Negotiating the Field of Masculinity

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical model of masculinities based on a combination of Connell’s theories on hegemonic masculinity and Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital, and fields. The work of Connell has been both profound and pervasive in its influence on the study of men and masculinities. However, there are limitations, particularly in relation to the disparity between the theoretical concept of hegemonic masculinity as the culturally dominant ideal and men’s lived experiences of a variety of dominant masculinities. The model presented herein introduces the possibility of multiple dominant masculinities that operate within subfields bound by a field of masculinity. The model also outlines the ways in which masculinities are both produced and reproduced as a consequence of struggles between dominant and subordinate groups of men. These struggles also provide a rationale for resistance and complicity determined by what is deemed to be valued capital within the field of masculinity.