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In the twenty-first century, the romance genre has gained a growing academic response, including the creation of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance. Popular romance has long been so ignored and maligned that seemingly every scholarly work on it opens with a lengthy defense of the genre and its value for academic study. Even the early scholarly works on the genre approach it in ways that, while primarily respectful, make sweeping generalizations about popular romance, its texts, and its readers. This essay collection examines the position of the romance genre in the twenty-first century, and the ways in which romance responds to and influences the culture and community in which it exists. Essays are divided into six sections, which cover the genre's relationship with masculinity, the importance of consent, historical romance, representation, social status and web-based romance fiction.
At a time when traditional dating practices are being replaced with new ways to meet potential partners, this book provides fresh insights into how are men responding to new ways of dating. Drawing upon original research, this book examines a wide range of contemporary dating practices that includes speed dating, holiday romances, use of dating apps, online sex seeking and dogging. It reveals the ways in which men draw upon traditional models of masculinity to negotiate these changes; but also, the extent to which men are responding by elaborating new masculinities. Through an investigation of the dynamics of heterosexuality and masculinity, this book highlights the importance attached to authenticity, and the increasing marketization and commodification of dating. It argues that in a post-truth world, men must also come to terms with a post-trust dating landscape. Combining rich empirical material with keen theoretical analysis, this innovative work will have interdisciplinary appeal for students and scholars of sociology, media studies, cultural studies, and gender studies.
Reclaiming Men’s Spirituality is a study that investigates men’s spirituality by exploring three research questions: Can a form of spirituality about men be identified and described, how can this spirituality be examined, and what is it that needs to be reclaimed? To answer these questions and at the same time remain committed to the importance of lived experience, this study opted to investigate the lives of men by attending to ten spiritual histories. The study is situated in Malta, and the ten spiritual histories provide access to various features, expressions, and contours that relate closely to men’s being. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with ten spiritual director...
Serving the Stigmatized is the first book of its kind that explores best practices when dealing with a specific prison population while under some form of institutional control. If the established goal of a correctional facility is to "rehabilitate," then it is imperative that the rehabilitation is effective and does not simply serve as a political buzz word. The timing of releasing this book coincides with a real movement in the United States, supported by both conservative and liberal advocates and foundations, to decrease the size of the prison population by returning more offenders to their communities. The text examines 14 specific populations and how to effectively treat them in order to better serve them and our communities.
This text introduces students to the principles and practice of health promotion in Australian and international public health contexts.
"The book aims to broaden understanding of the diverse positions and meanings of motherhood by investigating understudied and marginalized mothers (rural itinerant, African American, and Irish Catholic American) between 1920 and 1960. Fuelled by anxieties around feminism, a perception of men's loss of status and masculinity, racial tensions, and fears about immigration, "antimaternalism" discourse blamed mothers for a wide range of social ills in the first half of the 20th Century. Mothering, Time, and Antimaternalism considers the ideas, practices, and depictions of antimaternalism, and the ways that mothers responded. Religion, class, race, ethnicity, gender, and immigration status are all analysed as factors shaping maternal experience. The book develops the historical context of American motherhood between 1920 and 1960, examining how changing ideas - scientific motherhood, time efficiency, devaluation of domesticity, racial and religious bias - influenced the construction and experiences of motherhood. This is a fascinating and important book suitable for students and scholars in history, gender studies, cultural studies and sociology"--
Spanning the disciplines of sociology, history, media and cultural studies, and popular culture, this book offers a historical exploration of Australian masculine tropes and an examination of contemporary representations of masculinity in the media. With attention to a range of thematic issues, including race, gender, sexuality, mythmaking, media representation, class, and nationality, it draws on new qualitative research and interview material to investigate the ways in which everyday Australian men take up or reject such ideas. White Masculinity in Contemporary Australia thus explores the contradictory resistance to and adoration of ideals of masculinity, forms of Othering used to differentiate the practice of "good" masculinity from that of "bad" masculinity, the relationship between heterosexuality, masculinity and Australian sporting culture as central to ideals of masculinity, and the existence of differing pressures to be masculine. As such it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in gender and sexuality, Australian studies, and contemporary popular culture.
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