Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, By Michael Kimmel

In Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, author Michael Kimmel attempts to map the passage of adolescence to adulthood for the young American male. At one point in time the transition from boyhood to manhood seemed clear cut and well defined. Men were quicker to become engaged, marry, start a family, and begin “Preparing for futures as civic leaders and Little League dads,” (Kimmel 19). Today however, guys must navigate a new stage of development, an undefined time span of extended adolescence during the transition from boy to man or simply referred to as “Guyland.” The author, Jimmy Kimmel, investigates a series of challenges and obstacles that face young American men as they traverse this newfound territory. These topics span from the ideals of “Guy Code” and “Bro’s before Ho’s” to the subject of hookup culture and date rape. Kimmel draws from the experiences of guys across the country as they struggle to find there way to the elusive state of manhood. …show more content…
Although Kimmel touches on many of the struggles and anxieties faced by men as they navigate their way to “manhood”, he does so in a way that leaves the reader believing that all guys today are set on a trajectory of aimlessness and a constant fraternity mentality. Kimmel seems to draw the wealth of his knowledge from personal interpretation and interviews with a number of students at various neighborhood bars and coffee shops. I feel like this approach leaves particular groups of individuals marginalized in Kimmel’s research, those driven individuals who may not frequent such places such as those with interests outside of drinking or in search of their next “hook up”. This bias allows the author to make blanket statements about men as a whole, and portray the lifestyle of a few as that of the