Theorizing Masculinities

Drawing together the broad range of theoretical issues posed in the new study of masculinity, contributors from diverse backgrounds address in this volume the different disciplinary roots of theories of masculinity - sociology, psychoanalysis, ethnography, and inequality studies. Subsequent chapters theoretically model many issues central to the study of men - power, ethnicity, feminism, homophobia - or develop theoretical explanations of some of the institutions most closely identified with men including the military and the men′s movement.

A new field of inquiry and growing interdisciplinary area, men′s studies, is just now beginning to develop its own distinctive methodologies and perspectives as demonstrated in the pages of Theorizing Masculinities. This first major compilation of new theoretical work on men begins by presenting ideas borrowed from the disciplines that have fostered the study of masculinities: sociology, psychoanalysis, ethnography, and inequality. The following chapters explore many issues central to the study of men such as power, ethnicity, feminism, and homophobia. The contributors also provide theoretical explanations of some of the institutions most closely identified with men, such as the military, sports, and the men′s movement. The contributors to this volume come from disciplines as diverse as sociology, political science, industrial relations, philosophy, education, anthropology, gender studies, and literature. Together, they make this benchmark volume the guiding set of theories on masculinities. Theorizing Masculinities is a comprehensive volume that will appeal to a wide range of students and scholars, especially those interested in gender, sociology, social theory, family studies, counseling, and psychology.