Showing papers in "Journal of Gender Studies in 2009"

‘I sat back on my computer … with a bottle of whisky next to me’: constructing ‘cool’ masculinity through ‘effortless’ achievement in secondary and higher education

Abstract: Recently Hodgetts has argued that: ‘To be a boy is to “succeed without trying”’. Relatedly, other researchers have proposed that academic hard work is generally incompatible with ‘cool’ masculinities in many schools. In this article we draw upon theories about the construction of masculinities and UK data from two education contexts (secondary schools and higher education) to explore further the discourses that conflate effortless achievement with masculinity, and position study as ‘uncool’. Locating our analyses principally within the framework of hegemonic masculinity, we explore the benefits and costs of the discourses – focusing especially upon the ‘effortless achievement’ discourse – to boys, men, girls and women. We argue that although the ‘uncool to work’ discourse was more dominant in schools than in higher education there was evidence of it in higher education. The effortless achievement discourse was dominant in both contexts and the associations with masculinity were very explicit in the higher...

Connell's theory of masculinity – its origins and influences on the study of gender1

Abstract: The Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell's theory of masculinity is the most influential theory in the field of men and masculinities. Along with its enormous impact on the field of gender studies, it has also been taken up across a wide range of other disciplines. Connell's book Masculinities, originally published in 1995, has been translated into five different languages and since it was first published its influence has increased with an English second edition being published in 2005. A crucial part of the enduring appeal of Connell's theory is that it provides a critical feminist analysis of historically specific masculinities whilst at the same time acknowledging the varying degrees to which individual men play in its reproduction. Yet, as I suggest here, three key elements of Connell's theory of masculinity have been largely neglected by other scholars. These are: the crucial influence of psychoanalysis and subsequent use of the life history case study method; the importance of non-hegemonic forms ...

Framing ‘men in feminism’: theoretical locations, local contexts and practical passings in men's gender-conscious positionings on gender equality and feminism

Abstract: This article addresses some aspects of the 'Man Question' in feminism, by way of the analysis of men's diverse gender-conscious positionings in relation to gender, gender equality and feminism. It ...

'Be a feminist or just dress like one': BUST, fashion and feminism as lifestyle

Abstract: In recent years, a body of critical scholarship has emerged that interrogates the discourses of ‘new’, ‘sexy’, and ‘girlie’ feminisms. BUST magazine (1993–) has become emblematic of ‘girlie’ feminism, a form of ‘third-wave’ feminist engagement that revalues activities and interests traditionally associated with femininity, such as knitting, fashion, and make-up. In 2006, the magazine's fashion issue aroused controversy for its inclusion of a fashion spread devoted to ‘fashionable feminists’. Taking BUST's fashion issue as a case study, this article contextualizes BUST's particular take on fashion within both a broader history of feminist perspectives on the politics of dress and the negative backlash against feminism that gained particular strength during the 1980s. It argues that BUST's fashion issue is an ambivalent text that offers, on the one hand, a homage to feminism's ‘past’ and, on the other hand, a rather simplistic view of that history. Finally, this article considers the critical debate about B...

Gender-violence and education in Malawi: a study of violence against girls as an obstruction to universal primary school education

Abstract: This study – funded by Actionaid and UNICEF – sought to determine the extent to which violence prevents girls accessing primary school education in Malawi. It further sought to identify the different types of violence that girls experience when in primary school; the perpetrators of this violence; and where the violence takes place. The study established that girls are subject to several forms of violence as a result of their gender; that such gender-based violence is detrimental to their experience of primary education; and that it negatively affects their ability to access education in Malawi.

Beyond the sex machine? Sexual practices and masculinity in adult men's heterosexual accounts

Abstract: The processes of reproduction and change of adult masculinities through everyday sexual practices remain largely invisible to research. Our attempt is to shed light upon these processes by investigating middle-aged Italian men's accounts of their heterosexual, sexual biographies on the basis of 36 in-depth interviews. These cohorts of men have experienced structural transformations in gender relations and changes in the cultural scenarios regarding sexuality, with the emergence of new permissive and intimacy scripts. Many of them substantially neutralise these changes, reproducing a naturalised view of male sexuality, while others move towards broader understandings of sexuality, less centred upon intercourse, and, in some cases, reveal a loosening of the connection between sexuality and masculinity. In the ways these men make sense of these changes, the ongoing work of doing gender emerges as taking place within specific communities of practices.

