Methods and Methodologies in Critical Studies on Men and Masculinities

2013 ◽  
pp. 26-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Hearn
Keyword(s):  
Critical Studies ◽  
Men And Masculinities

Negotiations between progressive and ‘traditional’ expressions of masculinity among young Australian men

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Feminist Theory ◽  
Hard Work ◽  
Narrative Interviews ◽  
Late Modernity ◽  
Work Lives ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Post Industrial ◽  
Industrial Societies ◽  
Men And Masculinities ◽  
Late Modern

This article draws on feminist theory and critical studies on men and masculinities to explore expressions of masculinity among young, relatively privileged men between the ages of 20 and 29 in Australia. Narrative interviews conducted with these men in 2014 revealed assertions of progressive attitudes alongside reworkings of more hegemonic expressions of masculinity. In particular, participants demonstrated distancing from ideas of protest masculinity and spoke of iterations of softer masculinities in relation to their work lives and friendships. At the same time, they borrowed or co-opted aspects of a perceived version of protest masculinity, such as ‘hard work for hard bodies’. Through such practices and beliefs, participants could juggle contradictory requirements of masculinity in late modernity and perpetuate more privileged modes of masculinity. This article argues that sociological attention must continue to be focused on ongoing, privileged expressions of masculinity, even as encouraging changes emerge in late modern, post-industrial societies.

scholarly journals The masculine logic of DDR and SSR in the Rwanda Defence Force

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Duriesmith ◽  
Georgina Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Field Research ◽  
Security Sector Reform ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Training Materials ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
Relations Of Power ◽  
The Military ◽  
Men And Masculinities

Since the 1994 genocide and civil war, the Rwandan government has implemented an externally funded disarmament, demobilization and reintegration/security sector reform (DDR/SSR) programme culminating in the consolidation of armed groups into a new, professionalized Rwanda Defence Force. Feminists argue that DDR/SSR initiatives that exclude combatant women and girls or ignore gendered security needs fail to transform the political conditions that led to conflict. Less attention has been paid to how gendered relations of power play out through gender-sensitive DDR and SSR initiatives that seek to integrate women and transform hyper-masculine militarized masculinities. This article investigates how Rwanda’s DDR/SSR programme is governed by an oppressive masculine logic. Drawing on critical studies on men and masculinities and feminist work on peacebuilding, myths and the politics of belonging, it argues that Rwanda’s locally owned DDR/SSR programme places the military and militarization at the centre of the country’s nation-building programme. Through various ‘boundary-construction’ practices, the Rwandan government attempts to stabilize the post-1994 gender order and entrench the hegemony of a new militarized masculinity in Rwandan society. The case study draws on field research conducted in 2014 and 2015 and a discourse analysis of historical accounts, policy documents and training materials of the Rwanda Defence Force.

scholarly journals MEN AND SOCIAL TRAUMA OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THE MALADAPTIVENESS OF TOXIC MASCULINITY

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Monika Frąckowiak-Sochańska
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Trauma ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Social Trauma ◽  
The Social ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Men And Masculinities ◽  
Desk Research

The first purpose of this paper is to analyze the direct and indirect, short- and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for men. The second purpose is to identify the mechanisms underlying the present and predicted pandemic’s impact on men’s life and health (both somatic and mental). The author interprets the higher men's mortality due to coronavirus rates and the males' suicide rates that heightened from the beginning of the pandemic due to life-style that reflects the toxic masculinity norms. This paper's theoretical framework is determined by the social (cultural) trauma theory and the Critical Studies on Men and Masculinities. The method used for the present study is desk research based on the integrated literature review including the results of empirical research directly or indirectly addressing males’ experience of the COVID-19 pandemic from the years 2019 and 2020, the previous pandemics (SARS in 2002-2004 and Ebola in 2014), other social crises caused by economic and political processes, and research explaining men’s stress-related behaviors.

scholarly journals Sporty Boys and Fashion Girls: Manoeuvring Between Dominant Norms of Gender Identity

Šolsko polje ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol XXXI (5-6) ◽  
pp. 121-137
Author(s):  
Majda Hrženjak
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Peer Pressure ◽  
Doing Gender ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Feminine Identity ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Body Self ◽  
Men And Masculinities

The trigger for this article was the “Lévi-Straussian mythical formula” girls : boys = fashion : football, which came to the fore in the conversation with girls and boys aged 13 and 14 years. Amid the cacophony of ambivalent representations and meanings of modern masculinities and femininities which young people are facing, it schematically expresses traditional symbolic relations and gender differences. International studies at the crossroads of cultural, educational and gender studies, including critical studies of men and masculinities (Frosh et al., 2002; Zaslow, 2009; Haywood & Mac an Ghaill, 2007) show that teenagers use clothing practices to assert an imaginary boundary in relational and binary self-construction of masculine and feminine identity. The article analyses how teenagers deploy clothing practices, the strong attention they pay to their outfit and some other techniques of body self-regulation in order to negotiate social control and peer pressure related to the processes of the self-construction of masculine and feminine identity. The analysis looks at the peculiarities of these processes in doing hegemonic or marginalised masculinities and traditional or alternative femininities. Comparison of boys’ and girls’ (in intersections with classed and ethicised social locations) attitudes to clothing and outfit demonstrates that both experience the pressure of performing normative gender identity through their body, however the techniques of body self-regulation are different for boys and girls and for specific social locations. In the conclusion, the author reflects on the implications of teenagers’ doing gender through body and their outfit for the pedagogical situation.

