A History of Police and Masculinities, 1700-2010

Abstract

-2010 (London and New York: Routledge, 2012), xi, 303 pp. ISBN: 978-0-415-69661-6. This is an interesting, important and timely book because, as the editors, David G. Barrie and Susan Broomhall, note in their comprehensive introduction, 'Policing provides an excellent case study of how conceptions of masculinity have been constructed and applied over the last 300 years. Police institutions not only incorporate changing models of male authority, but also are closely intertwined with the distribution of power in society' (1). Indeed, there have been few attempts to interrogate the formation and framing of gendered identities within traditionally uniformed, disciplined and (overwhelmingly still) male professions like the military, police and fire services. Existing historical research, taking its cue from sociological studies of 'cop culture', has tended to examine police officers in a fairly generic, ungendered manner; the long exclusion or marginalisation of women police has been seen as justification alone for the police as a gendered institution, thereby overlooking the multiple gendered identities amongst policemen. This book, then, is a welcome addition to this emerging field of inquiry. Moreover, the editors have drawn together an interesting blend of historians, criminologists and sociologists to examine how ideologies about masculinity have shaped -and been shaped by -police institutions, practices and performances over roughly three hundred years. In doing so, the contributors take their own, frequently overlapping, occasionally repetitive, approaches towards interrogating, labelling and accounting for masculine police policy and practice.

Conceptions of Gender and Competencies among Police Recruits in Scandinavia

“…Several previous studies of the police have reported a ranking of competencies with the ones traditionally seen as 'male' on top (e.g. 'toughness' and physical strength) (Barrie & Broomhall 2012;Loftus 2010;Reiner 2010). But we also note new studies indicating some degree of change within the police, increasing the status of competencies traditionally seen as more 'soft' or 'feminine' (e.g., communicative competence) (Gundhus 2013;Inzunza 2015).…”

“…Thus, Solheim speaks of 'a gender-oriented regime of competencies ' (2002, p. 118). For example, in the police, a 'man of the street' image is given high status both historically and today, whereas the indoor 'PC police' role is associated with women (Barrie & Broomhall 2012;Gundhus 2009). Solheim (2002) emphasizes that gendered hierarchies are constantly changing and being reproduced in new forms.…”

“…In addition, the police traditionally has been and still is a strongly masculinely gendered occupation involving authority, use of force and physical strength. The imagery of 'physicality' and 'toughness' as defining characteristics of police officers is linked to the legitimate use of force in the exercise of police work (Barrie & Broomhall 2012) and explains why police work has been constructed as a masculine competence field, cf. Solheim (2002), where men (and men's bodies) are seen as suited for policing, whereas women (and women's bodies) are seen as unsuited.…”

Police and Masculinities in Transition in Turkey: From Macho to Reformed to Militarized Policing

“…Masculinities of the state refer to political masculinities that are constructed and performed by state officials-such as police officials-or multiple political masculinities that are constructed and reproduced through interpersonal relations and engendered through and embedded in the structure and culture of state institutions. In fact, particular ethnographic studies focused on the construction of multiple masculinities and power relations among men within the military (Barrett 1996;Hinojosa 2010;Morgan 1994) and the police (Barrie and Broomhall 2012;McElhinny 1994). They, nevertheless, continue to perceive those institutions as freestanding organizations, although they are political institutions that operate in conjunction with and pursuant of state authority and power.…”

“…Feminist scholars have identified gendered character of institutions (Acker 1990) and the embeddedness of masculinities in them (Collinson and Hearn 1994). Policing is a gendered institution because it has historically been defined as "men's work" (Barrie and Broomhall 2012) and because culturally approved norms of both masculinity and femininity are embedded in its structures, practices, and values. In addition, policing is a gendering institution because it produces gendered identities and various constructions of masculinity and femininity as central to this reproduction (Ekşi 2017).…”