Download or read book Unleashing Manhood in the Cage written by Christian A. Vaccaro and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2015-11-11 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unleashing Manhood in the Cage: Masculinity and Mixed Martial Arts addresses the question “Why do mixed martial arts participants endure grueling workouts and suffer through injury, with little or no pay, just to compete?” The answer is because the participants enjoy a form of idolization from their supporters, each other, and culture more generally, which is linked to masculinity. In fact, MMA organizers, from the very beginning, purposefully created elements of the sport that are linked to dominant narratives about manhood. In this context, men don thin open-fingered gloves, lock themselves in a caged enclosure, and slug it out in a fight with few rules to see who comes out on top. This all occurs while “ring girls” in high-heels and skin-tight shirts and shorts stride around outside the cage holding signs and peddling t-shirts. The sum of these elements is the creation of a type of a publicly accessible and consumable form of masculinity. The sport of mixed martial arts is a rich and intriguing space where the construction of gender can be explored through a sociological and ethnographic lens.

Download or read book Pop Culture Matters written by Martin F. Norden and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2019-03-05 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We immerse ourselves daily in expressions of popular culture—YouTube videos, hip hop music, movies, adverts, greeting cards, videogames, and comics, to name just a few possibilities—and far too often we pay only scant critical attention to them. The essays in this collection redress this situation by probing a wide range of topics within the field of popular culture studies. Written in engaging and jargon-free prose, contributions critically examine various offerings in film, television, social media, music, literature, sports, and related areas. Moreover, they often pay special attention to the ways in which these pop culture artefacts intersect with issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, and ability. Providing a rich mixture of broad perspectives and intriguing case studies, the essays form a compelling mosaic of findings and viewpoints on popular culture. Exploring everything from toxic masculinity in twenty-first century television programmes to gendered greeting cards and adult colouring books, this provocative volume is essential reading for anyone interested in that fabricated and all-pervasive environment we call popular culture.

Download or read book Hate in the Homeland written by Cynthia Miller-Idriss and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-11 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Hate in the Homeland" shows how tomorrow's far-right nationalists are being recruited in surprising places. Cynthia Miller-Idriss shows how far-right groups are swelling their ranks and developing their cultural, intellectual, and financial capacities in a variety of mainstream settings, from college campuses to YouTube cooking channels. Essential for understanding the tactics and underlying ideas of modern far-right extremism, this eye-opening book takes readers into the mainstream spaces where today's far right is engaging and ensnaring young people, and reveals innovative strategies we can use to combat extremist radicalization. -- From publisher's description.

Download or read book Extreme Sports Extreme Bodies written by Jesper Andreasson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-08-25 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates extreme sports, defined as sports in which athletes challenge and transgress societal perceptions of what is humanly possible to achieve, in terms of physical training and bodily development/performance. Situated within a growing body of literature analysing the impact of new training trends on an individual’s body, identity, lifestyle and perception of his/her social surroundings, Extreme Sports, Extreme Bodies focuses on the gendered and embodied experiences of bodybuilding, Ironman triathlon, and mixed martial arts. Through their ethnographic analysis, Andreasson and Johansson present a unique and updated account of the increasing phenomenon of extreme sports and extreme bodies in contemporary Western society, grounded in the sociology of sport, body studies and embodiment literature.

Download or read book Ecological Masculinities written by Martin Hultman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-09-26 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Around the globe, unfettered industrialisation has marched forth in unison with massive social inequities. Making matters worse, anthropogenic pressures on Earth’s living systems are causing alarming rates of thermal expansion, sea-level rise, biodiversity losses in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and a sixth mass extinction. As various disciplines have shown, rich white men in the Global North are the main (although not the only) perpetrators of this slow violence. This book demonstrates that industrial/breadwinner masculinities have come at terrible costs to the living planet and ecomodern masculinities have failed us as well, men included. This book is dedicated to a third and relationally focused pathway that the authors call ecological masculinities. Here, they explore ways that masculinities can advocate and embody broader, deeper and wider care for the global through to local (‘glocal’) commons. Ecological Masculinities works with the wisdoms of four main streams of influence that have come before us. They are: masculinities politics, deep ecology, ecological feminism and feminist care theory. The authors work with profeminist approaches to the conceptualisations and embodiments of modern Western masculinities. From there, they introduce masculinities that give ADAM-n for Earth, others and self, striving to create a more just and ecologically viable planet for all of life. This book is interdisciplinary. It is intended to reach (but is not restricted to) scholars exploring history, gender studies, material feminism, feminist care theory, ecological feminism, deep ecology, social ecology, environmental humanities, social sustainability, science and technology studies and philosophy.

