Gail Bederman's Manliness And Civilization

Gail Bederman draws a connection between race and gender especially in terms of ‘civilization’ in her book, Manliness & Civilization where she discusses how as men worked to enforce their power, race began to play a bigger role than imagined in gender. Bederman also examines the theory of ‘Neurasthenia’. In her analysis, Bedderman studies many different historical figures such as, Ida B. Wells, G. Stanley Hall, Theodore Roosevelt and Charlotte Perkins Gilman to gain historical insight on the ideologies of civilization, race and gender. Bederman states that her study is positioned on the assumption that gender is a ‘historical, ideological process’ (Bederman, 7). These historians give light and depth into the reading and allow the readers insight

It is very insightful and logically argued. This book is well thought out and organized. Bederman’s text is clear, concise and good for a wide range of age groups. The book does not require a dictionary to help aide while reading the book. She also gives detailed accounts from many different sources. Some may say that this book is biased but she is simply trying to understand the ins and outs of the minds people decades before her. She can easily dismiss the claims of her book being feminist, and biased by her speaking of masculinity as a discourse. She examines specific theories throughout history to highlight certain activities that were going on during that time period. Everything seemed to be organized by events and people, times and places, etc. Bederman’s argument may seem redundant but this helps with the clarity of her argument and making sure she conveys her message more effectively. Overall, this is a very interesting book and is not hard to read at

These sources are G. Stanley Hall, a professor of psychology, Ida B. Wells, an anti-lynching activist and journalist, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a women’s rights advocate and Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th United States president and a member of the Republican party. These sources were perfect to prove her argument because they explore different aspects of society during this time. They explore white men as well as white women which were considered second class citizens in comparison to men and black women. She brought about a wide range of sources by choosing a variety of different educational/political backgrounds, races and genders to assist in conveying her argument. These sources are effective in facilitating her argument by giving her leverage to build up her dissertation. Without sources, she wouldn’t have been able to create the coherent argument that she did in Manliness & Civilization. Within this, she uses these sources to explore how Ida B. Wells worked to change the views of Northern white men on lynching laws, how G. Stanley Hall focused more on primitive masculinity and less on manly civilization, Roosevelts thoughts on civilized manliness and primitive masculinity and Gilman’s work to transform the ideology of civilization (Bederman, 43-44). Bederman also found links between her sources to highlight the oppression woman, black and white, had faced during this time. She pointed out how Gilman