Gender in Theory and Practice: An Interview with Raewyn Connell

Tracing Settler Colonialism: A Genealogy of a Paradigm in the Sociology of Knowledge Production in Israel

“…108 As Raewyn Connell has exemplified in her work on feminism, the circulation of knowledge is political; education is often the most crucial tool in contesting hegemony. 109 In a similar vein, we must recognize how the circulation of the settler colonial paradigm not only contributes to an indictment of power structures but counters with a different way of being in the world, a model of relations and sociality predicated on the disposal of colonial privileges and the envisioning of a just future for all.…”

What’s Hegemonic about Hegemonic Masculinity? Legitimation and Beyond

“…The dominance of any group of men may be challenged by women.” She later reiterated this vision for social change, arguing “a positive hegemony remains, nevertheless, a key strategy for contemporary efforts at reform” (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005:853). In an interview, she envisioned “a different form of cultural leadership” (i.e., hegemony) with Mohandas Gandhi replacing football heroes as the exemplar of masculinity (Magaraggia and Connell 2012:117).…”

“…In contrast, an article published during October of 1923 includes a statement where Gramsci (1978:164) refers to the ‘hegemonic positions of the reformists.’” According to Howson (2012), this distinguishes Gramsci’s usage from Connell’s appropriation in Masculinities . Where Gramsci sees both the bourgeoisie and the proletariat as capable of claiming hegemony to legitimate/delegitimate capitalism, Connell frames hegemony as always controlled by some groups of men to guarantee patriarchy—although this is not the case in her other works (e.g., Connell 2005a, 2012; Kessler et al 1982; Magaraggia and Connell 2012).…”

“…If feminist revolution succeeded, what would happen to those patriarchy-legitimating masculinities? Connell (2005a; Connell and Messerschmidt 2005; Magaraggia and Connell 2012) has turned more attention to this issue, but it has yet to be incorporated into theoretical clarification.…”

“…Connell shares this vision, albeit implicitly. Emphasizing that the diversity of masculinities itself is an important asset for social change, Connell suggests scholars can document the diverse forms of nonviolent masculinities “as ongoing functional ways of being a man,” create research-based narratives and images, and circulate them widely through media and schools to provide men and boys alternative conceptions of “an honorable, respectable and valuable way to be a man” (Magaraggia and Connell 2012:117; see also Connell 2005a:1817). Despite the seemingly power-blind obsession with plurality in this claim, Connell implicitly constructs an alternative fantasy to persuade men and boys (and, I would add, masculine-presenting, gender-nonconforming women and nonbinary people) that they have much more dividend to gain in a feminist utopia: more accessible and diverse ways of being honorably and respectably masculine, and less pressure on performing sexual prowess, fighting for occupational prestige, presenting muscular body shape, and so on.…”