Comments on: “Manvotionals” and (Gentle)manly Nostalgia

By: Maren

Maren — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 03:30:49 +0000

Very nice. I like they way you pulled apart some of the gloss of the Manliness project, but left the charm and value intact in the end.

I was made aware of their work by reading my BYU alumni magazine where they were mentioned last year. I thought it was an intriguing combo: a Mormon couple who uses both historical and current cultural trends to promote manliness and certain virtues, and makes it appealing to a broad American audience in both digital and book form.

Your sons are some of the greatest up-and-coming men I know so I thought they’d at least get a kick out of it.

By: Juvenile Instructor » From the Archives: Peach Cobbler, For Men by Men: Or, When Reed Smoot Makes Dessert

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:37:18 +0000

[...] MHA Odds and Ends,BHodges: MHA Odds and Ends,BHodges: MHA Odds and Ends,Sarah Dunster: "Manvotionals" and (Gentle)manly NostalgiaChristopher: Southwestern States Mission: BirthdaysAmy T: Southwestern States Mission: [...]

By: Sarah Dunster

Sarah Dunster — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:06:36 +0000

I love that there’s a step-by-step on how to perform a “man hug.”

I have the same hesitation when people talk longingly of olden times, gentlemanly behavior, womanliness etc. Maybe we need to be willing to put the nastier things aside (like you’ve described) and take from it what we can. Part of the difficulty of social movements is that pendulums tend to swing wildly from one extreme to the other before they come to rest safely in the middle. If you get what I’m saying.

By: Saskia

Saskia — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:14:39 +0000

Great post. Rest assured this wasn’t my whole takeaway from this post, but I didn’t know about Gentlemint. I am heading over there right now.

By: EmJen

EmJen — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:35:08 +0000

I saw this tonight and totally thought of this post:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPKe9OfWs-M

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:08:07 +0000

Interesting, Tona. Your analysis reminded me of Gail Bederman’s Manliness and Civilization. She argues that the “muscular Christianity” that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century was a response to the sense that a certain type of white manhood was at risk. Her analysis of the Jack Johnson boxing match and lynching cases is breathtaking. I wonder to what extent her analysis might be useful here. During the recent election cycle, I was reminded of her work when conservative pundits began talking about the loss of a white, middle class America. I wonder if the recent turn towards manliness is indicative of a fear among white, middle class Americans that they are being threatened and are at sea.

By: Rachael

Rachael — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:34:01 +0000

I agree that most of the “world” doesn’t need additional enhancements for men, but I think in the US, there is increasing evidence that boys might be getting the short end of the stick (particularly in K-12 education, as you point out); but my larger point was that there isn’t as clear a model for them as there seems to be for women, nowadays. I think it’s uniquely important for Mormon men, who need a definition of manhood that does not rely on hierarchy, rank, or status, but in fact, on the opposite– humility, respect, compassion, etc.–but not in the feminized package religion can often deliver it in (which I think Tod is alluding to). Instead, it’s a universal package of virtue, as they explain here. Both men and women should acquire it– but in a refreshingly simple formula, they say that “when a woman lives the virtues, that is womanliness; when a man lives the virtues, that is manliness.” So I think there are plenty of “equality” sentiments peppered in many of the posts–often not as explicitly–but they are there, from what I have read. I’ll take it where I can find it

By: Tod Robbins

Tod Robbins — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:04:59 +0000

Huzzah! I loved this Tona. A friend and I have been following the Art of Manliness for a long while now (relatively) and I think you nailed it. It’s funny that Teddy is a focal point because this same friend is a huge devotee of TR, having read most of his works and works about him. There probably exists a need, subconscious or otherwise, for “manly” examples on the church’s efforts to continually invent the roles we play as men. You see this in the evolving masculinity of paintings of Christ and Joseph Smith within Mormomism.

Anyhow, thanks for writing this.

By: Tona H

Tona H — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:25:44 +0000

Wow, Hugo. “Man of Steel and Velvet” sounds like a Harlequin title.

Rachael – you’d think the world wouldn’t need additional enhancements for men, but then again, there’s that whole narrative in K-12 education that boys are the ones who have the trouble finding their way. Your suggestion that there’s equality (ironically, perhaps) inherent in a site that’s only about MEN is fascinating and I think I agree with your observation that this may indeed reflect a more progressive Mormon gender ideology (whether intentional or not). Unlike the esteemed Mr. Andelin.

By: Hugo Olaiz

Hugo Olaiz — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:55:42 +0000

Thank you for posting this, which made me think of another cultural artifact which has by now been almost forgotten: “Man of Steel and Velvet,” the 1972 book by LDS dentist Aubrey P. Andelin. Aubrey is of course the husband of Helen Andelin, author of “Fascinating Womanhood” and “The Fascinating Girl.” Whereas “The Art of Manliness” seems to use manliness as an excuse to describe adult virtues, the Andelins’ work is a clear reaction to what they perceived as the confusion of gender roles. “Throughout our society we find men who are weak, spoiled, pampered, spineless for the most part, lacking moral, physical, or mental strength or all three,” Dr. Andelin laments in his 316-page tome. And yes—his first name was Aubrey : )

Hugo Olaiz