Deconstructing and reconstructing ‘Muslim women’ through women's narratives

Abstract: ‘The plight of Muslim women’ periodically surfaces in the Indian media as well as in academic forums. These discussions often focus on the tropes of parda, polygamy and personal laws with ‘Muslim women’ often placed in the position of symbolic bearers of the identity of ‘the Muslim community’. This article explores the construction of ‘Muslim women in India’ outside of media and academic discourses, looking at the ways that women, who are identified as Muslim, themselves construct this category in their personal narratives. The analysis is based on discussions with women living in a majority-Muslim area of Delhi, Zakir Nagar. These discussions reveal competing constructions of ‘Muslim women’ in relation to parda and personal laws as well as in comparison with various groups including ‘Hindu women’, ‘the poor’, and ‘the uneducated’. ‘Muslim women’ is thus revealed as a category that has limited and differing resonance in the ways that women themselves represent their identities. The article calls for an ex...

The development of gender equality for Moroccan women – illusion or reality?

Abstract: This article analyzes the situation of women in Moroccan society. From the viewpoint of social change as a multidimensional process, the main socio-demographic variables are discussed and the course of the pro-rights movement of women and the Family Code reform are examined. The authors find that although real progress has been made over the last 50 years, there is still much more to be achieved. Furthermore, there are indications that the incipient participation by women in the public sphere too often continues to reproduce schemes of subordination.

"When I was a bastard": Constructions of maturity in men's accounts of masculinity

Abstract: Social constructionist work has demonstrated how the performance of heterosexuality for (heterosexual) men is unarguably tied to the construction of their masculine identities. In this article, we draw on Wetherell and Edley's theorisation of ‘imaginary positions’ as it pertains to masculine identity formation, to make sense of 15 New Zealand men's accounts of sex in long-term heterosexual relationships. Such relationships were constructed as a ‘safe space’ in which to resist a negative (former) imaginary position of the ‘immature self’ and in which to construct a positive (current) position of the ‘loving, enlightened, egalitarian, mature self’. Although this suggests a positive reconstruction of male sexuality in New Zealand (within the context of long-term heterosexual relationships) these positions remain constructed in a manner which relies on traditional masculine notions of independence and autonomy. This emphasises the fluidity of masculinity, and the way in which certain styles become prevalent, ...

Men at the heart of mothering: finding mother in Finding Nemo

Abstract: After years of perpetuating myths of the subservient, ever-cheerful woman (or killing a maternal figure off at the start of a movie), Disney explored new ground in its blockbuster, Finding Nemo. Building on previous Disney critique by Elizabeth Bell and others, I argue that this film provides an expanded notion of who ‘mother’ is and what ‘mothering’ means. Firstly, I provide a brief review of social ‘mothering’, summarizing maternal functions as discussed by various feminist scholars. Secondly, I create a typology that assists our understanding of how Disney traditionally defines mothering in its discourse. Using elements of this typology, I then explore the ways in which Marlin, the father in Nemo, is engaged in mothering. Finally, I discuss the potential impact on viewers of portraying men as mothers and what has occurred in Disney films post-Nemo with regards to images of mothering.

A window of opportunity – improving gender relations in post-conflict societies: the Sierra Leonean experience

Abstract: Those playing a role in the immediate aftermath of armed conflicts widely state the pursuit of gender equality as a specific objective. This article both assesses the theoretical feasibility of this objective and questions the practical efforts undertaken by development actors in this respect in the concrete case of Sierra Leone. The case study focuses on discrimination against women and girls in Sierra Leonean society and on gender bias and discrimination against girls associated with armed forces or armed groups (GAAFs) in the official Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) Programme and ‘unofficial’ reintegration efforts. The research shows that – due to a variety of factors – the international community does have a window of opportunity to impact positively on gender relations in post-conflict societies. However, as the study demonstrates, this opportunity has thus far not been taken up in the case of Sierra Leone. The article therefore proposes a new robust model to ameliorate efforts to...

How do gender, class and ethnicity interact to determine health status?

Abstract: The main aim of this study was to evaluate intersections of gender (female/male), class (household income), and ethnicity (country of birth) in relation to various measures of psychological and physical health. The study is based on data from the Swedish National Public Health Survey 2006, comprising a randomly-selected sample of 26,305 men and 30,584 women aged 16–84 years. Of these 2147 men and 2916 women were born outside Sweden. Results from the present study show that being female and from an ethnic minority were consistently and statistically significantly associated with poor health outcomes. Men born in Sweden had overall better health than women who had been born in Sweden, who had better health than men born outside Sweden. The worst-off category was women born outside Sweden, particularly those in households with high income levels. Low income was consistently and statistically significantly associated with all measures of poor health outcomes among men but this association was not so clear for...

