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Plural masculinities, the remaking of the self in private life Michael Rhys Morgan Ward
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School of Social Sciences , Cardiff Universit y , UK Published online: 14 Feb 2012.
To cite this article: Michael Rhys Morgan Ward (2012) Plural masculinit ies, t he remaking of t he self in privat e life, Gender and Educat ion, 24:3, 352-353, DOI: 10.1080/ 09540253.2011.649992 To link to this article: ht t p:/ / dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/ 09540253.2011.649992
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Book reviews
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Plural masculinities, the remaking of the self in private life, by Sofia Aboim, Surrey, Ashgate, 2010, ix + 196 pp., £55.00 (hardback), ISBN 9780754574672 Given the shift over the past few decades in the field of gender studies when referring to masculinity in its ‘plural’ form, it was with interest that I began to read Plural Masculinities, The Remaking of the Self in Private Life and wondered what insights it could offer to the debate. What I read pleasantly surprised me and I feel that the author makes a key contribution to the literature. In the book, Sofia Aboim focuses on the changing nature of masculinity, its connection to family change and its plural tendencies. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative empirical data sets, the book offers an insight into the divergent nature of contemporary masculinities. Using Connell’s concept of ‘complicit’ masculinities, Aboim argues that fathers and husbands identities are changing and becoming more hybrid, multifaceted and are much more open to diversity than in previous generations. However, what is also made clear is that alongside these changes, more traditional hetero-normative definitions of family structure continue to exist in private life, which contradict public images of change. These transformations then in many ways are a combination of old and new attributes, not a fully transformative shift in attitudes. The book is split into eight chapters with neat summaries at the beginning and end of each one that help guide the reader. The detailed introduction lays out the framework of the book and outlines the empirical work the author draws on. The following three chapters trace the history of ‘pluralism’, gender changes, the theorization of masculinities, and the contradictions and continuities of patriarchy in the private and pubic spheres. Connell’s work is drawn on extensively here to explore approaches to power and Marx’s appropriation theory is also used to highlight the continual dominance of men over women. In Chapter 4, Aboim moves on to concentrate on transnational data from the International Social Survey Programme that was conducted between 2001 and 2003. Here, she looks at labour market practices of heterosexual couples from Europe and the USA, to reflect on ‘the meanings of the plural changes that are currently taking place in men’s lives’ (2010, 11). Whilst changes have occurred in relation to domestic duties, what is made clear through the various tables and graphs that help illustrate the chapter is that patriarchy continues to dominate no matter how plural men it would seem are becoming. It is in Chapters 5 and 6 where I feel Aboim is at her strongest and an intriguing set of research with Portuguese men is drawn on to highlight the changes in family structure, relationships and sexuality in men’s lives. Chapter 5 concentrates on three broad ways of reconstructing patriarchy, while Chapter 6 looks at sex and sexuality through interviews with 10 grandfathers, fathers and sons from the same families. Here, Aboim gives a concise account of Portugal’s history over the past half century, which for those unaware of Portugal’s past, helps frame the generational interviews. These interviews not only allow for a cross-generational comparison, but succinctly highlights how men manage their heterosexuality throughout the life course and how masculinity is not only performed through heterosexual sex, but through double sexual standards and anxiety. Although I found the book original and it was interesting to read about gender research from a non-English-speaking country, I did have some small difficulties with the presentation of the quantitative data in Chapter 4. I found it confusing in the way some countries were presented and selected. For example, Germany (which unified in 1991) was referred to as West and East Germany, and in some parts of the
Book reviews
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chapter, Aboim refers to data from either 26 or 34 counties where the survey was carried out. Both were decisions which Aboim I feel, fails to convey adequately. Nonetheless, despite these points I believe this to be a very interesting and excellent contribution to the field of masculinities’ studies. By going beyond Anglophone counties and concentrating on Portugal, Aboim introduces the reader to a different historical context and its relational approach to masculinities. It is also a significant contribution to qualitative and quantitative comparative analysis and should be read broadly by both postgraduates, researchers and more experienced gender scholars. Michael Rhys Morgan Ward School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK
[email protected] # 2012, Michael Rhys Morgan Ward
Gender and the construction of dominant, hegemonic and oppositional femininities, by Justin Charlebois, Plymouth, Lexington Publishers, 2010, viii + 153 pp., £37.95 (hbk), ISBN 978-0-7391-4488-6 This book covers socially constructed notions of femininity and how these conceptualisations affect women’s lives. In particular, it pays attention to current concepts of dominant, hegemonic, subordinate and oppositional femininities. The book consists of an introduction and six highly readable chapters. In the first chapter – The Social Construction of Gender – the author refers to the fluidity of gender, how it is socially and historically constructed, and intersects with age, race and class. By discussing Connell’s perspective, Charlebois introduces the structural dimension of gender, in which gender intersects with, and is shaped by, dynamics of power relations, production relations, emotional relations and symbolic relations. She also points out that, although patriarchal gender relations have been weakened in Western societies, they still need to be dissolved. In the second chapter – Geographies of Femininities – Charlebois discusses in detail notions of dominant, hegemonic, subordinate and oppositional femininities. In this context, oppositional femininities are relevant since they tend to subvert hegemonic masculinity and contribute to equalising gender relations. Finally, a set of characteristics that compound a white, middle-class dominant femininity is presented. The third chapter – The Social Construction of Femininities in the School – discusses the main concepts of the book in the context of secondary schools. By showing several examples, and emphasising the deterministic role that heterosexuality plays there, it analyses how youngsters adapt, negotiate or resist its influence. The fourth chapter – Gender and Professional Identity in the Workplace – analyses the intersection between gender and professional identity in the case of those women working in occupations such as law enforcement, law, corporate management and the priesthood. In that sense, the relationship between hegemonic masculinity and hegemonic femininity and its impact on gender divisions of labour are discussed. It is also proposed that, by negotiating their gender and professional identities in these occupational contexts, women are challenging hegemonic notions of gender division of labour, leadership and workplace normativity, although the process itself can be painful and disempowering for women.
