Men, Masculinities and Feminism

Introduction -

    In the 1990s, and especially since the Howard government was elected, it seems that social justice ideas are in full retreat. Aboriginal land rights are under bitter attack, public university education is being undermined, the Disadvantaged Schools Program is no more, right-wing intellectuals mount endless assaults on "political correctness", and public racism is spreading.

Masculinity and Social Change: Rethinking Sexual Politics

Introduction -

    At present, England is undergoing major social and economic change. Within the context of changing family forms and reconstituted labour markets young men are emerging, once more, as a subject of major popular concern. In response two main accounts are developing. First, the dominant response that there is much evidence of equal opportunities having' gone too far' and serving to alienate young men.  This position has a wide appeal among the general population, the media and New Right politics, suggesting that it resonates with new uncertain times. The second response is to dismiss these findings as part of a wider political project that is defensively reacting against the gains of feminism. Feminist explanations are part of a broader framework of anti-oppressive politics that is in crisis, producing great self-doubt on the left about what is to be done. This has resulted in an over concentration on issues of political activism. In so doing, there is a tendency to downplay the critical contribution of theory making. This approach is premised on a false dichotomy. Rethinking gender/sexual categories within the context of local sites, is the key political work.

Pro-feminist Publishing: Delights and Dilemmas

Introduction -

    One steady landmark on the political and ideological landscape of men's politics has been XY magazine, a pro-feminist men's magazine. Beginning in 1990, XY has put out 24 editions of analysis, discussion and testimony on men, masculinities and gender politics. What issues have been raised in the production of this magazine, and what have its contributions been?
 

The New Men's Health: A Media Marvel!

Introduction -

    Men's health has emerged as a distinct public issue in the 1990s. There have been two national conferences and the development of a Draft National Men's Health Policy by the Commonwealth Government, a range of other forums, consultation documents, media attention, and the inclusion of men's health in the curricula of several universities.

How we Prevent Men from Parenting by Insisting They Remain Fathers

Introduction -

   I would like this article to serve as an extended commentary on a single theme: how deeply our notions of the role fathers fill in their son's life are coloured by the persistence of homophobia in Western culture, to the point where one could almost assert that we are preventing men from parenting by insisting they" father" instead. If the text seems a bit overstated, hopefully the commentary will demonstrate that no overstatement is intended, and this sentence summa rises an accurate state of affairs which very much calls for cultural reconsideration.

"Spewin', Mate!!" - A Day at the Cricket

Introduction -

    On New Years Day this year I went to the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) with my partner and my mother to watch Pakistan play Australia in a day/night match. Well, to be more precise, my partner and mother watched the cricket. Being an anthropologist, I was much more interested in the crowd. Two of my main interests are gender and sport, in particular masculinity, and so I was kept busy all day taking field notes. The following is the result of that field trip.

Representing and Reconstructing Asian Masculinities: This is not a Movie Review

Introduction -

    In recent years there has been a flood of movies, books, biographies and documentaries about Asia and Asians. These range from memoirs about China like Wild Swans to historical cinema narratives like The Last Emperor, from the powerful images of revisionist and reformist Chinese cinema (Raise the Red Lantern, Shanghai Triad), to the postmodern work of Asian-American filmakers like Wayne Wang and Australia's Clara Law, from Hollywood reinventions of the immigrant experience like The Joy Luck Club to the Broadway orientalism of Madame M. The representation of Asia and Asians has become big business in Australia, the US and UK.

The Boys and the Binaries: Within, Between and Beyond Oppositions in Boys' Education Debates.

Introduction -

    The above comment was made to me in 1990 by a school principal. Since then, recognition of the importance of addressing gender issues with boys has thankfully become more widespread and the construction of a binary opposition that equates gender education with girls only has been largely debunked. However, what seems to have become quite apparent in the current debates on boys' education and on masculinities in general in the media, in the literature and in policies, is a series of narrow and restricting hierarchical dualisms and binarily-constructed theoretical frameworks. These oppositional standpoints are often upheld by factions, educators and activists who limit, ignore and misrepresent the broad social structures and issues of power, and the social, cultural and sexual diversity that lies within, between and beyond the binaries. In this article I will address some of these binaries which are present in the contemporary boys' education debates.

"A Bunch of Arseholes': Exploring the politics of Masculinity for Adolescent Boys in Schools

Introduction -

    In this paper I want to discuss some of the effects of a dominant model of masculinity on the lives of several adolescent boys at one particular Catholic high school in metropolitan Perth (see also Martino, 1996). For the past two years I have been interviewing adolescent boys at this school as part of my doctoral research into the social construction of masculinity. Most of these boys are white and come from privileged middle-class backgrounds. Their ages range from 15 to 17 years. I would like to draw on this data to outline what I think are some of the issues involved in the way that boys learn to enact their masculinities on specific occasions at school. Moreover, I ....

The Underachievement of Boys in the UK: Old Tunes for New Fiddles?

Introduction -

    How should we understand the current concern for the 'underachievement of boys'; why has it emerged at this point in time and how does it function within a wider debate about gender and schooling? These are some of the questions which this paper seeks to explore. The 'what about the boys' debate seems to have reached epidemic proportions when viewed from an international perspective. However, there are enough variations on the theme to alert us to the possibility that a number.

Reclaiming the 'What about the boys?'  Discourse for Gender Justice in Schools and Society

Introduction -

    In 1984 Madeleine Arnot asked: 'How are we to educate our sons?' Many feminists have long asked such questions about boys' education as part of the agenda for improving the school experience of girls in recognition of the relational character of gender. Jane Kenway (1994, p. 23) in her oral submission to the New South Wales 'Inquiry into Boys' Education' (O'Doherty Report) noted: 'To put it simply most feminists want boys and men to change so that they cause less problems for girls and women and themselves, so that the sexes can live alongside each other in a safe, secure, stable, respectful, harmonious way and in relationships of mutual life-enhancing respect'.

The Concept of Evolution Opens our Minds but Closes our Understanding

Introduction -

    Readers should be assured that this article is not intended as a support for creationism. The best that might be said about that pseudo-science is that it is indicative of some unease at what most scientists seem to mean by the theory of evolution. This is the tenuous common ground I have with creationists. Further, readers should be warned that the word 'God' is used in Darts of the text and this could be considered fairly unusual in this journal.  But the meaning of this word ....