Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Masculinity in Lee Maynard’s Crum Trilogy
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Lee Maynard’s Crum Trilogy—people either love it or hate it. But beneath the Appalachian stereotypes lies a deeper examination of the so-called stereotypes of masculinity in Appalachia and by extension, in America. Using R. W. Connell’s theory of masculinity as a framework, this paper proposes to study representations of hegemonic and non-hegemonic masculinities in the trilogy. In particular, the study will show that even in Maynard’s ultra-masculine world in which women are virtually absent or are reduced to objects of desire—the narrator is an orphan looked after by mostly male relatives but mostly left alone—the trilogy challenges gender binarism as the narrator matures and moves physically, if not emotionally, away from his hometown of Crum. The form of the trilogy, in which Maynard presents us with the opportunity to watch the narrator grow from boy to adult to mature man, lends itself particularly well to application of Connell’s “life history case method.” This study will also touch on the topics of men’s bodies, social organization of masculinity, and masculinity politics in Appalachia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dr. Thomas Kiddie is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Center for Online Learning at West Virginia State University, where he teaches both literature and technical writing. His research interests are varied, but for the past several years, he has been focused on men's studies and since 2015, Appalachian studies. He is currently pursuing research in representations of queerness and gender identity in Appalachian fiction.
Masculinity in Lee Maynard’s Crum Trilogy
Lee Maynard’s Crum Trilogy—people either love it or hate it. But beneath the Appalachian stereotypes lies a deeper examination of the so-called stereotypes of masculinity in Appalachia and by extension, in America. Using R. W. Connell’s theory of masculinity as a framework, this paper proposes to study representations of hegemonic and non-hegemonic masculinities in the trilogy. In particular, the study will show that even in Maynard’s ultra-masculine world in which women are virtually absent or are reduced to objects of desire—the narrator is an orphan looked after by mostly male relatives but mostly left alone—the trilogy challenges gender binarism as the narrator matures and moves physically, if not emotionally, away from his hometown of Crum. The form of the trilogy, in which Maynard presents us with the opportunity to watch the narrator grow from boy to adult to mature man, lends itself particularly well to application of Connell’s “life history case method.” This study will also touch on the topics of men’s bodies, social organization of masculinity, and masculinity politics in Appalachia.
