ABSTRACT
Gender is a way in which social practice is ordered. In gender processes, the everyday conduct of life is organized in relation to a reproductive arena, defined by the bodily structures and processes of human reproduction. With growing recognition of the interplay between gender, race and class it has become common to recognize multiple masculinities: black as well as white, working-class as well as middle-class. Violence can be used to enforce a reactionary gender politics, as in the fire bombings and murders of abortion service providers in the United States. Within that overall framework there are specific gender relations of dominance and subordination between groups of men. Hegemony, subordination and complicity, as just defined, are relations internal to the gender order. Hegemony relates to cultural dominance in the society as a whole. The interplay of gender with other structures such as class and race creates relationships between masculinities. The relation of marginalization and authorization may also exist between subordinated masculinities.
