ABSTRACT
The emphasis on masculinity and maleness seems to owe a lot to feminism's efforts or so to analyze and critique not only the structures of patriarchy and its representation but also and equally the structures and representations of sexuality itself. Masculinities exist inevitably in relation to what feminisms have construed as the system of patriarchy and patriarchal relations. To recall that even masculinity still function in some practical and structural—and indeed, logical and epistemological—ways in the global subordination of women ought to stand as an important proviso in the attempt to account for the diversity of masculinities. For instance, it seems very important to begin to reflect on the way gay studies and the interrogation of masculinities have depended upon a system of male-defined privilege in order to be installed and institutionalized in universities, in publishing, and so forth. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
