ABSTRACT
Within the discipline of criminology there has emerged a new and growing interest in the relationship between masculinities and crime. Such luminaries as Edwin Sutherland and Albert Cohen can be credited with actually placing masculinity on the criminological agenda by perceiving the theoretical importance of the gendered nature of crime. The gendered practices of men and boys raise significant questions about crime. One particular form of crime related to masculinity is, of course, interpersonal violence. Reflecting various theoretical origins, structured action theory emphasizes the construction of gender as a situated social and interactional accomplishment. Gender grows out of social practices in specific social structural settings and serves to inform such practices in reciprocal relation. The salience of gender relations to influencing crime varies by social situation. Power is an important structural feature of gender relations. In addition socially organized power relations among men are constructed historically on the bases of race, class, and sexual preference.
