[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] This article analyzes masculinity and experimental practices within three different physics communities. This work is premised on the understanding that the discipline of physics is not only dominated by men, but also is laden with masculine connotations on a symbolical level, and that this limited and limiting construction of physics has made it difficult for many women to find a place in the discipline. Consequently, we argue that in order to further the understanding of gender dynamics within physics communities and enrich the current understandings about the lack of women in physics, perspectives from masculinity studies are crucial. The article draws on three different ethnographic case studies dealing with undergraduate students, graduate students, and research scientists.

This article addresses the relationship between highly skilled international mobility and knowledge by focussing on knowledge transfer work. Empirically, this study is based on interviews of professionals in the Swedish medical field who returned to Sweden after a period of work in other countries. The medical field harbours many transnationally valid competences and standardised lines of work, but even in this field, knowledge transfer is a process requiring effort, skills, negotiation, translation and adjustment to the specific organisational and cultural contexts. The studied professionals' knowledge transfer work showed a spectrum, ranging from smooth, almost friction-free transfers to the ones where much translation and transformation was required, depending on the context and the professional's status in the workplace. The professionals also developed and made use of knowledge transfer skills, such as the ability to observe, analyse and adjust to cultural differences between workplaces, healthcare systems or academic systems, as well as the ability to translate knowledge to make it relevant and viable in the specific context.

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The article, based on 43 narrative interviews with Swedish physicians and molecular biologists, discusses family timing and family management as crucial factors in temporary international mobility of highly skilled professionals. In the narratives, the family often created a kind of inertia and complication for a prolonged period of working abroad. The interviewees’ dreams and wishes had to be negotiated with a partner pursuing his/her own career, as well as the rest of the family, and there were also a lot of logistics and practicalities to take care of. However, mobility was also regarded as an amazing opportunity for the whole family to be together and to learn about new cultural and social contexts. In several narratives, the temporary and thus “parenthetic” living abroad influenced the otherwise cherished ideals of dual careers, equal gender contract and a respectful parenthood.

The aim of this article is to analyse masculinity and experimental practices among plasma physicists. The study is based on ethnographic field work with observations and interviews among experimental plasma physicists in a laboratory in the United States. Through daily practices and hands-on situations, the experimental plasma physicists defined their experimental work as strongly associated with masculinity. Both practices and discourses about working with the experiments were fringed with connotations of a craft, of strength and physical efforts. Together, the practices and discourses were used as marks of identity for the laboratory and for the group of physicists within.