Profs & Pints Baltimore: Be a Man

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Be a Man,” on the history of American efforts to define masculinity, with Luxx Mishou, cultural historian and former instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and area community colleges.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-be-a-man .]

There has never been just one way to “be a man,” but there sure have been plenty of attempts to convince men and boys that such a single definition exists.

Throw on your work boots, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to strut confidently into Baltimore’s Section 771 bar for a fascinating look at our nation’s shifting visions of manhood and what they tell us about ourselves.

Dr. Mishou, whose engaging previous talks have earned her a considerable following among Profs and Pints fans, will start by looking at colonial times and the conventions of masculinity that we inherited from Europe. She’ll discuss how in the lead-up to the American Revolution people here began articulating a new definition of masculinity intended to help forge a communal identity. To set us in opposition to the British, they rejected the classism and intellectualism associated with the men of England and defined masculinity in very physical terms.

From there, Dr. Mishou will familiarize us with the nineteenth century’s dandies and secret societies. Moving ahead to the twentieth century, she’ll show how concepts of manhood were further honed by public figures such as the escape artist Harry Houdini and the strongman Eugen Sandow, regarded as the father of bodybuilding.

She’ll compare physical masculinities and intellectual masculinities and look at how definitions of masculinity factored into our romanticization of the “wild west” and our worship of the outlaws and rebels of Hollywood fiction. She’ll describe how views of masculinity have been shaped by various political and religion leaders.

Turning her attention to the present, Dr. Mishou will examine today’s “crises” of masculinity and the influences of various cultural phenomena such as “muscular Christianity” and Marvel movies. She’ll explore how various concepts of masculinity relate to various intersectional identities, considering black masculinity, queer masculinity, Hispanic masculinity, trans masculinity, and disabled masculinity.

Among the questions this talk will tackle: When it comes to masculinity, does life imitate art, or does art imitate life? Why do men want to talk about Fight Club? (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Bar doors open at 5 pm. The talk starts at 6:30.)

Image: From an 1894 poster advertising strongman Eugen Sandow’s vaudeville act (Wikimedia Commons).