Re-thinking masculinity : discourses of gender and power in two workplaces.

The proliferation of academic studies of men and 'masculinity' in the last twenty years has mirrored
the growth of feminist studies of women and gender relations. This thesis reflects upon these
theoretical developments and examines the expression of 'masculinity' amongst employees in two
contrasting workplaces in Yorkshire. Adopting a Foucauldian approach, it is suggested that
'masculinity' should be analysed as a set of practices which create, maintain and reinforce
inequalities between the sexes and that their achievement is situationally contingent. From this
perspective, masculinity can only be understood within a framework of power, conceptualised as
relational, productive and existent only in its exercise. Critical evaluation of the 'masculinity' literature
demonstrates that conventional conceptualisations of 'masculinity' have produced methodological
impasses, of which the most problematic is the conflation of 'masculinity' with the study of men. The
thesis proposes an alternative framework which recognises that discourses of 'masculinity' relate to
the words and actions of women as well as of men and that 'masculin~y' is most profitably
understood as a series of discourses - transcending the scale of the individual - which set out the
'rules', expectations and conditions within which everyday gender relations take place.
The empirical investigation of these ideas adopts a qualitative approach. In-depth, repeated
interviews focusing upon participants' work experiences and home lives were carried out with men
and women from the two workplaces - an academic department within a university and a
manufacturer of metal products. Interview transcripts were interpreted using an "analysis of
discourses" method. The analysis reveals that despite obvious differences in the labour processes
of the workplaces, there is considerable continuity in dominant discourses of 'masculinity' regardless
of participants' age, social class and, most significantly, sex. These discourses are identified as
"reproduction", "breadwinning", "homemaking" and "sexual objectification".
The research demonstrates how discourses of 'masculinity' structure gender relations within the
workplace at an interpersonal scale - in everyday interactions - and at an organisational scale - as
reflected by sexual divisions of labour. It is shown that these discourses can be space-specific, with
the negotiation of power in gender relations often more difficult in the workplace than in the home.
The thesis concludes by reflecting on the implications of the study for future research on men and
'masculinity' and for geographical studies of gender. It also discusses the potential for a more
closely related research agenda between feminism and the study of 'masculinity'.