Defining and Measuring Men's Interests

There is a wide literature examining and measuring the representation of “women’s interests”. These interests are usually defined as policy areas of particular importance to women, based on biological difference, socially constructed needs and/or areas of shared gender oppression. The study of “women’s interests” is complicated by the diversity of women, and the risk of essentialising women by trying to make any generalisations that can be applied to women collectively as a group. Intersectional identities and diverse perspectives serve to underscore the heterogeneity of women. In contrast, men’s interests traditionally receive almost no attention. It is assumed that men do not suffer from gender oppression, and have their interests well met given their over-representation within positions of power. However, these assumptions neglect the fact that men are also heterogeneous and subject to great diversity of identities and interests. This diversity is seldom reflected within male elites, who tend to be drawn from much more narrow sectors of society, indicating that some male interests may be overlooked. Furthermore, there are a number of policy areas that have a distinctive gendered impact on men and which merit greater analysis from a gendered perspective. These include health, education, war, crime, paternity and employment. This paper outlines a research agenda for identifying and studying men’s interests. It establishes the need to develop research in this area, arguing that this is an important dimension of representation that has remained overlooked. I identify potential “men’s interests” within the policy arena and outline a methodology for identifying further interests that have previously been neglected. I then indicate how it might be possible to test whether these interests are being represented adequately within male-dominated legislatures, and to consider whether more diverse legislatures might enhance the representation of men as well as women.