Description
Book SynopsisFrom a Washington Post critic and self-described meathead: a witty, incisive, poignant exploration of male body image, from the history of the gym to the politics of superheroes to the world of manfluencersMichael Brodeur is a Gen-X gay writer with a passion for bodybuilding and an insatiable curiosity about masculinity--a concept in which many men are currently struggling to find their place. In our current moment, where manfluencers on TikTok tease their audiences with their latest videos, where right-wing men espouse the importance of being alpha, as toxic masculinity and the patriarchy are being rightfully criticized, the nature of masculinity has become murkier than ever.
In excavating this complex topic, Brodeur uses the male body as his guide: its role in cultures from the gymnasia of ancient Greece to Walt Whitman's essays on manly health, from the rise of Muscular Christianity in 19th-century America to the swollen superheroes and Arnold Schwarzene
