Michael Kimmel is among the leading researchers and writers on men and masculinity in the world today. His newest book is Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men (Harper), in which he tackles the world of late adolescent boys and young men. He defines “Guyland” as the social milieu in which young men (ages 16-26) are testing and proving their masculinity before the judgmental eyes of other guys, an area in which all of their developmental cues are driven by the viewpoints of the group rather than their own sensibilities.
Kimmel is National Spokesperson for the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS), and has lectured at over 200 colleges and universities. He runs workshops for organizations and public sector organizations on preventing sexual harassment and implementing gender equity, and for campus groups on date and acquaintance rape, sexual assault, pornography, and the changing relations between women and men.
Kimmel is also a well-known educator concerning gender issues. A Professor of Sociology at SUNY Stony Brook, he teaches, among other courses, Sociology of Masculinity, one of the few courses in the nation that examines men’s lives from a pro-feminist perspective. His teaching has been featured in newspaper and magazine articles (the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Newsweek, People) and television shows such as The Today Show, CNN, Smithsonian World, and Crossfire, and numerous radio shows, including The Diane Rehm Show on National Public Radio. His co-edited college textbook, Men’s Lives (7th edition) has been adopted in virtually every course on men and masculinity in the country. Kimmel’s book, The Gendered Society (3rd edition) and its companion volume of readings, has become one of the nation’s best-selling texts in social science courses in Gender Studies.
The author or editor of more than 20 volumes, his books include Changing Men: New Directions in Research on Men and Masculinity, Men Confront Pornography, The Politics of Manhood, The Gender of Desire, and The History of Men. His documentary history, Against the Tide: Pro-Feminist Men in the United States, 1776-1990, chronicled men who supported women’s equality since the founding of the country.
He also co-edited The Encyclopedia on Men and Masculinities (two volumes) and The Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities. The Encyclopedia was named Best of Reference by the New York Public Librarians Association in 2004.
His book, Manhood in America: A Cultural History was hailed as the definitive work on the subject. Publishers Weekly wrote that “Kimmel’s humane, pathbreaking study points the way toward a redefinition of manhood that combines strength with nurturing, personal accountability, compassion, and egalitarianism.” San Francisco Chronicle called it “the most wide-ranging, clear-sighted, accessible book available on the mixed fortunes of masculinity in the United States.” Booklist called it “a cultural history as readable and fascinating as Kate Millet’s epoch-making Sexual Politics.” The book also received impressive reviews in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post Book World, and the New York Times Book Review which noted that this “concise, incisive” book “elucidates the masculinity ideals of the past 200 years…just as shelves of feminist books have elucidated the feminine.”
Kimmel’s written work has appeared in dozens of magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals, including the New York Times Book Review, The Harvard Business Review, The Nation, Village Voice, Washington Post, and Psychology Today, where he was a contributing editor and columnist on male-female relationships. On the basis of his expertise, Kimmel served as an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice in the VMI and Citadel cases.
Praise for Guyland:
“Michael Kimmel’s Guyland could save the humanity of many young men – and the sanity of their friends and parents – by explaining the forces behind a newly extended adolescence. With accuracy and empathy, he names the problem and offers compassionate bridges to adulthood.”
– Gloria Steinem
“[A] deft exploration grounded in research… Kimmel offers a highly practical gude to male youth.”
–Publishers Weekly
“Engaging…provocative… The book raises important questions… A useful, highly readable overview of an important social phenomenon.”
–Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Manhood in America:
“wide ranging, level headed, human and deeply interesting.”
–Kirkus Reviews
“superb… thorough, impressive, and fascinating.”
–ChicagoTribune
“perceptive and refreshing.”
–IndianapolisStar
Praise for Against the Tide:
“…inspiring, pathbreaking collection of remarkable documents.”
–Dissent
“…meticulously researched.”
–Booklist
“Pioneering volume… will serve as an inspirational sourcebook for both women and men.”
–Publishers Weekly