ABSTRACT
There are men's groups which are searching for an essential masculinity, believing this has been lost or at least diluted in modem society. These men place great emphasis on primitive masculine ritual and on close readings of early mythologies in the anticipation of getting back to a clearer understanding of what it is to be a man. The great majority of men involved in the movement are middle-aged, white and middle-class. The mainstream movement is also decidedly heterosexual in its orientation toward issues of masculinity. In terms of ideological alignment, it seems that liberalism is the dominant ethos of the men's movement. Recent strategies for change include education and consciousness raising that challenges the individual's sexism, as well as working for wider societal change in the areas of health, schooling, welfare, the law and so on. The idea of men being responsible for doing something about men's violence is indicative of this group's approach to the problem aspects of masculinity.
