Bederman frames critical conversations about masculinity through Foucaltian discourse - in other words, the theory that the hegemonic assumptions of what is true inform every conversation about “truth”, even those critical of that truth. It is in this way that feminist and African-American critiques of white masculinity in the Progressive Era never made the argument that the hegemonic masculinity was something to be dismantled. Instead, white feminist critics argued that ideas of “white civilization” should be expanded to encompass white women and their achievements. Similarly, African-American critics argued that African-American men fit the mold of contemporary ideas of masculinity just as well, if not better than, white men. In both cases, critics of the hegemonic masculinity engaged with it on its own terms. (Nick Thodal)

This chapter displays that the public discourse around the match between Jack Johnson, a black man, and Jim Jeffries, a white man, highlighted racial attitudes surrounding gender at the time. For example, white men were outraged at Johnson's victory and felt it showed that he was a better man than the white Jeffries which led to race riots to erupt across cities in America. Additional salt on the wounds of these angered white men was found in how Johnson had a white ex-wife and a white lover at the time of the match making these men fell like their manhood was being undermined by him taking “their women”. (Henry Prior)

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)

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)