Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men

In 1950, most Americans had completed the transition from adolescence to adulthood by age 21 or so. Today, it's more likely to be by age 30. It's a new stage of development, and Michael Kimmel is our tour guide in this presentation based on his best-selling book, GUYLAND. Based on interviews with more than 400 young people across the country, Kimmel offers a glimpse of why so many guys are adrift through their 20s, and offers a road map towards a more conscious adulthood.

Michael Kimmel is among the leading researchers and writers on men and masculinity in the world today. He is Distinguished professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University, where he directs the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities. Kimmel is the author of more than 20 books, including Manhood in America: A Cultural History (1996), which was hailed as the definitive work in the field. Reviewers called the book “wide-ranging, level headed, human and deeply interesting” (Kirkus), “superb… thorough, impressive and fascinating” (Chicago Tribune), “perceptive and refreshing” (Indianapolis Star). One reviewer wrote that “Kimmel’s humane, pathbreaking study points the way toward a redefinition of manhood that combines strength with nurturing, personal accountability, compassion and egalitarianism” (Publishers’ Weekly). Another called it “the most wide-ranging, clear-sighted, accessible book available on the mixed fortunes of masculinity in the United States” (San Francisco Chronicle).