Many analysts have also questioned the backlash from angry white males who
see themselves as victims of women and minorities who are presumably
benefitting unfairly at men's expense. Others have criticised the self-pre-
occupation of some men's groups. As Business Week (a leading business
magazine in the United States) observed, there's no question that navigating the
shoals of masculinity today is a difficult and dangerous business. But ... "forever
questing for fulfillment is one big bellyful of narcissistic nonsense" ( Sept.13,
1993). In contrast to those men's groups emphasising self-enhancement,
personal growth, or men's rights, other men have organised in groups that are
anti-sexist and pro-feminist. These groups have challenged the oppression of
women and children by men, and engaged in activities directed at countering the
sexual abuse and battering of women and girls by men.

This book presents a third way for men. It acknowledges men's confusion
and pain without denying men's privilege and dominance. It clarifies the issues
of oppression and patriarchal power. It recognises that the notion of men's and
women's parallel struggles often conceals anti-feminism. It anchors theory in
personal action and the lived experiences of boys and men. It calls for men's co-
operation with women and subordinated groups. And ultimately it focusses on
change - the ways individuals and institutions can change that will lead to new
forms of masculinity and equality among men and women. The relevance of this
new framework extends far beyond merely balancing gender tasks or sex roles
to include concern for those in marginalised social groups.

The social construction view underlying the analyses in this collection sees
masculinity as having multiple and contradictory meanings and different
significance in different social contexts. The constructionist view makes
apparent the connections between the world we live in - this time and place -
and the meanings we use and that use us. Ideas of masculinity are not "truths"
about men's nature independent of the culture and politics of society. Dominant
masculinity has maintained its power and the illusion of universality by being
unexamined. It is a disguised ideology whose workings have been concealed by
asserting the essential naturalness of gender differences and gender
requirements. The close examination of the meaning of masculinity provided in
this book offers the possibility of moving beyond the usual categories in which
we think. For example, through an examination of the dichotomies in the
making of men, Gregory Smith demonstrates how the idea of the "true nature"
of men loses sight of the ways we impose prescriptions on what men can be. His
analysis of the demands of masculinity reveals how men's sense of entitlement
and men's sense of inadequacy are linked to violence in society.

The deconstruction of masculinity is a central project of this volume.
Deconstruction reveals the hidden assumptions and values that underlie the
meanings of masculinity. But the authors do not stop there. They go beyond
deconstruction to provide alternative ideas of masculinity and the pathways to
achieve them. Thus, in an outstanding analysis drawing on the work of Foucault,

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