Men, Masculinities and Feminism

R.W. Connell
Introduction

n the 1990s, and especially since the Howard government change the pow er structures of their own personal relation
I was elected, it seem s that social justice ideas are in full
retreat Aboriginal land rights are under bitter attack, public
university education is being underm ined, the Disadvantaged
ships.
W hat Are Men Afraid Of ?
Schools Program is no more, right-w ing intellectuals m ount In 1989, a m an massacred fourteen female students at the
endless assaults on "political correctness", and public racism University of Montreal, in the process making abundantly clear
is spreading. that a hatred of "fem inists" was his reason for shooting the
In such an environm ent, we m ust expect the backlash against women. He was, certainly, mad; but his madness was not ran
feminism to be renewed. M en are the "disposable sex", we are dom. It drew on a widespread sense of dislocation in gender
now told by "m en's rights" advocates. Boys are the disadvan relations, on a narrower but vehement ideology of men's su
taged group in schools. Feminist elites have foisted unpopular premacy, and on a festering fear of women's gains.
and unneeded affirmative action programs on the long-suffer
ing people, and we can now get rid of them. Men can redis Feminist elites have foisted
cover their true masculinity. The "new lads" are coming out of
the w oodw ork in Britain. Jeff K ennett is m obilising the unpopular and unneeded
petrolheads in Victoria, the Promise Keepers are on the march
in America. Feminism is out, testosterone is in, right? affirmative action programs on
Wrong. It is true that backlash politics have become more
powerful. But the backlash is not the only show in town. A the long-suffering people, and
great many men, especially young men, now accept principles
of gender equality. Some are active in support of wom en's we can now get rid of them.
advancement, or against male-violence - such as Men Against
Sexual Assault in Australia. Other men, while not campaign Men can rediscover their true
ing on gender issues, are in alliance with feminism in other
ways - supporting anti- discrim ination laws, for instance, or masculinity.
equal pay campaigns in the workplace. There is a broad spec
trum of m en's gender politics, not just the one kind. W hy this fear? W hat are men afraid they will lose? In the
Men who do undertake action in support of feminism are early 1970s, it was argued that men had a lot to gain from wom
not in for an easy ride. They are likely to be met with antago en's liberation, which could lead to men being freed from their
nism and derision from other m en, picturing rigid sex roles too.
them as eunuchs, queers or sell-outs to "po f The problem is that rigidities of "sex roles" are
litical correctness." They will not neces far from the whole story. M en's dominant posi
sarily get warm support from femi tion in society has an economic pay-off. The
nists - some of whom are deeply statistics usually show women's incomes as a
su sp icio us of all m en, m o st of percentage of men's, but think of it the other
whom are wary of m en's power, "* way around - in terms of the dividend for
and all of whom make a prim ary m en from cu rren t social arrangem ents.
com m itm ent to so lid arity w ith M en's average income in Australia is ap
women. proxim ately twice w om en's average income,
Taking on fem inist principles w hen all men and women are taken into account
means reconstructing personal relations (and not just those in fulltime work).
as well as public life. This offers endless Of course, men do not do twice as much
opportunities for hurt, m istaken judge work as women. "Time budget" stud
m ents, and m istrust. Indeed, it is often ies in modern economies suggest that
easier to acknowledge w om en's rights to men and women work about the same
fair and equal treatm ent in the public num ber of hours. But most of wom
world than to confront sexism at the personal level. This is the en's work hours are unpaid - housework, volunteer work, "car
response of some powerful men in the professions, in bureaucra ing" for children, family and friends. And much of this labour
cies, in universities and in politics. Labor governments in Aus is work done for men: work that keeps men well-fed and prop
tralia, both at federal and state level, provide clear examples. erly clothed, their living spaces clean and functional, their so
Such men may find it easy to support equal opportunity and cial networks in good repair. On top of this labour comes the
anti-discrimination programs, which correspond with their own Bob C onnell is Professor o f Education at Sydney University. His
agendas for efficiency and modernity. They are less likely to m ost recent book is M asculinities (Sydney, Allen and Unwin. 1995).