Preparation and determination: three vignettes of gendered leisure

Abstract: This paper examines the leisure narratives of three individual women who attended pole dancing classes once a week in a city in the North of England. The research was based on participant observation of pole dancing classes and individual interviews with 15 women, nine of whom were students and six were teachers. This paper uses the pole exercise classes as a departure point for an examination of how the women negotiated the time and cost, and how they motivated themselves to continue attending despite various difficulties which they faced such as childcare, pressures of work, unsupportive partners, or just general lethargy. A key part of the overall experience was the sense of achievement that they managed to attend at all. What added to the enjoyment of the experience was the sense of triumph that, yet again, they had overcome the odds and managed to attend, illustrating that for the women who somehow endeavour to find a way to attend, ‘finding a way’ is itself part of the pleasure.

‘Falling in love with someone from your own sex is like going against Cyprus itself …’ – discourses towards heterosexual and female-to-female subjectivities at the University of Cyprus

Abstract: This article explores the views of Cypriot University students on heterosexuality and homosexuality. Drawing on interviews with eight students (four male and four female) and on discussions with two focus groups consisting of 10 female students, it will be argued that many young women in Cyprus invest ‘in a heterosexual career’ through marriage. Young women who do not follow this pattern, characterised by one participant as the ‘national sport of Cypriots’, seem to be ostracised by a cultural setting which privileges heterosexuality and national purity. Those who might feel a strong same-sex attraction are compelled to look beyond their homeland for happiness. The participants interviewed expressed the idea that in the cultural milieu of Cyprus there is hardly space for alterity and subject reformation; where different stories can challenge the phallogocentric national and heterosexual order of contemporary Cyprus.

‘He's got no game’: young men's stories about failed romantic and sexual experiences

Abstract: This study examined how 12 small groups of young adult male friends (N = 36 participants; ages 18–23) told stories about romantic and sexual experiences Contrary to the expectation that male friends will boast and brag to one another about their romantic endeavors, the young men's romantic and sexual stories were often about embarrassing romantic and sexual mishaps and gaffes Like the ‘lovable loser’ laddishness that parades itself in television shows and advertisements, these forays into non-heroic masculinity were cloaked in a knowing irony and self-reflexivity that made it difficult to determine whether their positions were complicit with or resistant to normative masculinity Critical discursive analyses focus on how positions of failed gamesmanship function in the accomplishment of male homosociality, how a sense of conventionality or ordinariness is re-claimed, and what these processes reveal about the shifting nature of hegemonic masculinity in contemporary culture

Intersex individuals' religiosity and their journey to wellbeing

Abstract: The intersex movement has spent the past two decades forming around a common need to change the way in which contemporary societies ‘diagnose’ and ‘treat’ intersex. As the intersex movement is becoming articulate, visible and politically active, intersex individuals are also struggling to deal with the ongoing psycho-social and emotional trauma generated by decades of silence, secrets and scars. As the movement finds strength in numbers, and in ‘others like ourselves’, some intersex individuals are turning elsewhere for guidance and means of ‘coping’. This article introduces recent findings that intersex individuals are turning to traditional discourses of religiosity to understand not only the ‘treatments’ they have undergone, but also the meaning(s) of their intersex bodies. While counselling and peer support are increasingly recommended to, and sought by, intersex individuals, it is in spiritual and/or religious life that intersex individuals are finding answers, health and wellbeing. This article expl...

Side-splitting masculinity: comedy, Mr Bean and the representation of masculinities in contemporary society

Abstract: This article concerns itself with the characterisation of Mr Bean and the popularity this particular representation of masculinity has enjoyed over the past 10 years. It contends that the character of Mr Bean offers more than light entertainment to its viewing audience but also has the potential to test the boundaries and conventions of hegemonic masculinity. In this regard, this article considers how the physical comedy in the Mr Bean series facilitates a deconstruction of the signs, symbols and imagery of masculinity. An interpretative analysis will be developed to illuminate the possibility of a subversive reading of Mr Bean. As an example of a contra-indicative or subverted masculine representation, the character of Mr Bean is also examined in relation to the other popular representations of masculinity of the ‘New Man’ and ‘New Lad’ and proposes that Mr Bean represents a continuing trend in the commercialisation of masculinity in contemporary society. This fusion of a contra-indicative masculinity wi...

