The Politics of Absent Men or Political Masculinities Without the Polis

Abstract

This chapter interrogates political masculinities as agents for change through the prism of absence, without the polis. Following an initial discussion of political masculinities in relation to, first, mainstream politics, and, then, feminism, possible changes in political masculinities formed through absence, and their implications for profeminist men’s politics, are interrogated. Three main forms of absence are examined: absences by transnational/global processes, beyond the nation; technological absences, of virtuality and disembodiment in cyberspace; and bodily absences, as, for example, with ageing. These changes, and moreover their interconnections, are seen as creating new gender power structures, but also offering some signs of hope, with greater transnational connections, collaborations and indeed new subversive political masculinities.