Tuesday, January 26, 2016

A Manly Look at Romance from Behind


Jonathan A. Allan's starting 2016 with two publications in the space of about two months. An article, titled "The Purity of His Maleness: Masculinity in Popular Romance Novels" appeared (online first) in the Journal of Men's Studies on 21 January and
seeks to open a discussion between critical studies of men and masculinities and popular romance studies. The phrase “purity of his maleness” is taken from Janice Radway’s groundbreaking study of the popular romance novel, and from this vantage, the article considers how critical studies of men and masculinities might think about, respond to, and engage popular romance novels and scholarship. 
Canadian cover
His new book, Reading From Behind: A Cultural Analysis of the Anus
has been named one of “Sixteen for ’16” to watch for this spring by a prominent Canadian literary critic.
Allan’s book, “Reading from Behind: A Cultural History of the Anus,” is a study of the anus, the ass, the rear in literary and cultural theory. Taking the anus beyond the butt of jokes, Allan examines why people squirm when it is mentioned, since we all have one and use it every day.
“It was 2014 that was called ‘the year of the booty,’ and 2015 was called ‘a banner year for the male butt,’ but it is both desirable and yet shameful, pejorative,” said Allan, the Canada Research Chair in Queer Theory and an Assistant Professor in Gender and Women’s Studies as well as English and Creative Writing at BU. “We all have one, and it seemed an interesting topic to study.” (press release)
Jonathan tells me there's a "chapter in the book on male/male romance". It'll become available in March.
UK cover

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