Masculinities, Crisis and Men’s Movements

Abstract

This chapter analyses masculinity ‘in crisis’, an idea which has shaped, and been shaped by, men’s movements. Recurring crisis-of-masculinity narratives throughout history are discussed, suggesting that ‘crisis’ is internal to masculinity. Contemporary men-in-crisis debates are also reviewed, especially regarding men and work, and male suicide. A distinction is made between ‘conservative’ and ‘progressive’ crisis narratives. Conservative narratives reassert traditional masculinity, presenting women’s equality/feminism as provoking crisis. Progressive accounts, in contrast, highlight traditional masculinity’s harmful effects for both women and men, and recommend reimagining masculinity. These perspectives are illustrated through analysis of recent (non-academic) constructions of crisis. Both narratives reinforce harmful, essentialist, binary notions of gender. The language of crisis is argued to be problematic, reifying gender and erroneously positioning men as ‘the new gender victims’.