Masculinities and femininities as communities of practice

Abstract

This exploratory paper argues that treating masculinities and femininities as localised communities of practice is a useful approach to the question of how and why particular forms of gender are performed at particular times and places. In the paper I consider Lave and Wenger's [Lave, Jean, & Wenger, Etienne (1991). Situated Learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press; Wenger, Etienne (1998). Communities of Practice: learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press] conceptualisation of learning as taking place through legitimate participation in communities of practice and demonstrate how this characterises the learning of particular forms of masculinity and femininity practice. I further discuss the implications of this for our understanding of identity and for the salience of bodies and bodily forms as reified markers of masculinity and femininity.