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Male Impersonators: Men Performing Masculinity
The book that changed the way we look at men.
Why is bodybuilding a form of transsexualism? What do football and anal sex have in common? Why is Top Gun such an flamingly 'gay' movie? Why is male vanity such a hot commodity? And why oh why do Marky Mark's pants keep falling down?
In this highly influential book Mark Simpson argues for the vital centrality of homoeroticism and narcissism in any understanding of the fraught phenomenon of modern masculinity. Male Impersonators is a penetrating, ticklish but always serious examination of what happens to men when they become 'objectified'.
From porn to shaving adverts, rock and roll to war movies, drag to lads' nights out, Male Impersonators reviews the greatest show on Earth - the performance of masculinity.
Why is bodybuilding a form of transsexualism? What do football and anal sex have in common? Why is Top Gun such an flamingly 'gay' movie? Why is male vanity such a hot commodity? And why oh why do Marky Mark's pants keep falling down?
In this highly influential book Mark Simpson argues for the vital centrality of homoeroticism and narcissism in any understanding of the fraught phenomenon of modern masculinity. Male Impersonators is a penetrating, ticklish but always serious examination of what happens to men when they become 'objectified'.
From porn to shaving adverts, rock and roll to war movies, drag to lads' nights out, Male Impersonators reviews the greatest show on Earth - the performance of masculinity.
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About the author
Mark Simpson
8 books18 followersEnglish author and journalist Mark Simpson is credited/blamed for ‘fathering’ the metrosexual in 1994, predicting with terrifying accuracy, that the future belonged to the male desire to be desired.
He is the author of several critically-acclaimed books.
“SIMPSON WRITES WITH ENOUGH PANACHE TO MAKE MOST OF HIS PEERS TOSS THEIR LAPTOPS INTO THE WASTE DISPOSAL AND WEEP”
– Independent on Sunday
“THE GAY ANTI-CHRIST” – Vogue
“I ALMOST HATE TO AGREE WITH ANYTHING HE SAYS” – LRB
“AN AMUSED, DETACHED VOLTAIRE”
– Independent on Sunday
“ERUDITE, INCISIVE, SASSY… FRESH, HILARIOUS” – Publishers Weekly
“ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST WRITERS AROUND” – Time Out
“BRILLIANTLY BUCCANEERING”
– Spectator
“SERIOUSLY FUNNY”
– Scotland On Sunday
He is the author of several critically-acclaimed books.
“SIMPSON WRITES WITH ENOUGH PANACHE TO MAKE MOST OF HIS PEERS TOSS THEIR LAPTOPS INTO THE WASTE DISPOSAL AND WEEP”
– Independent on Sunday
“THE GAY ANTI-CHRIST” – Vogue
“I ALMOST HATE TO AGREE WITH ANYTHING HE SAYS” – LRB
“AN AMUSED, DETACHED VOLTAIRE”
– Independent on Sunday
“ERUDITE, INCISIVE, SASSY… FRESH, HILARIOUS” – Publishers Weekly
“ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST WRITERS AROUND” – Time Out
“BRILLIANTLY BUCCANEERING”
– Spectator
“SERIOUSLY FUNNY”
– Scotland On Sunday
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 5, 2020
*The book that changed the way we look at men. *
Why is bodybuilding a form of transsexualism? What do football and anal sex have in common? Why is Top Gun such an flamingly 'gay' movie? Why is male vanity such a hot commodity? And why oh why do Marky Mark's pants keep falling down?
In this highly influential book Mark Simpson argues for the vital centrality of homoeroticism and narcissism in any understanding of the fraught phenomenon of modern masculinity. Male Impersonators is a penetrating, ticklish but always serious examination of what happens to men when they become 'objectified'.
From porn to shaving adverts, rock and roll to war movies, drag to lads' nights out, Male Impersonators reviews the greatest show on Earth - the performance of masculinity.
March 17, 2012
Why "masculinity" still rules...and "femininity" is still dangerous.
I can't add much to the (deserved) glowing reviews for this collection of essays that is now 18 years old and as radical, relevant and challenging to unreflective fashionable opinions as when it first appeared. Simpson understands men and writes honestly about them in ways that so many writers can't or won't.
As other reviewers have mentioned--and it bears repeating: Simpson's most important message may be that gay men are men and same-sex orientation is just one way of being a man, of being "masculine," out of many equally "masculine" ways of being.
Simpson's embrace of Freudian theory holds up well and is an excellent support for his arguments. Rather than seeming outdated, the references and ideas come across as refreshing and thought-provoking. For this reader, whose only familiarity with Freud is pop culture's oversimplification bordering on ridicule, Simpson's clear explication of Freud's ideas, and his convincing way of using them to analyze male attitudes and behavior, is an enticing introduction that made me want to read the original.
My favorite chapter was the last, "Popular men: manly and unmanly," which includes an analysis of the brilliant comedy team Laurel and Hardy and their films from the 1920s and 30s. Simpson shows that the homoerotic elements in the comedy are both genuinely "sexual," as some gay activists have claimed, and at the same time "innocent." The sweetness in the humor is perhaps the last remnant of a time when same-sex love could hide in plain sight under the guise of comedy, and when love between men did not necessarily imply "buggery-pokery," as Simpson so delightfully calls it.
