How can studying masculinities help us to understand gender inequalities in society?
Men and women are, physically, significantly different. Physical and biological differences have been used as the basis for claiming other differences and for subordinating one sex to another. Many of these perceived differences are cultural and social constructions and it is these constructs that form what we call gender. Until recently gender studies have had a particularly woman centred focus (Abbott and Wallace, 1997). It is increasingly recognised that this needs adjusting if we are to address the inequalities that exist in society. As a consequence of this more theorists are now of the opinion that the study of masculinities would not only shift the focus from women to include men but would also provide us with a broader understanding of inequalities between the sexes. It may also facilitate a greater understanding of inequalities in social relationships over a much wider spectrum (White, 1997). This paper will assess the extent to which studying masculinities may provide us with
