Connell's theory of masculinity – its origins and influences on the study of gender1

1. This article develops in new ways some ideas first presented in Wedgwood (2005, pp. 216–239).

Abstract

The Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell's theory of masculinity is the most influential theory in the field of men and masculinities. Along with its enormous impact on the field of gender studies, it has also been taken up across a wide range of other disciplines. Connell's book Masculinities, originally published in 1995, has been translated into five different languages and since it was first published its influence has increased with an English second edition being published in 2005. A crucial part of the enduring appeal of Connell's theory is that it provides a critical feminist analysis of historically specific masculinities whilst at the same time acknowledging the varying degrees to which individual men play in its reproduction. Yet, as I suggest here, three key elements of Connell's theory of masculinity have been largely neglected by other scholars. These are: the crucial influence of psychoanalysis and subsequent use of the life history case study method; the importance of non-hegemonic forms of masculinity; and the concept of cathexis. Because this article weaves parts of Connell's own life history into the development of the theory, it is based on a variety of sources, including two interviews with Connell.

Keywords:

• gender
• masculinities theory
• Connell
• life history
• psychoanalysis
• cathexis

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Raewyn Connell for the interviews which form a central part of this article and John Fisher for advice on conducting citation searches.

Notes

1. This article develops in new ways some ideas first presented in Wedgwood (2005, pp. 216–239).

2. Previously Robert W. Connell but now legally Raewyn Connell, she prefers to be referred to, even in the past tense, as a woman. In feedback on an earlier draft of this article, Connell explained:

There is a basic reason for this, beyond the fact that that is my name and civil status now. Like other transsexual people, when I undertook the medically-assisted gender reassignment process it wasn't a sex change that happened but a search for recognition of a very long-standing reality. Ever since I was a girl, in fact. What has changed over the years is the way I have tried to deal with that reality.

3. ‘Ocker’ is the archetypal uncultivated Australian working man.

4. It should also be noted that, as a previous doctoral student and current colleague, I have known Connell both before and after her gender reassignment.