Download or read book The Bloomsbury Handbook of Creative Research Methods written by Helen Kara and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-12-14 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides both an overview of, and an insight into, the rapidly expanding field of creative research methods. The contributors, from four continents, range from doctoral students through to independent and practice-based researchers to senior professors, providing a clear view of the applicability of creative research methods in all types of research work. Chapters offer examples of creative research methods in practice, and advice on how to transfer or adapt those methods for different disciplines and settings. Research ethics and research quality are considered throughout. This is a timely handbook which provides information for novice researchers and inspiration for experienced researchers, and is essential reading for anyone interested in creative research methods.

Download or read book The Violence of Neoliberalism written by Victoria Collins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-05 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the impact of neoliberalism on society, bringing to the forefront a discussion of violence and harm, the inherent inequalities of neoliberalism and the ways in which our everyday lives in the Global North reproduce and facilitate this violence and harm. Drawing on a range of contemporary topics such as state violence, the carceral state, patriarchy, toxic masculinity, death, sports and entertainment, this book unmasks the banal forms of violence and harm that are a routine part of life that usurp, commodify and consume to reify the existing status quo of harm and inequality. It aims to defamiliarize routine forms of violence and inequality, thereby highlighting our own participation in its perpetuation, though consumerism and the consumption of neoliberal dogma. It is essential reading for students across criminology, sociology and political philosophy, particularly those engaged with crimes of the powerful, state crime and social harm.

Download or read book Enforcer Unleashed written by Eve Langlais and published by Eve Langlais. This book was released on 2022-09-13 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This enforcer keeps a tight rein on his emotions, until love unleashes him. As an enforcer for the Lykosium, it’s Kit’s job to ensure the Were secret is safe, which is how he meets Penelope “Poppy” Smith. She’s a woman with secrets who flinches at shadows, and he doesn’t like that one bit—especially since she is his mate. Not that he’s about to join himself to anyone. Mistakes don’t deserve someone special like her. Poppy isn’t keen on helping Kit identify the man in her past who captured and abused her. She’s still reliving that torture in her nightmares, but how can she move forward unless she faces her past? She agrees to help, partially because she knows Kit’s her mate, even if he refuses to accept it. It’s been a while since she’s had to deploy her womanly wiles. If they fail, she can always resort to home cooking to change a stubborn fox’s mind. Accepting two broken people can have love isn’t the only battle they’ll face. When the past returns to threaten, they’ll have to trust each other if they’re going to survive.

Download or read book Thrall of the Warrior Witch written by Lance Edwards and published by Pink Flamingo Media. This book was released on 2021-01-01 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sisterhood of the Oculus rules Shatra with mystic arts. The power required is sexually siphoned from sacrificial ejaculators. Yet endless generations of domination have sapped the vitality of the Empire’s males. Having achieved the means to abduct ‘energy vessels’ from the fantastically advanced reality known as America, Empress Jia believes she’s found a reprieve from her society’s demise. Captured Californian Drake Green not only survives having his seed repeatedly leeched, he willingly thrives, wallowing in being victimized. If they can discover what makes this vessel so exceptional, fewer abductees will be needed, and the Sisterhood survives. Enthralled by the alluring warriorwitch Jia, Drake cannot but obey his brawnybeautiful new ruler. Despite the abhorrence of betraying his origins (and the surety that his aid is hastening his fatal replacement), the besotted sacrifice is forced to guide Jia on a predatory quest back to America. Inspired to find an endless supply of similarly vital men, the voracious succubus cuts a swathe through the LA fetish scene. Addicted to the lavish vitality of aggressivelybred men, Jia is content to stay and torment her pet indefinitely. The sadistic sorceress even attempts to augment their respective sexual equipment! Meanwhile Shatra’s peril swells apace. It’s not until undue notoriety forces Jia’s attempted return that she learns the qualities they went in quest of may have been available all along – and will be needed like never previous.

