ABSTRACT
The area of masculinity studies is a relative newcomer to the eld of gender studies, in the wake of feminist theory and criticism, and following the development of gay and lesbian studies and queer theory. Traditionally masculinity has tended to be the “unmarked” element in a system of binary oppositions-in the same way as “white”, “straight” or “native citizen”, invisible characteristics opposed to the “marked” racial other, gay or foreignconstituting the norm which denes the hegemonic system. For that very reason, until not too long ago masculinity was largely invisible in critical studies. It is only in recent years, as MacKinnon has stated, that “the combined forces of feminism and gay culture … have made masculinity visible, and thus most open to discussion and analysis” (8).
