Debating Modern Masculinities : Change, Continuity, Crisis?

Masculinity, it seems, is in crisis, again. This edited volume critically interrogates the current situation facing contemporary young men. The contributors deconstruct and reject such crisis talk, with its chapters drawing on original research to present a more nuanced reality, whilst also developing a critical dialogue with one another.

According to social commentators, masculinity is in crisis as a result of profound social transformation. This kind of public discussion of the behaviours of boys and men points to a presumed need for policy intervention to act as a corrective to the apparent crisis in masculinity which presents (young) men as both at risk and also a risk to others. This is counter to recent scholarship that has documented positive changes in the performances and expression of contemporary masculinities. Such academic research has suggested that we are witnessing the emergence of more inclusive masculinities, no longer predicated on homophobia, marginalization or subordination. This edited collection critically interrogates both sets of claims, firstly deconstructing and rejecting the masculinity in crisis discourse, before engaging in an internal debate about the implications of social change upon the identities of contemporary boys and men and for the ways in which we theorise contemporary masculinities.