TY - JOUR
T1 - Masculinities at the Margins of “Middle Adulthood”
T2 - What a Consideration of Young Age and Old Age Offers Masculinities Theorizing
AU - Bartholomaeus, Clare
AU - Tarrant, Anna
PY - 2016/10
Y1 - 2016/10
N2 - The intersections of masculinities and age have attracted relatively little theorizing. This article examines the theoretical implications of young/old age and masculinities by bringing together two bodies of literature (young age and masculinities and old age and masculinities) and two research studies (one with pre-teenage school students in Australia and one with grandfathers in the United Kingdom). We focus on two key themes: caring practices and relations and the divide between physical activity and intellectual pursuits. Drawing on these themes, we show how age allows for gender transgressions and practices of gender equality and how young boys and old men can also uphold a discourse of hegemonic masculinity, despite age-related tensions. We conclude by arguing that a consideration of age has much to offer in terms of thinking about how gender is socially constructed and illuminates the complex power relations of age and gender categories.
AB - The intersections of masculinities and age have attracted relatively little theorizing. This article examines the theoretical implications of young/old age and masculinities by bringing together two bodies of literature (young age and masculinities and old age and masculinities) and two research studies (one with pre-teenage school students in Australia and one with grandfathers in the United Kingdom). We focus on two key themes: caring practices and relations and the divide between physical activity and intellectual pursuits. Drawing on these themes, we show how age allows for gender transgressions and practices of gender equality and how young boys and old men can also uphold a discourse of hegemonic masculinity, despite age-related tensions. We conclude by arguing that a consideration of age has much to offer in terms of thinking about how gender is socially constructed and illuminates the complex power relations of age and gender categories.
KW - age
KW - aging
KW - gender equality
KW - hegemonic masculinity
KW - intersectionality
KW - youth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84984861431&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1097184X15588592
DO - 10.1177/1097184X15588592
M3 - Article
SN - 1552-6828
VL - 19
SP - 351
EP - 369
JO - Men and Masculinities
JF - Men and Masculinities
IS - 4
ER -