Prior to the men's movement of the 1970s, few American men thought consciously (or at least publicly) about what it meant to be a man. Masculinity seemed to be a solid (if not precisely defined) social construct. Masculine norms were defined by a loose constellation of characteristics rooted in Judeo-Christian traditions and scriptural stories, and transmitted to all children through such codes as the Boy Scout Law; stories emphasizing the importance of strength, endurance (physical and psychological), and competitiveness; and acceptance of and support for the gender status quo. Deviating from these norms, or failing to live up to them, was regarded as—depending on the era—tantamount to being a heathen, a Communist, a sissy, or any number of other terms reflecting individual failure.

This fairly uniform view of gender was severely fractured by the cultural changes of the 1960s and...