Spray more, get more: masculinity, television advertising and the Lynx effect

Abstract: There has been a recent growth in both the advertising of male grooming products and the sales of such products in Britain and, as such, it is important that we examine the representations of men, masculinity and the male role that are being used to advertise and indeed sell this new and growing market sector. After all, advertising cannot help but influence both our purchasing decisions and our wider understanding of sex and gender roles in society. Therefore, this article seeks to examine the depiction of the male in a series of Lynx television adverts that have aired in Britain since the mid-2000s, considering the ways in which such texts simultaneously conform to and challenge dominant images of masculinity.

‘Suddenly she realizes that her husband is not exactly Rabbi Akiba …’ – perceptions of masculinity of ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jewish battering men

Abstract: The aim of the study reported in this article is to gain an understanding of the way in which haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Israeli Jewish batterers perceive and experience both their masculinity and their violent behaviour towards their wives. The study attempts to understand how the masculinity–intimate violence–culture relationship exists in the haredi community, which is both religious and patriarchal. This is a qualitative study and is based on 11 interviews with haredi men who behaved violently towards their spouses. Four central themes describe the characteristics of masculinity: two of which describe the man's principal roles – Torah study and providing for his family – and two that describe a man's ideal attributes – restraint and self-control, rationality and sagacity. Emerging from the interviewees' responses is the difficulty of realizing the male ideal as they presented it, and in this context violent behaviour is actually construed as a failure. In addition, the changes being undergone in women's ...

Morality, legality and gender violence in Angel

Abstract: This article explores the dynamics of morality, legality and gendered violence represented in one episode of the television series Angel. In this episode, simply titled ‘Billy’, a young man is hunted down by Angel, who is both a private detective and a vampire with a soul, to prevent him from unleashing ‘primordial misogyny’ in the men he touches. I argue that the dominant themes of the episode are gender, morality and legality. Whereas the latter are represented as contextually specific, the performances of gender adhere to a binary logic in keeping with modernist notions of the subject. I outline the theory of gender/ed violence that underpins my analysis, before investigating signifiers of legality and morality, drawing on wider themes from the series. I illustrate that legality and morality may be represented as unstable, but this radical potential is undermined by the representation of masculinised violence as inherently tied to material bodies. I conclude that the organisation of the episode – and o...

‘She acts out in inappropriate ways’: students' evaluations of violent women in film

Abstract: This qualitative research project examines the ways in which a sample of film viewers used gender ideology to evaluate, interpret, and understand violent female characters. The film Girls Town (1996) was shown to 22 students. After viewing the film, participants completed a six-page questionnaire in which they were asked to identify their favorite and least favorite character and to describe their reasons for liking or disliking the character. Results indicate that respondents praised violent female characters for stereotypical feminine characteristics and condemned them for using violence. Although respondents generally reproduced traditional gender ideology, they did so without explicitly referring to the characters' gender – that is, they condemned violent women by critiquing their motivations for committing violence.

'Conventional practice, courageous plan': women and the gendered site of death rituals in Japan

Abstract: This paper looks at recent shifts in attitudes towards the maintenance of the family grave in Japan, and the way in which individual women contribute to this change. The presence of family graves is a remnant of the patriarchal family-household system, in which the continuation of the family grave by a single, patrilineal line is considered imperative. This paper first examines how the family grave practice has been sustained as tradition in legal, religious and social spheres, and then investigates the emerging trend of alternative burials. Based on empirical data from interviews with Japanese women, the paper explores ideas of duty and its various managements by women, seeing grave-tending as housework in the public sphere. The paper then argues that there is scope for discretion in taking up alternative burials to co-exist with the performance of traditional duty, and that desire for change can be executed in non-confrontational ways. Through basing decisions on the concept of familial work, some women...

Elements of the Eden myth in A.L. Kennedy's ‘Original bliss’

Abstract: This article analyses the relationship between texts and social reality in the context of feminist theory. I argue that the story of A.L. Kennedy's ‘Original bliss’ (first published by Cape in 1997) offers an investigation of a woman's subjection through various discourses and practices deriving, however deviously, from the myth of Adam and Eve. Kennedy's narrator is concerned with how the ‘original sin’ becomes, through various ways of fantasising it, a marker of the female body. The bearing of the imagination upon the construction of identity through scenarios derived from the myth of Eden is a central issue in my analysis. But the analysis of the treatment of this issue in ‘Original bliss’ allows us to also define the narrator's more encompassing vision regarding the government of the imagination through words and symbols. Imagination can be used to steer readers through the power of words, affecting the configuration of the meta-textual reality.

Men and masculinities

Abstract: This collection represents a selection of articles and poems from contributors from Australia, Israel, Italy, Sweden and the UK. As editors of this special issue, we have found the process of selec...