Men at Work: How Are Masculinities Constituted and Performed in Work and Employment Settings?

Abstract

This collection addresses the question: how are masculinities constituted and performed in work and employment settings? Work, Employment and Society has published many studies which show people performing, engaging and resisting constitutions of masculinities in employment settings. This collection brings 11 of these publications together to show how and why masculinities – as culturally constructed constitutions and performances – are reproduced, consolidated and contested in work and employment contexts. Three categories are used to order the selected publications: (1) precariousness, (2) embodiment and (3) symbolic interactions. The collection provides a body of work showing what we know (and do not know) about how masculinities are constituted and performed in employment settings, which contemporary scholars can consult, engage with and build on as the sociological intersection of gender, masculinities and work evolves, especially at the empirical level.