Passionate Manhood

Abstract

Introduced into historical analyses of American men and masculinities by E. Anthony Rotundo in 1993, the concept of “passionate manhood” refers to four connected articulations of middle-class manliness: (1) the body, (2) forms of “primitive” masculinity, (3) martial and military virtues, and (4) competition in sports and business. These articulations of manliness emerged after 1850 and became increasingly influential in the 1880s and 1890s.