Making sense of men

This chapter outlines the major theoretical frameworks that informed the analysis of the study of working-class masculinity and the transition to adulthood. A critical assessment of Raewyn Connell’s Hegemonic Masculinity Theory is offered, before explaining how, to get beyond purely a focus on relations and acts of subordination and domination, Eric Anderson’s Inclusive Masculinity Theory is a necessary part of the study. The ideas Anderson offers are explicated and an argument is made for further supplementing these with concepts from Pierre Bourdieu’s oeuvre. Adopting an approach that emphasises using these frameworks as resources for thinking about and making sense of the data, rather than ‘testing’ theories, the chapter also advocates for the less systematic, but productive use of a number of other theoretical resources – such as youth sociology’s ‘social generations’ – when studying contemporary masculinities.