scholarly journals Portrayals of Caring Masculinities in Fiction Film: The Male Caregiver in Still Mine, Intouchables and Nebraska.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Núria Araüna ◽  
Iolanda Tortajada ◽  
Cilia Margareta Willem
Keyword(s):  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Feminist Analysis ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Male Caregiver ◽  
Male Caregivers ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
Men And Masculinities ◽  
General Concern ◽  
Neutral Activity

This article analyzes the male caregiving characters Driss in Intouchables (2011), Craig in Still Mine (2012) and David in Nebraska (2013) in terms of hegemonic masculinity and its variations (Connell 1990; Connell and Messerschmidt 2005). Caregiving is a complex social situation normally assumed within kinship relationships, and traditionally attributed to women. We briefly review feminist analysis of caregiving since the 1970s (Fine and Glendinning 2005), and use critical studies on men and masculinities to show that the uptaking of caring tasks by men would and is contributing to equality between women and men (Elliott 2015).  We have looked at the portrayal of the male caregivers in these films, and if and how they challenge hegemonic masculinity in terms of positive experiences. Our findings show that despite the tension men experience between giving in to and challenging patriarchal privilege of a care-free life, strategies such as humour, complicity, outdoor action and a general concern for the dignity of the care-receiver can be identified as some of these features of (imagined) caring masculinities and open new spaces for defining care as a gender neutral activity.

Negotiating Masculinity in a Post-Socialist Society: The Case of Chinese Male Nurses

2021 ◽  
pp. 136078042110469
Author(s):  
Anita Kit Wa Chan ◽  
Tevin Shuhan Fang
Keyword(s):  
Male Dominance ◽  
Male Nurses ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
City Hospital ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Occupational Gender ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Men And Masculinities ◽  
Chinese Male

Occupational gender inequalities are an important sociological concern. Studies on men in female-dominated occupations, such as nursing, have offered rich insights to advance our understanding of gender dynamics in contemporary society. However, current theoretical and empirical accounts have been mostly dominated by Westernized discussions. Utilizing insights from critical studies on men and masculinities, alongside Chinese masculinities studies, this article seeks to enrich the discourse by examining the working experiences of 12 Chinese male nurses in a city hospital. It identifies a culturally specific stigma faced by filial Chinese men. It unravels the masculinity strategies and gender capital, and their effects, used by Chinese male nurses to defend their ability and contributions. It reveals the difficulties and paradoxes arising when men negotiate new hegemonic masculine ideals in post-socialist China. This article provides a nuanced understanding of non-Western masculinities and insights into practices that have been used to sustain male dominance in female-dominated and emotionally demanding jobs.

scholarly journals Men on the margins? Reflections on recruiting and engaging men in reproduction research

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 205979911982942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Law
Keyword(s):  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Recruitment Strategy ◽  
Scholarly Activity ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Engaging Men ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
The Right ◽  
Men And Masculinities ◽  
Do So

While social science research into reproduction is a vibrant and growing field of scholarly activity, the majority of research is conducted with women and focuses on women’s lives. Reproduction research which does focus on men tends to overlook aspects such as pre-conception desires for parenthood and planning. Scholars have argued for a greater inclusion of men in reproduction research, yet there is a paucity of methodological literature addressing how best to do so. This article reports methodological reflections from a qualitative study into men’s perceptions and intentions regarding the ‘right time’ to have children. It does this in reference to Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities – which foregrounds men as gendered beings and comprises the study of the gendered nature of men’s lives – as both a theoretical position influencing study conception and design and as an explanatory framework for enhancing understanding of the research encounter. The first part of the article describes the Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities–informed study conceptualisation and design, specifically the decisions to include unpartnered men in the sample and to address the absence of men in reproduction research in recruitment materials. It then goes on to discuss the most effective recruitment strategy employed, recruiting through informal gatekeepers, and to consider the consequences of this. The second part of the article presents data from the male participants pertaining to their stated motivations for participating, which relate to interest, helpfulness, and in response to perceived marginalisation, as well as their reflections on the interview encounter as enabling them to construct a narrative. It aims to extend knowledge and understanding regarding engaging men in reproduction research and to illustrate the utility of Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities for doing so, and in doing so to advance both reproduction research and discussions of Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities and methodology more broadly.

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