A space has emerged for theorizing “caring masculinities,” as the concept has increasingly become a focus of European critical studies on men and masculinities (CSMM). In this article, I present a practice-based framework of the concept. I propose that caring masculinities are masculine identities that reject domination and its associated traits and embrace values of care such as positive emotion, interdependence, and relationality. I suggest that these caring masculinities constitute a critical form of men’s engagement and involvement in gender equality and offer the potential of sustained social change for men and gender relations. I draw on CSMM and feminist care theory to construct the framework proposed here. In doing so, I offer a feminist exploration of how masculinities might be reworked into identities of care rather than domination.
This article draws on feminist theory and critical studies on men and masculinities to explore expressions of masculinity among young, relatively privileged men between the ages of 20 and 29 in Australia. Narrative interviews conducted with these men in 2014 revealed assertions of progressive attitudes alongside reworkings of more hegemonic expressions of masculinity. In particular, participants demonstrated distancing from ideas of protest masculinity and spoke of iterations of softer masculinities in relation to their work lives and friendships. At the same time, they borrowed or co-opted aspects of a perceived version of protest masculinity, such as ‘hard work for hard bodies’. Through such practices and beliefs, participants could juggle contradictory requirements of masculinity in late modernity and perpetuate more privileged modes of masculinity. This article argues that sociological attention must continue to be focused on ongoing, privileged expressions of masculinity, even as encouraging changes emerge in late modern, post-industrial societies.
Raewyn Connell famously theorized hegemonic masculinity, explaining its dominance over femininity and “subordinated” and “marginalized” masculinities. Attending to representations of the latter, we argue that “men in the margin” are commonly wrongly and/or simplistically depicted as regressive and violent in response to their marginalization. Focusing on representations of working-class boys and men, we illustrate the stereotypical treatment of “men in the margin” more broadly, making clear that this goes against Connell’s treatment of such men. Conversely, privileged boys and men are commonly held up by critical studies on men and masculinities scholars as paragons of progressive change. The characterization of boys and men in the margin as regressive and patriarchal impedes the ability to address problems like violence, misogyny, and homophobia and overlooks the possibilities for transformation that emerge among marginalized communities.
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