ABSTRACT
Any theorization of masculinities has to take into account the way in which taken-for-granted empirical epistemologies and methodologies may reproduce existing models of power relations. This chapter suggests that the studies of masculine behaviour are in turn limited to the degree that they adopt a scientific/empirical or binary approach. Masculinity is reproduced through epistemology, not just through 'male bonding'. Subcultural studies represented rock masculinities as working-class, physical, expressive, aggressive and resistant. Ethnographic and subcultural approaches tend to be dominated by middle-class academics observing working-class or otherwise marginal subjects. The chapter utilizes psychological terminology to critique sociological concepts, so it is timely to examine psychological theories of gender and masculinity. It introduces Freud, and then assesses the Frankfurt School's attempt to combine psychology and social structure. The Frankfurt School took Freud's account of identity and applied it to the social world.
