Masculinity is gaining increasing popular and academic interest. At one level, football hooligans, absent fathers, 'Essex man' and 'new men' are regular media presences. At the same time, masculinity is the subject of increasingly sophisicated theoretical discussion, and there are a wide range of accounts of what masculinity means. Understanding Masculinities is the first introductory text to examine the range of different theoretical and methodological approaches to the understanding of masculinity. It brings together overviews of the key theoretical debates with new empirical material, focusing on different social and cultural arenas, and the wide range of masculinities which exist. It discusses education, unemployment, sport, sexuality, HIV, and black masculinities. Understanding Masculinities critically explores the gendered and sexual dynamics of these masculinities, challenging and transforming our conventional assumptions. Understanding Masculinities will be important reading for undergraduate and masters students of sociology, women's studies, gender and psychology. It will also be of interest to anyone concerned with broadening their understanding of masculinity.

Masculinity is gaining increasing popular and academic interest. At one level, football hooligans, absent fathers, 'Essex man' and 'new men' are regular media presences. At the same time, masculinity is the subject of increasingly sophisicated theoretical discussion, and there are a wide range of accounts of what masculinity means. Understanding Masculinities is the first introductory text to examine the range of different theoretical and methodological approaches to the understanding of masculinity. It brings together overviews of the key theoretical debates with new empirical material, focusing on different social and cultural arenas, and the wide range of masculinities which exist. It discusses education, unemployment, sport, sexuality, HIV, and black masculinities. Understanding Masculinities critically explores the gendered and sexual dynamics of these masculinities, challenging and transforming our conventional assumptions. Understanding Masculinities will be important reading for undergraduate and masters students of sociology, women's studies, gender and psychology. It will also be of interest to anyone concerned with broadening their understanding of masculinity.

This is an exciting new edition of R.W. Connell's ground-breaking text, which has become a classic work on the nature and construction of masculine identity. Connell argues that there is not one masculinity, but many different masculinities, each associated with different positions of power. In a world gender order that continues to privilege men over women, but also raises difficult issues for men and boys, his account is more pertinent than ever before. In a substantial new introduction and conclusion, Connell discusses the development of masculinity studies in the ten years since the book's initial publication. He explores global gender relations, new theories, and practical uses of mascunlinity research. Looking to the future, his new concluding chapter addresses the politics of masculinities, and the implications of masculinity research for understanding current world issues. Against the backdrop of an increasingly divided world, dominated by neo-conservative politics, Connell's account highlights a series of compelling questions about the future of human society. This second edition of Connell's classic book will be essential reading for students taking courses on masculinities and gender studies, and will be of interest to students and scholars across the humanities and social sciences.

In Masculinities in the Making, James W. Messerschmidt unravels the mysteries surrounding the question of how masculinities are actually “made.” One of the most respected scholars on the subject of masculinities, Messerschmidt brings together three seemingly disparate groups—wimps, genderqueers, and U.S. presidents—to examine what insight each has to offer our understanding of masculinities. The book is unique in its coverage, including a revised structured action theory; an intersectional analysis of sex, gender, and sexuality; and an examination of the differences among masculinities from the local to the global. Messerschmidt provides a fresh, accessible, and provocative argument that significantly advances our knowledge on masculinities.

This book critically explores the intersections between male rape, masculinities, and sexualities. It examines the ways in which male rape is policed, responded to, and addressed by state and voluntary agencies in Britain. The book uncovers how notions of gender, sexualities and masculinities shape these agencies’ understanding of male rape and their views of men as victims of rape. Javaid pays particular attention to the police and deconstructs police subculture to consider whether it influences and shapes the ways in which police officers provide services for male rape victims. Grounded in qualitative interviews and data derived from the state and voluntary sector, this book will be invaluable reading for sociologists, criminologists, and social scientists who are keen to learn more about gender, policing, sexual violence and male sexual victimisation.

This text centres on a study in which boys talked openly about such issues as their relationships with parents and friends, hardness, homophobia and football, and the importance of youth style, race and ethnicity.

Men appear to be missing from much gender and development policy, but many emerging critiques suggest the need to pay more attention to understanding men and masculinities, and to analyzing the social relationships between men and women. This book considers the case for a focus on men in gender and development, which requires us to reconsider some of the theories and concepts which underlie policies. It includes arguments based on equality and social justice, the specific gendered vulnerabilities of men, the emergence of a crisis of masculinity and the need to include men in development as partners for strategic change.