ABSTRACT
The argument of the chapter revolves around the question of the relevance and appropriateness of the idea that men and masculinities can get or be ‘offside’. The topic is inspired by the recurring public and academic debates on the unsustainability of the power of men and on particular perceptions of professional men as being powerless cogs in the structural machinery. The main objective of the chapter, grounded in several empirical studies from the Czech context, is to demonstrate how men maintain their key position, what mechanisms put them ‘offside’, and how they can challenge mainstream dominant masculinity. ‘Men and Masculinities Offside?’ elaborates in detail masculinities related to environment protection, nurturing fatherhood, and gendered practices at childbirth, including professional hierarchies in maternity wards. The issue of men getting ‘offside’ or remaining central is putting into question the sustainability of an association between men and the mastering of emotions or even controlling the edges of humanity. Thus deconstructing the dominant and transforming men´s ‘centres’ of power and practices putting men (themselves) offside form the pivotal topic of the chapter.