Social Alternatives Vol 16 No 3 July 1997 7

emotional attention and support that men expect from women, In a patriarchal society, the dom inant or hegemonic form of
and often get, through marriage. masculinity embodies the currently successful strategy for sub
"Masculinity" is, to a large extent, formed around the psy ordinating women. In our society, hegemonic masculinity is
chological investm ent m en m ake in this system of unequal heterosexual, aggressive and competitive, and homo-social (ex
power, income and respect. So any challenge to the system, cluding women from its social networks). It emphasises hier
any attempt to limit the power or reduce the dividend, is likely archy and the capacity to dominate other men as well as women.
to be felt as an attack on masculinity. There are real reasons for
men to fear feminism! Some Aboriginal men may be
Divisions Among Men
recruited to the position of
All men do not benefit equally from this system, however.
Nor do all men derive from it the same concept of masculinity. masculine exemplar, as a boxer
A big employer may profit from the depressed wages of thou
sands of labouring wom en (as well as the ministrations of a or rugby star while most black
wife and a secretary), while an unemployed inner-city 20 year
old may get little material gain from w omen's work, except his men are denied authority or
mother's. The poor person's practice of masculinity may thus
be significantly different from the big employer's. even respect.
Growing up and constructing masculinity in an Aboriginal
community in conditions of m ass unem ploym ent and racial This kind of masculinity (sometimes misleadingly called "the
oppression is a different proposition from growing up in a white traditional male role") is not necessarily the reality most men
middle class. live in. Few men are heavy hitters as corporate executives, or
exemplars of masculinity as combat heroes, sport or film stars.
Men who do undertake action in There are also subordinated m asculinities, formed at the
bottom of the gender hierarchy am ong men. The m ost obvious
support of feminism are not in example in our culture is the masculinity of gay men, though
effeminate straights may also be counted here. There are also
for an easy ride. the m arginalised m asculinities of oppressed ethnic groups.
Here are found both alternatives to the hegemonic pattern, and
On the other hand, gay men, while often economically com specialised versions of it. Some Aboriginal men may be re
fortable, pay another kind of penalty. They are the targets of cruited to the position of masculine exemplar, as a boxer or
discrimination, physical violence, and cultural abuse because rugby star while most black men are denied authority or even
of their sexuality. The young men who attack and sometimes respect.
kill gay men often accom pany the beatings w ith abuse that Finally, there are the forms of masculinity found am ong men
clearly shows their preoccupation w ith defending masculinity. who are complicit in the patriarchal system. They accept the
This is not to agree w ith the bashers that gay men are un-m as patriarchal dividend, but are not directly involved in wielding
culine. Rather, this is part of the evidence that there are differ power, in personal violence, or in displays of prowess. I sus
ent kinds of masculinity and im portant gender divisions among pect this is the largest group in contemporary gender politics.
men. Am ong these forms of masculinity, there are complex hier
The popular ideology of gender assumes that "m asculin archies, exclusions, alliances and oppressions. Recognising the
ity" and "femininity" are unchanging, direct expressions of male complexity of this picture goes a long way in explaining the
and female bodies. Male bodies are strong and dominant, fe variety in m en's responses to feminist ideas. It also suggests
male bodies are passive and nurturing. that different politics can emerge in response to feminism as a
But there is overwhelming evidence, from anthropology and m o v em en t. W hat k in d s of politics em erge th a t m ake
history, that this is not so. The m eanings of male and female masculinities themselves an issue?
bodies differ from one culture to another, and change (even in
our own culture) over time. There are cultures where it has M asculinity Politics
been normal, not exceptional, for men to have homosexual re 1. The m ost conspicuous gender politics am ong men, in
lations. There have been periods in "Western" history when Australia at present, is the "m en's movem ent" derived from
the modern convention that m en suppress displays of emotion American models as promoted here by top psychologists such
did not apply at all, when m en were demonstrative about their as Stephen Biddulph. Drum-whacking and ho-shouting apart,
feeling for their friends. M ateship in the Australian outback w hat is going on here is a kind of 12-step recovery movement,
last century is a case in point. addressed to the pain that heterosexual men feel and their un
M asculinities and fem ininities are constructed or accom certainties about masculinity. The core of this movem ent is the
plished in social processes such as child rearing, emotional and "complicit" masculinity just outlined.
sexual relationships, work and politics. Bodies are involved in The clients are mostly white, m iddle class, and in their mid
all these sound processes. We do experience gender in our dle decades. They feel they are in trouble but are not to blame.
bodies, in the ways we walk and sit, in our skills, in our reac Different gurus offer rival diagnoses of their troubles: Bly thinks
tions of sexual arousal and disgust - but not because bodies the problem is a failure by fathers to initiate their sons into true
determine social life. Rather, bodies are drawn into social rela masculinity; others think it is a failure by women to recognise
tions, become social actors, become engaged in constructing a the true polarity between the sexes. As a result, this men's move
social world. It is in this social w orld that inequality arises, m ent marginalises, or simply ignores, inequality. The practical
that women are oppressed, that political struggle occurs. effect is to turn heterosexual men inw ard to contemplate their

