What can you do with a man?: Feminism and the critical appraisal of masculinity

Abstract

The impact of feminism has led to the critical appraisal of masculinity by men, and feminists can both welcome this development and also treat it with caution. The claims that masculinity and male sexuality are socially constructed rather than biologically given are similar to feminist theories of social construction, but examination of the differences between men and the social divisions which enable men to exercise power over each other raise very difficult questions about how we understand power and how gendered power is connected to other sources of power. This makes men's claims that patriarchal masculinity oppresses men problematic. Where studies of men and masculinity most need to be developed (both empirically and theoretically) is in identifying and explaining men's exercise of power and in understanding the political, as well as the personal, implications of transforming power relations.