Portfolio Item #8 Politics of Changing Men http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-Dec-1996/connell.html

       This interesting article piece talks about the history and construction of masculinity throughout different 

epochs. It suggests that what is currently considered masculine is only a fairly recent cultural construction 

and a product of modernity. It looks at different types of masculinities that can exist simultaneously (for 

example, football and competitive sports, the dominant, physical, and aggressive, alongside intellectual 

masculinity which is competitive still but in an academic nature) Further, it compares social constructions of 

masculinity to those in other countries, especially the third world to examine the differences found there. It 

also speaks about the patriarchal dividend, the benefits and advantages conferred upon men who conform 

to such hegemonic masculinities. It suggests that masculinity is mostly cultural, fluid, and open to change over 

time or through differing social forces and actors. Through this article it is shown that masculinity is a socially 

constructed concept and thus not a static or fixed idea, and thus open to the possibility of hope for change in 

the future.