect human. It is also interesting to see the the way that Hall was reinforcing a new view of masculinity that was not about self restrain and instead was focused on passion and aggression. (Hannah)
 ===== Chapter 4: "Not to Sex-But to Race!" Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Civilized Anglo-Saxon Womanhood, and the Return of the Primitive Rapist =====
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+Bederman explains the idea that civilization was used to argue that the advancement of humans is dependent on race instead of sex, however, discourse surrounding “civilization” always involved both race and gender. “Civilization” is a fluid ideology and can be used to reinforce differing political agendas like validating white supremacist ideas and challenging the dominance of men. In a racial sense, “civilization” is used to reinforce definitions of manhood, specifically in the late 19th Century where Theodore Roosevelt introduced frontier civilization ideology. The frontier was used to showcase conflicts between savages and civilized people. The identifying feature that separates the two is racial identity. Americans were identified as white masculine expansionists and the center of white superiority. Traits of these men included physical strength, resourcefulness, and showcased traditional gender roles as a protector. On the contrary, indigenous people were seen as brutal savages and the conceptualization of this group allowed American men to justify violence against them. The American man during this period used conquest and conflict with “savages” to contribute to the definition and portrayal of manhood. (Reiley Gibson)
+GOT TO HERE --WBM