ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by reflecting on two international events which, in different ways, seemed to resonate with the themes of gender, masculinities and lifelong learning as we met to finalize this book. The first illustrates the power of discourses of male physicality (Brown and Macdonald 2007) and the way in which they may support capitalism; the second draws attention to the wider political and economic contexts in which debates around gender and lifelong learning take place. I discuss some of the constructions of gender and masculinities which may be implicit in lifelong learning practice and go on to suggest how critical reflection and engagement with wider political and social phenomena might inform practice, research and policy and lead us to re-interrogate assumptions about gender, as well as the role and purpose of education.
