Review: Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era by Michael Kimmel

A well-established sociologist of masculinities, Michael Kimmel, in his work, Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era, offers a highly accessible journey through the oxymoron that white men are oppressed by disenfranchised women and minorities. Moreover, Angry White Men argues that their pain and rage is legitimate, though the direction of their anger is not "true." While attacking those with less social capital offers an easier target than the neoliberal policies of the powerful, this process denies the solidarity which could threaten the status quo. Instead, their pain becomes self-fulfilling as these men perpetuate the very injustices that feed their now impotent anger. In contrast, Kimmel argues that by correcting biased "inputs," such as racism and sexism, a new American Dream could produce the social, political, and economic equity that would defuse their anger. Thus, Angry White Men seeks to prove that the refusal of some white men to accept increasing gender and racial equity is not a moral question alone, but their own impediment as well.