8 Social Alternatives Vol 16 No 3 July 1997

own troubles and w ithdraw energy from social change. It of gaging only in non penetrative sex, refusing careers and power
fers absolution from the guilt that feminism still seems to arouse. in organisations. But the num bers trying in these ways to exit
2. Next there is a politics that exalts hegemonic masculin from mainstream masculinities are small, and it is difficult to
ity, often by creating exemplary images or promoting the idea see this approach becoming widely popular. The emotional
of male supremacy. Televised sports, Hollywood thrillers, video costs (at least in the short term) are high; the practice provokes
games, super-hero comics and airport-rack novels all insist on ridicule from more conservative men and is not attractive to
the physical superiority of men and their mastery of technol all women either.
ogy and violence. The flavour is captured by a current 4WD Democratic Gender
ad, showing a vehicle on an empty' beach; caption; "Park Where
You Damn Well Please". It does not require a com plete dem olition of hegemonic
masculinity to democratise gender relations. The many forms
It does not require a complete of patriarchal ideology point to m any ways of contesting it - in
sexual life, in mass media, in the workplace, in formal politics,
demolition of hegemonic in conversation, in raising children. If conventional gender is,
as sociologists call it, an "accom plishment" - something made
masculinity to democratise by the way we conduct ourselves - then we can certainly ac
complish something better.
gender relations.
Men can find common cause
A politics of hegemonic masculinity is also built into the cult
of the ruthless business entrepreneur. Exalting technology over with feminist women without
hum an relations - from Star Wars to the Data Highway - and
exalting m arket forces over public responsibility are also ways falling into the me-too mould
of promoting masculinity, though they are not often recognised
as such. Men control technology and capital, while "economic as the Mens Auxiliary To
rationality" and "com petitiveness" have been used to roll back
the kinds of public spending that most benefit women. Feminism.
3. The politics of subordinated masculinities is best seen
in gay communities. Gay liberation began, twenty years ago, This is happening in a num ber of settings where gay or
w ith a vigorous critique of both conventional masculinity and straight men have worked productively with feminist women.
conventional stereotypes of gays. U rban gay communities since Green politics, where there is a strong feminist presence, is per
then have seen a revival of conventionally masculine styles - haps the most obvious case. Similarly, in certain university de
for instance, the "Castro Street clone" - and an enormous crisis partments, men have supported setting up and staffing femi
in the form of the HIV epidemic. Gay men's politics have been nist courses. In certain unions, m en have allied themselves with
reshaped around AIDS, which has obliged them to organise militant women to break the traditions of exclusion and male
for prevention and care, put a prem ium on emotional support dominance, and have worked for the needs of women workers
in the face of illness and death, and has re em phasised alli - equal pay, work-based childcare, freedom from sexual har
ances (both with lesbians and with straight men in professions assm ent and other issues.
and government). Among the various forms of masculinity, there are complex
Some straight men, too, have contested patriarchy and sup hierarchies, alliances, and oppressions, which go a long way to
ported feminism. In the 1970s, some m en's "consciousness-rais explain the variety in m en's responses to feminist ideas.
ing" groups began in the United States and in Britain. Anti In such work, men can find comm on cause with feminist
sexist politics am ong men thrived for some years, declined in women without falling into the "me-too" mould as the Men's
the 1980s, but still persist today. The most impressive move Auxiliary To Feminism. W hat is required is not a yen for self-
ment has been in Canada, in the wake of the Montreal killings immolation, but, quite simply, a commitment to social justice.
of 1989. The "W hite Ribbon" m ovem ent about violence against Under our current social arrangem ents women are, as a group,
women, which saw m en cam paigning alongside feminists, m assively disadvantaged; and m en as moral and political
gained widespread support and had a considerable impact on agents ought to be involved in changing that.
mass media and conventional politics. In Australia, groups An Agenda for Men
such as Men Against Sexual Assault, and the magazine XY, have
pursued a politics of gender justice. There are m any ways m en can do this. Share the care of
Since patriarchy works in "private" life as much as in public young children equally, and change w orking hours to make
affairs, households and sexual relations also form a political this possible. Work to put women into office - until at least 50
arena. Some men have been part of the reconstruction of do percent of decision-making positions are held by women. Con
mestic life: sharing child care, cleaning and cooking, and deci front misogyny and hom ophobia in workplaces and media.
sion making. Among some groups of young people this is now Work for pay equity and w om en's em ploym ent rights, until
common sense: any claim to precedence by men just because w omen's earnings are equal to men's. Support the redistribu
they are men would appear grotesque. tion of wealth, and universal social security and health care.
A few men have embraced feminism at a deeper emotional Talk am ong men to make domestic violence, gay bashing and
level, and have attem pted to reconstruct their personality in sexual assault discreditable. Organise political and monetary
total to escape conventional masculinity. This has elicited a support for battered w om en's shelters, rape crisis centres, do
variety of responses - becoming non competitive, taking a sup mestic violence intervention. Change curricula in schools and
universities to include w om en's ideas and experiences, and to
portive rather than dom inating position in conversations, en open up issues about men.
Social Alternatives Vol 16 No 3 July 1997 9
 These are political strategies that can operate on a large scale,
although they are based on particular workplaces, neighbour
hoods, and other settings. They offer a way past the general
interest that men have in defending patriarchy by building on
the specific interests particular groups of m en share with
women - as parents needing childcare, workers needing im
proved conditions, lesbians and gays fighting discrimination,
for example. I find these strategies hopeful, not least because
they offer some dignity to men involved in the highly undigni
fied task of dism antling their own privileges.
In the long run, the democratisation of gender will require
profound social change, and the dism antling of conventional
masculinities. Think, for instance, of the em otional conse
quences of men's full involvem ent in childcare. Many of the
conventions of hegemonic masculinity, such as restraining one's
emotions and always trying to dom inate in a conflict, are out
rageously inappropriate in the care of young children.
We can recognise this, w ithout expecting m ost men to swal
low the dose in one gulp. The alliance politics that has begun
to emerge in some settings has the possibility of making worth
while gains in the short run, while building up the experience
and imagination needed for the dangerous moves that finally
have to be made.
*This article includes material from an essay first published in S o c ia l
P o lic y . Summer 1993.

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