Immigration

Processes of immigration have interacted with concepts and experiences of masculinity throughout U.S. history. As male immigrants moved from their countries and cultures of origin to the United States, both their notions of manliness and the dominant American culture's masculine ideals were sometimes challenged, and sometimes affirmed, by the encounter. Leaving one's country of origin and relocating over vast distances for economic betterment or to escape political or cultural persecution corresponded to traditional ideas about manliness, which portrayed a man as a successful provider, family caretaker, and guardian. This ideal was accepted by the immigrants themselves and by the larger American society. But while most immigrant men arrived in the United States prepared to embrace American definitions of manhood grounded in economic independence, productive effort ...