Masculinities and the Law: A Multidimensional Approach (Families, Law, and Society Book 13)

According to masculinities theory, masculinity is not a biological imperative but a social construction. Men engage in a constant struggle with other men to prove their masculinity. Masculinities and the Law develops a multidimensional approach. It sees categories of identity—including various forms of masculinities—as operating simultaneously and creating different effects in different contexts. By applying multidimensional masculinities theory to law, this cutting-edge collection both expands the field of masculinities and develops new thinking about important issues in feminist and critical race theories. The book analyzes a variety of topics, including the relationship between masculinities and feminist theories, the identities of firefighters, the television show The Wire , Constitutional Law, discrimination in workplaces and sports, Latino migrant workers, the use of the veil in Turkey, masculinities in post-war societies, and even Jamaica’s legal and musical culture. Ultimately, the book argues that multidimensional masculinities theory can change how law is interpreted and applied.

According to masculinities theory, masculinity is not a biological imperative but a social construction. Men engage in a constant struggle with other men to prove their masculinity. Masculinities and the Law develops a multidimensional approach. It sees categories of identity—including various forms of raced, classed, and sex-oriented masculinities—as operating simultaneously and creating different effects in different contexts.

By applying multidimensional masculinities theory to law, this cutting-edge collection both expands the field of masculinities and develops new thinking about important issues in feminist and critical race theories. The topics covered include how norms of masculinity influence the behavior of policemen, firefighters, and international soldiers on television and in the real world; employment discrimination against masculine cocktail waitresses and all transgendered employees; the legal treatment of fathers in the U.S. and the ways unauthorized migrant fathers use the dangers of border crossing to boost their masculine esteem; how Title IX fails to curtail the masculinity of sport; the racist assumptions behind the prison rape debate; the surprising roots of homophobia in Jamaican dancehall music; and the contradictions of the legal debate over women veiling in Turkey. Ultimately, the book argues that multidimensional masculinities theory can change how law is interpreted and applied.

Acknowledgments foreword by Michael Kimmel Introduction : masculinities, multidimensionality, and law: why they need one Another / Ann C. McGinley and Frank Rudy Cooper Theorizing multidimensional masculinities Feminist legal theory meets masculinities theory / Nancy E. Dowd, Nancy Levit, and Ann C. McGinley Masculinity by law / Devon W. Carbado The multidimensional turn : revisiting progressive black masculinities / Athena D. Mutua The king stay the king : multidimensional masculinities and capitalism in the wire / Frank Rudy Cooper Telling stories about (heroic) masculinities Rescue me / Robert Chang Manliness's paradox / John M. Kang Border-crossing stories and masculinities / Leticia M. Saucedo Questioning segregation in masculine spaces Sex segregation, masculinities, and gender-variant individuals / David S. Cohen E-race-ing gender : the racial construction of prison rape / Kim Shayo Buchanan Sport and masculinity: the promise and limits of title IX / Deborah L. Brake Constructing masculinities in the global context Masculinities and child soldiers in post-conflict societies / Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Naomi Cahn, and Dina Haynes Sexuality without borders : exploring the paradoxical connection between dancehall and colonial law in Jamaica / Camille A. Nelson Masculinities, feminism, and the Turkish headscarf ban : ahin revisited / Valorie K. Vojdik About the contributors Index.