Download or read book The Valley of Horses written by Jean M. Auel and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2002-06-25 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unforgettable odyssey into the distant past carries us back to the awesome mysteries of the exotic, primeval world of The Clan of the Cave Bear, and to Ayla, now grown into a beautiful and courageous young woman. Cruelly cast out by the new leader of the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla leaves those she loves behind and travels alone through a stark, open land filled with dangerous animals but few people, searching for the Others, tall and fair like herself. The short summer gives her little time to look, and when she finds a sheltered valley with a herd of hardy steppe horses, she decides to stay and prepare for the long glacial winter ahead. Living with the Clan has taught Ayla many skills but not real hunting. She finally knows she can survive when she traps a horse, which gives her meat and a warm pelt for the winter, but fate has bestowed a greater gift, an orphaned foal with whom she develops a unique kinship. One winter extends to more; she discovers a way to make fire more quickly and a wounded cave lion cub joins her unusual family, but her beloved animals don’t fulfill her restless need for human companionship. Then she hears the sound of a man screaming in pain. She saves tall, handsome Jondalar, who brings her a language to speak and an awakening of love and desire, but Ayla is torn between her fear of leaving her valley and her hope of living with her own kind.

Download or read book 8 Qualities of a REAL MAN written by Joel Manderfield and published by Joel Manderfield. This book was released on 2022-10-25 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean to be a Real Man? Could it be that men who are heroes, brave, determined full of character no longer exist? Are you ready to be a man at your maximum level? I want to help you maximize your manhood. The pandemic, social crisis and a culture trying to cancel gender seems to be trying to make men soft. But there are 8 qualities that make a real man. In this book you'll learn how to become the man you were designed to be.

Download or read book The American Affair with Openness written by Scholar Spartacus and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2001 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the threats to patriotism, masculinity, privacy, and honest behavior in American society and the classroom. The American Affair with Openness is one student’s frustrations with the intrusions of Left liberalism and political correctness on campus, in textbooks, legislation and social discourse everywhere. These essays (un)cover the negative gains of the feminist movement, investigate the impact of the media upon social standards, and address the complexities of defining oneself as a member of a minority as well as question the consequences if everyone assumed such a mentality. Brimming with classical liberalism and natural law, this book reflects research into the works of Frederic Bastiat, Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and more contemporary writers like Christina Hoff Sommers, Robert Bly, Allan Bloom (The Closing of the American Mind). Big focus is centered on the purported values of Openness with its “ cultural relativism, and political correctness.” questioning the procedures and ethics of making legislation and, to a large extent, personal choices based upon the politics of Openness.

Download or read book Amani s River written by David Hartness and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2015-01-09 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten-year-old Aderito has been brought from the United States to the banks of a beautiful river in Homoine, Mozambique. There, he befriends a young girl named Victoria, and for a brief time, their childhood is promising. Soon, the violence that is raging across the country makes its way to Aderito?s doorstep, and both children are abducted by rebels and forced to learn the ways of trained killers in a war they barely understand. With only each other for support, Victoria and Aderito struggle to remain unnoticed among their peers. But the more Aderito kills, the more he needs killing, channeling all his rage into war and becoming a valuable weapon. And Victoria, growing older and prettier by the day, begins to attract unwanted attention from their captors. Caught in a battle that ravages villages and tears families apart, Aderito knows he cannot expect a happy ending. And yet he and Victoria make brave plans to escape?only to find themselves facing torments that no adult, let alone child, should ever have to face. As Mozambique struggles through its defining crisis, Aderito too must find a way to survive the childhood that will come to define him as a man.

