scholarly journals What is “Masculinity”? Conceptual Keys to Critical Studies in Men and Masculinities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena A. Zdravomyslova ◽  
Anna A. Temkina
Keyword(s):  
Gender Studies ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
White Men ◽  
Men's Studies ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Men’S Studies ◽  
Crisis Of Masculinity ◽  
Men And Masculinities

This article focuses on the key categories, which define the field of Critical Men’s Studies, widely used in gender studies and even emerge in public discourse. We consider the central concept of this field of knowledge — “hegemonic masculinity” — and its use to analyze the hierarchies of “subordinated” and “marginalized” masculinities. We also analyze such discursive derivative constructs of “hegemonic masculinity” as the “crisis of masculinity” and the metaphor of “angry white men”. As a result, these conceptual keys allow us to comprehend the intersectional turn in modern gender studies, which is so difficult to explain to public.

scholarly journals ODYSSEUS’S UNEASE: THE POST-WAR CRISIS OF MASCULINITY IN MELVYN BRAGG’S THE SOLDIER’S RETURN AND A SON OF WAR

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Martín Alegre
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Men's Studies ◽  
La Paz ◽  
Men’S Studies ◽  
Return Home ◽  
Crisis Of Masculinity ◽  
Post War ◽  
Alter Ego

Abstract:Melvyn Bragg’s autobiographical novels The Soldier’s Return (1999) and A Son of War (2001) narrate the return home of a working-class English WWII veteran mainly from the point of view of his son Joe (Bragg’s alter ego). By reading this new Odysseus’ return in the light of the analysis of hegemonic patriarchal masculinity carried out in Men’s Studies, this article shows that the experience of the veteran’s return to peace is central for the re-articulation not only of his individuality as a man but also for the continuation of the patriarchal model in Western societies, even at the expense of class loyalties and, indeed, at the expense of women’s liberation.Keywords: Masculinity, patriarchy, fatherhood, hegemony, social class.Resumen:Las novelas autobiográficas de Melvyn Bragg The Soldier’s Return (1999) y A Son of War (2001) narran el regreso al hogar de un veterano inglés de clase obrera tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, principalmente desde el punto de vista de su hijo Joe (alter ego de Bragg). Gracias a la lectura del regreso de este nuevo Ulises, iluminada por el análisis de la masculinidad hegemónica patriarcal realizado por los Estudios de la Masculinidad, este artículo demuestra que la experiencia del retorno del veterano a la paz es crucial no sólo para la regeneración de su individualidad como hombre sino también para la continuidad del modelo patriarcal en Occidente, a costa incluso de lealtades de clase y, sin duda, de la liberación de la mujer.Palabras clave: Masculinidad, patriarcado, paternidad, hegemonía, clase social.

Grow a Pair! Critically Analyzing Masculinity and the Testicles

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank G. Karioris ◽  
Jonathan A. Allan
Keyword(s):  
Gender Studies ◽  
Men's Studies ◽  
Male Identity ◽  
Men’S Studies ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
Significant Attention

The testicles are remarkably important to the construction of male identity. We tell men to “grow a pair.” So what, we might ask, then is the place of the testicles in men’s studies? Truth be told, the testicles have not occupied significant attention in gender studies, and certainly not in the same way as the phallus has. This article, therefore, seeks to position the testicles as an object of study in the field of men’s studies.

scholarly journals Popular Culture and Masculinity Ideals in East Asia, with Special Reference to China

2012 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 929-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kam Louie
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Men's Studies ◽  
Men’S Studies ◽  
Asian Men ◽  
Rise Of China ◽  
Global Understanding ◽  
The Rise Of China ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Men And Masculinities

This paper argues that the new forms of communication have had a major impact on gender and sexual ideologies and practices across East Asia. In particular, it focuses on the impact that the new media had on Chinese masculinities in the post-Mao years, a period that coincided with the “Asian economic miracle” and the rise of China. This was also the time when women's studies became well established in the West and men's studies was becoming increasingly prominent in the academic arena. But throughout this time, research into Asian men has been very limited, although Asian women have been voluminously described, analyzed, and publicized. Men's studies scholars such as R. W. Connell were well aware that a large proportion of the world's men did not receive any attention in gender studies and that this neglect was a serious problem in the field. In the first article in the inaugural issue of Men and Masculinities, he called for a more global understanding of the world gender order (Connell 1998).

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.

The Return of Nature: Feminism, Hegemonic Masculinities, and New Materialisms

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Garlick
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Feminist Theory ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Materialisms ◽  
Men And Masculinities

It has generally been taken for granted within the field of Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities (CSMM) that the object of attention and concern is to be found within “the social” and in opposition to naturalizing claims about gender. Nature is not entirely absent from CSMM, often appearing either as malleable material or as a stable basis for the social construction of bodies. In this article, however, I suggest that the time is ripe to develop new concepts of nature by drawing on new materialist theories that are increasingly influential within feminist theory. This move opens up the possibility of strengthening the connections between materialist traditions in CSMM and contemporary developments in feminist theory. This article proceeds by reviewing different forms of materialism within feminist theory and argues that new materialist theories offer insights that can benefit CSMM. In particular, I argue that the theory of hegemonic masculinity needs to be expanded beyond the framework of patriarchy and recast in relation to the place of nature in the complex ecology of human social relations.

scholarly journals Challenging Dominant Representations of Marginalized Boys and Men in Critical Studies on Men and Masculinities

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-104
Author(s):  
Steven Roberts ◽  
Karla Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Progressive Change ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Men And Masculinities

Raewyn Connell famously theorized hegemonic masculinity, explaining its dominance over femininity and “subordinated” and “marginalized” masculinities. Attending to representations of the latter, we argue that “men in the margin” are commonly wrongly and/or simplistically depicted as regressive and violent in response to their marginalization. Focusing on representations of working-class boys and men, we illustrate the stereotypical treatment of “men in the margin” more broadly, making clear that this goes against Connell’s treatment of such men. Conversely, privileged boys and men are commonly held up by critical studies on men and masculinities scholars as paragons of progressive change. The characterization of boys and men in the margin as regressive and patriarchal impedes the ability to address problems like violence, misogyny, and homophobia and overlooks the possibilities for transformation that emerge among marginalized communities.

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