ABSTRACT
One of the defining elements of heterosexual male identity and hegemonic masculinity is men’s desperate desire to prove they are not girls (Evans and Thorpe 1998: 19; Seidler 1989: 10). While this generalisation can be applied to any number of gendered relations, it is the contention of this chapter that a particularly pronounced form of masculine culture pervades male trade unions, and this is most noticeable in those trade unions that are associated with blue-collar occupations in male-dominated industries.
