The Men and the Boys

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Summary: The social construction of masculinity
Review: One of the hottest topics in gender studies today is the study of masculinity and R.W. Connell provides a thorough investigation with "The Men and the Boys". Feminist explorations of gender in recent decades not only focused on women's concerns and life circumstances but also challenged assumptions about how social structures are constructed by gender. Occuring from these gender explorations is increasing interest in men and the social construction of masculinities. To only conceptualize gender in feminine interests neglects to understand how boys and men are socialized to be masculine which is important to our overall knowledge of how gender operates in society.

In "The Men and the Boys" R.W. Connell conceptualizes how masculinities are socially constructed and how they are fluid within historical, cultural, and social constructs. Masculinities exist outside the individual and are defined collectively in culture and are sustained in social institutions. They came into existence during social interaction and are a product of active construction. There is not one masculinity but rather multiple masculinities which can be diverse within the same social setting. Masculinities are hierarchical with some being more dominant while others are subordinated or marginalized, such as homosexual masculinities. The most honored and desired, although not necessarily the most common, is hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity pertains to the image of the professional sports player or rock star that many men aim to be a reflection.

R.W. Connell is a pioneer in the study of masculinity, and this book provides a thorough examination of the social construction of masculinity along with social policy recommendations to help alleviate the negative reprecussions of hegemonic masculinity. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this fascinating new subject area.