Men in the Middle : Searching for Masculinity in the 1950s

J. Gilbert

While the 1950s have been portrayed as a conformist and conservative age, the decade is in this book understood as a revolutionary time for politics, economy, mass media and family life. James Gilbert uncovers an extensive body of literature that showcases the problems and possibilities of expressing masculinity in the 1950s. Drawing on the biographies of men who explored manhood einther in their writing or in their public personas, Gilbert examines the stories of several of the most important figures of the day - Billy Graham, Tennessee Williams, David Riesman, Alfred Kinsey, Auguste Comte Spectorsky and Ozzie Nelson - and allows us to see beyond the inherited stereotypes of the time.