(Re)thinking Political Masculinities: Theory and Measurement

Abstract

Studies spanning decades of research and methodological innovation have identified different masculinities, and different ways of looking at and identifying masculinity. Much of this interdisciplinary research has taken place outside of political science. However, because of the historical over-representation (and exclusivity) of men in politics, modern democratic politics and political institutions are infused throughout with masculine norms about governance, leadership, decorum, and rules of engagement. As such, there is a need for a structured and comprehensive adaptation of the broad body of research on comparative, relational, and multiple masculinities to political science. The papers in this panel provide much needed interventions in political science thinking about masculinities. Both theoretical and empirical, and both qualitative and quantitative, these papers examine how ideas about masculinity shape politics as well as political science research. Contributions include measuring different conceptions and interpretations of hegemonic masculinity across contexts, relating ideas about-and performances of-masculinity to voting behavior and party affiliation, and reimagining which aspects of masculinity matter for analyzing political masculinity in the first place. The papers together offer new ways of theorizing and measuring political masculinities and their implications.

Title	Details
Rethinking Masculinity in Politics: Measuring What Matters	View Paper Details
Masculinity as Infrastructure and Grammar: Relational Political Masculinities in Fijian Party Life	View Paper Details
Measuring masculinity norms: the development of the “Hegemonic Masculinity Norms Scale” in the MEN4DEM project	View Paper Details
The impact of Black Musical Lyricist on the (de/re) Construction of Black Political Masculinities	View Paper Details
Protective masculinity: theorising "masculine care"	View Paper Details