Download or read book The Truth About Men written by DeVon Franklin and published by Atria Books. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestselling author of The Wait and “spiritual teacher for our times” (Oprah Winfrey) frankly and openly explores why men behave the way they do and what everyone—men and women alike—need to know about it. We hear it all the time. Men cheat. Men love power. Men love sex. Men are greedy. Men are dogs. But is this really the truth about men? In this groundbreaking book, DeVon Franklin dishes the real truth by making the compelling case that men aren’t dogs but all men share the same struggle. He provides the manual for how men can change, both on a personal and a societal level by providing practical solutions for helping men learn how to resist temptation, how to practice self-control, and how to love. But The Truth About Men isn’t just for men. DeVon tells female readers everything they need to know about men. He offers women a real-time understanding of how men’s struggles affect them, insights that can help them navigate their relationships with men and information on how to heal from the damage that some misbehaving men may have inflicted. This book is a raw, informative, and accessible look at an issue that threatens to tear our society apart yet it offers a positive way forward for men and women alike.

Download or read book The Publishers Weekly written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rebel Spring written by Morgan Rhodes and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-12-03 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: War brought them together. Love will tear them apart. Auranos has been conquered and the three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now unwillingly united as one country called Mytica. But alluring, dangerous magic still beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world. . . . CLEO is now a prisoner in her own palace, forced to be an ambassador for Mytica as the evil King Gaius lies to her people MAGNUS stands to eventually inherit the new kingdom but is still obsessed with his feelings for his adopted sister, Lucia LUCIA is haunted by the deadly outcome of her breathtaking display of magic that allowed her father to capture the kingdoms JONAS watches at the palace gates, a troop of rebels behind him, waiting for him to tell them how he plans to overtake King Gaius When Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of cataclysmic events that will forever change the face of this land. Praise for Falling Kingdoms “From an opening dripping with blood, magic, and betrayal through complex interweaving plots detailing treachery, deceit, and forbidden love, this novel . . . will immediately engage readers and keep them intrigued.”—Booklist “[It] will gut you emotionally . . . make you ache, cry, and beg for the sequel as you turn the last page. I absolutely loved it.”—Julie Kagawa, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Queen “This triple-layered tale of bloodshed, heartbreak, and tangled court intrigue kept me turning pages very late into the night.”—Lesley Livingston, author of Wondrous Strange and Starling Richelle Mead, bestselling author of the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series, sits down with Morgan Rhodes to talk about Rebel Spring, the much-anticipated second book in her bestselling Falling Kingdoms series. Richelle Mead: Morgan Rhodes (aka Michelle Rowen) has been my friend for a number of years. We've hung out together at conferences and swooned over each other's books. When she was able to work on Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide, I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have someone who was already a fan of the VA world and whose writing I personally loved. I'm just as excited about her Falling Kingdoms series and couldn't resist this chance to ask her some questions about Rebel Spring, the next book in the series! Morgan Rhodes: I was thrilled for the chance to write the VA Ultimate Guide! I remember Richelle telling me there were plans for the book and I piped up with: “I totally want to write that!” And what fun it was to delve back into a series that I loved (and am still in love with thanks to the wonderful Bloodlines spinoff). I’m counting down the days for the VA movie! Richelle is not only a friend, but one of my very favorite authors, so it’s a real honor to be interviewed by her about Rebel Spring. RM: So without further ado, let’s start talking about the new book. The world of Falling Kingdoms is so vivid and detail-rich. When it comes to world-building for these novels, where do you get your inspiration? MR: I get my inspiration from pretty much everywhere, although I’m visually inspired by some of my favorite TV shows and movies, which run the gamut from Lord of the Rings to The Princess Bride to Game of Thrones, to name just a few. RM: At the end of Falling Kingdoms, things are looking pretty bleak in Mytica. Is it fair to say that Rebel Spring will be quite a bit darker than book 1? MR: The stakes have been raised and sharpened, for sure. Blood will spill and lives will be lost. But I don’t think I would ever want to write a book that was unrelentingly bleak from beginning to end. I can promise that Rebel Spring contains plenty of comic relief and romance to counterbalance the darker bits. RM: The Falling Kingdoms books are written from multiple POVs, and each of your narrators has such a unique voice and perspective. How does your experience vary from