Introduction

During the last decades, masculinity studies has become a well-established part of interdisciplinary gender research. This introduction discusses three different narratives about the field: one that emphasizes its roots in social sciences; one that problematizes its relationship to other feminist scholarship; and one that highlights its influences from humanities scholarship. The chapter troubles these narratives and proposes masculinity studies as ‘minor literature’, which is not occupied with canon formation or certain theories but, rather, destabilizes linear narratives about the field and aims for less hierarchical ontologies and epistemologies. The chapter also introduces the chapters and their contribution to masculinity studies, including decentring of global Northern and Western knowledge, advancing transnational and intersectional approaches and developing masculinity studies as a transdisciplinary field to meet contemporary challenges.