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Description
Social theorists have argued that as the complexity of our ecosystems becomes more apparent, the line between nature and culture, human and nonhuman, and technology and bodies becomes less distinct. Yet contemporary masculinity studies has generally failed to incorporate this new way of thinking. In this penetrating analysis of the relationship between gender and nature, Steve Garlick proposes that masculinity is best understood as a technology that shapes both our engagement with the natural world and how we define freedom.
Extending the work of the Frankfurt School and Heidegger’s critique of modern technology, The Nature of Masculinity draws on case studies and new materialist theories to argue that the essence of technology is not in mechanical devices but in a particular relationship to natural forces. Within this critical framework, masculinity is a technology of embodiment, and freedom does not lie in the domination of nature but rather in fostering a new relation to it.
Contributor Notes
Steve Garlick is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Victoria. His work has previously appeared in journals such as Body & Society, Philosophy & Social Criticism, Men and Masculinities, and Critical Sociology.
Editorial Reviews
The Nature of Masculinity should be of interest to
theoretically informed gender studies scholars and graduate students, particularly those in
the Humanities and social sciences who wish to see theoreticians wh
— International Journal for Masculinity Studies
Garlick’s posthumanist approach is interesting as he incorporates contemporary feminist and posthumanist theory, thereby possibly reopening a relatively forgotten dimension of masculinity studies as he extends masculine gender relations in connection to nature, technology and the non-human … Garlick’s approach also opens up for an extended view on what masculinity politics could mean both in terms of regressive and progressive change.”
— NORMA
For all of the advances in writing and thinking on men and masculinity, there is often a dramatic paucity of engagement with thinking theoretically through the most fundamental and crucial concepts of the field. It is this type of deep theoretical engagement that is crucial for scholars in this field to continue working through. Unafraid of a challenge, Garlick has pushed the field to think with new scholars and theories, a difficult and necessary thrust that we all can benefit from.
— Men and Masculinities