POV to POV? Are there some characters that are more difficult than others? Do you have a favorite? MR: It’s been a wonderful and exciting challenge to write in multiple points of view from my diverse cast. I will admit, some POVs are always a joy to write and others prove to be a challenge. I try to put myself in the head of that character and see the world from their eyes, no matter who they are or what their goals are. I get into the heads of a couple different characters in Rebel Spring, including a villain who definitely sees things from a darker angle than anything I’ve written before – which was fun. The characters whose scenes I most look forward to writing since they are very specific personalities and basically take over and make things easier for me are Cleo and Magnus. They tend to surprise me while the other characters usually stick to the outline! RM: Let’s talk body count. You’re very good at making me fall in love with your characters, but you’re also very good at killing them off when I least expect it. How do you decide the who, how, when, and why when it comes to killing off your characters? MR: I never knew how much I enjoyed killing characters until I started writing this series. *evil grin* However! I like to think those who get the ax (sometimes, um, literally) are necessary deaths. It’s all for a purpose, to change another character in the face of their shock and grief, to lead them down a path they never would have taken before, and to spark a desire for revolution and vengeance in the hearts of those who might previously have been passive and peaceful. Plus, I always think when things seem a bit too ideal and characters are getting too comfortable, it’s a good time to get a few heads rolling to keep things interesting for readers – and for me as the writer! RM: What’s going on with Magnus? He seems like kind of a jerk in Falling Kingdoms, but I get the sense he’s got a soft spot. MR: With a father like King Gaius, whose nickname is the “King of Blood,” it would be pretty hard for a prince to grow up as a nice dude with a sunny disposition! Magnus really came alive on the page for me, more so than any other character in the cast. Initially, he was supposed to be a jerk through and through, but he’s really more of a lost soul whose entire life has been devoted to attempting to gain his cruel and driven father’s love and respect. However, Magnus has begun to learn that he might have a different set of morals than the king, even though he knows following in Daddy’s footsteps would make life easier for him. This isn’t to say that Magnus hasn’t made (and will make) some rather dreadful decisions that will certainly cast a shadow over his future relationships and experiences. RM: Jonas has a lot of axes to grind by the end of book 1. What can we expect from him in Rebel Spring? MR: I think the main thing with Jonas is that beneath his thirst for vengeance (focused on both the murderer of his brother Aron and King Gaius) is that he really does mean well. He cares about the people of downtrodden Paelsia, and he’s someone, unlike his fellow countrymen, who doesn’t believe his future is ruled by uncontrollable fate. In Rebel Spring, Jonas has been thrust into the position of rebel leader, which will be a challenge for him on many levels. RM: Okay, ultimate personality test: Are you a Cleo or a Lucia? MR: Both are princesses from vastly different kingdoms and upbringings – Cleo is a girl who has favored parties and frivolity in the past, while Lucia prefers learning and solitude. Cleo is stubborn and sometimes reckless, and Lucia is more measured and controlled, but may be considered naïve in many ways. I wouldn’t say I’m much like either princess, really, although I am blond like Cleo and I love books like Lucia. :) RM: Lastly, can you talk a little bit about your writing process? MR: It would be next to impossible to undertake a large tapestry of a series like Falling Kingdoms if I didn’t plan a lot of it ahead of time. I work from a detailed outline and map out character goals and conflicts and relationship arcs, but I’m still surprised by some of the things my characters say and do that can take me in a direction different from what was meticulously planned. So far, it’s been a lot of fun to explore these unexpected paths to see where they lead.

Download or read book Bridegroom Wore Plaid written by Grace Burrowes and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2012-12-04 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2012 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes keeps winning reader awards for her gorgeously imagined books. If you're already a fan, you'll devour her new characters and if you haven't yet discovered the richly drawn worlds of Grace Burrowes, you're in for a treat.... "Memorable heroes. Intelligent, sensual love stories. This author knows what romance readers adore."—RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars His Family or His Heart — One of Them Will Be Betrayed... Ian MacGregor is wooing a woman who's wrong for him in every way. As the new Earl of Balfour, though, he must marry an English heiress to repair the family fortunes. But in his intended's penniless chaperone, Augusta, Ian is finding everything he's ever wanted in a wife. "Historical details enrich Burrowes's intimate and erotic story, but the real stars are her vibrant characters and her masterful ear for dialogue. Burrowes is superb at creating connections that feel honest and real."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review