Masculinity Studies
Masculinity studies examines manhood and masculinities as socially constructed, plural, and historically variable, rather than as a single fixed expression of male biology.
Definition
The interdisciplinary study of masculinities as configurations of gender practice that are socially produced, multiple, hierarchically ordered, and subject to historical change.
Scope
This area covers the critical study of men and masculinities that developed from the 1980s alongside feminist theory. It treats the concept of multiple masculinities organized in hierarchies, the influential notion of hegemonic masculinity, the relationship of men to feminism, and recurring discourses about a 'crisis' of masculinity. It describes these analyses rather than prescribing a model of manhood.
Sub-topics
Core questions
- Is there one masculinity or many, and how are they related?
- How is gendered power distributed among men as well as between men and women?
- What is the relationship of men and masculinity to feminist projects?
- What do recurrent claims of a 'crisis of masculinity' signify?
Key theories
- Multiple masculinities
- Connell's argument that masculinity is not singular but exists in multiple, historically specific configurations standing in relations of hegemony, subordination, complicity, and marginalization with one another.
- Hegemonic masculinity
- The concept of a culturally idealized and dominant form of masculinity that legitimates men's collective dominance and the subordination of women and of other masculinities, later reformulated to address its critics.
History
Critical study of men and masculinities took shape in the 1980s as feminist theory prompted attention to men as gendered subjects. Connell's Masculinities (1995; 2nd ed. 2005) provided its central framework; the concept of hegemonic masculinity was widely applied and then reformulated by Connell and Messerschmidt in 2005, while historians such as Kimmel traced changing ideals of manhood.
Debates
- The scope of hegemonic masculinity
- Whether the concept of hegemonic masculinity was applied too loosely and treated as a fixed character type, prompting its authors to reformulate it to emphasize plurality, geography, and the agency of women.
Key figures
- Raewyn Connell
- Michael Kimmel
- James Messerschmidt
- Jack Halberstam
Related topics
Seminal works
- connell2005
- connellmesser2005
- kimmel2006
Frequently asked questions
- Does masculinity studies treat all men as the same?
- No. A central claim of the field is that there are multiple masculinities, varying by culture, class, race, and sexuality, and standing in hierarchical relations to one another.