Anybody who likes men, is interested in them, or just wants to read a well-written, humorous yet serious book about a major cultural obsession should not miss this book. It's now out in a Kindle edition as well as the paperback, but since the Kindle edition lacks linked footnotes and table of contents, it's a frustrating read for any except the most casual readers.
I can't add much to the (deserved) glowing reviews for this collection of essays that is now 18 years old and as radical, relevant and challenging to unreflective fashionable opinions as when it first appeared. Simpson understands men and writes honestly about them in ways that so many writers can't or won't.
As other reviewers have mentioned--and it bears repeating: Simpson's most important message may be that gay men are men and same-sex orientation is just one way of being a man, of being "masculine," out of many equally "masculine" ways of being.
Simpson's embrace of Freudian theory holds up well and is an excellent support for his arguments. Rather than seeming outdated, the references and ideas come across as refreshing and thought-provoking. For this reader, whose only familiarity with Freud is pop culture's oversimplification bordering on ridicule, Simpson's clear explication of Freud's ideas, and his convincing way of using them to analyze male attitudes and behavior, is an enticing introduction that made me want to read the original.
My favorite chapter was the last, "Popular men: manly and unmanly," which includes an analysis of the brilliant comedy team Laurel and Hardy and their films from the 1920s and 30s. Simpson shows that the homoerotic elements in the comedy are both genuinely "sexual," as some gay activists have claimed, and at the same time "innocent." The sweetness in the humor is perhaps the last remnant of a time when same-sex love could hide in plain sight under the guise of comedy, and when love between men did not necessarily imply "buggery-pokery," as Simpson so delightfully calls it.
Anybody who likes men, is interested in them, or just wants to read a well-written, humorous yet serious book about a major cultural obsession should not miss this book. It's now out in a Kindle edition as well as the paperback, but since the Kindle edition lacks linked footnotes and table of contents, it's a frustrating read for any except the most casual readers.
September 9, 2011
Male Impersonators should be a contemporary classic. It IS a contemporary classic it is just a 'crying shame' that it is not better known.
Simpson undresses the idea of the 'natural man' and shows us how men perform masculinity, in popular culture in particular. Gay strippers and drag artists, 'macho' body builders, pornography, sport, The War Movie, reality television, rock and roll. They all reveal, as examined by Simpson, the complexities and often the homoerotic and homosexual subtexts of modern masculinities.
My favourite chapter is The Anus And Its Goalposts. The book was published in 1994 but if this chapter was distributed to football fans and players now, in 2011, it might cause football to suffer an identity crisis it could not recover from. Simpson uses Freud, Foucault, Iragaray, and his own unique perspective, to reveal the underlying homo-sexual dynamics that form the 'Beautiful Game'. It made me think on reading it, that if homophobia in football was to be eradicated, there would be nothing left of the sport at all, as it is built on homosexual tension and also denial and fear.
Beautifully written, well referenced, funny and sometimes heartbreaking, Male Impersonators tells us the story of how men have come to be how they are. But as the lack of fame of this book and its author attests to, it is a story the world does not want to hear.
A dangerous book and a wonderful one.
Simpson undresses the idea of the 'natural man' and shows us how men perform masculinity, in popular culture in particular. Gay strippers and drag artists, 'macho' body builders, pornography, sport, The War Movie, reality television, rock and roll. They all reveal, as examined by Simpson, the complexities and often the homoerotic and homosexual subtexts of modern masculinities.
My favourite chapter is The Anus And Its Goalposts. The book was published in 1994 but if this chapter was distributed to football fans and players now, in 2011, it might cause football to suffer an identity crisis it could not recover from. Simpson uses Freud, Foucault, Iragaray, and his own unique perspective, to reveal the underlying homo-sexual dynamics that form the 'Beautiful Game'. It made me think on reading it, that if homophobia in football was to be eradicated, there would be nothing left of the sport at all, as it is built on homosexual tension and also denial and fear.
Beautifully written, well referenced, funny and sometimes heartbreaking, Male Impersonators tells us the story of how men have come to be how they are. But as the lack of fame of this book and its author attests to, it is a story the world does not want to hear.
A dangerous book and a wonderful one.
January 11, 2016
Men are fucked up. We don’t like to show our affection and mask our intimacy in play. Masculinity becomes a performance and alienated from a natural manhood. Mark Simpson took me on an insightful ride to the secret heart of my twisted psyche in his essay collection MALE IMPERSONATORS: MEN PERFORMING MASCULINITY. From sports to rock and roll and movies, men express their love for one another, whether platonic or sexual, in messages coded and sublimated to the point of camp. Through Freudian analysis of films such as TOP GUN and others, from Marky Mark’s underwear to the absurdity of Robert Bly’s IRON JOHN man’s movement, there’s a lot more homosexuality to men than men would care to admit.
April 1, 2022
Well, it was interesting to get back into 90s, and some clever people like Mr Simpson wrote at that time some very interesting essays about the world around us, mainly pop culture. And mostly about (homo)sexual connotations in that world and about changes in the male role behavior.
Mark Simpson often went boldly in some uncharted areas bringing both lucid and funny insights.
And he remained all the time politically not correct, which is a great plus in my book.
Mark Simpson often went boldly in some uncharted areas bringing both lucid and funny insights.
And he remained all the time politically not correct, which is a great plus in my book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews