Emerald Advances in Masculinities – serie

Hegemonic Masculinity, Caste, and the Body investigates the intricate interplay between masculinities, space, and identity within Indian Punjab’s Jat Sikh community.Through a series of insightful chapters, Navjotpal Kaur delves into the dynamic landscape of Jat masculinity, examining its historical roots, contemporary expressions, and global dimensions. Beginning with an exploration of hegemonic masculinity in the context of Jat identity, Kaur traces the influences of colonial-era valorization of Jat Sikh soldiers to present-day transnational forces, providing a comprehensive understanding of the socio-historical factors shaping Jat masculinities. She further investigates the entanglement of masculinity with Punjab's agrarian landscape, where the exclusionary practices often sideline women and men belonging to other castes, illustrating how economic hardships have led to dire (gendered) consequences like farmer suicides. With a unique focus on the embodiment of caste among Jat men, her analysis also unveils deeper societal shifts impacting the formation of Jat identity by examining how spaces like agricultural fields symbolize masculinity. Utilizing Bourdieu's framework, chapters unpack the significance of corporeal customs in perpetuating caste affiliations, revealing the layered nature of Jat identity as warriors, farmers, and socially privileged individuals. Kaur also explores the shifting gender dynamics within the Punjabi community, shaped by migration trends and economic challenges, before delving into the vulnerabilities faced by transnational masculinities, particularly among second-generation Indo-Canadians. From investigating gang-related activities to navigating intraethnic othering, Kaur also sheds light on the complex journeys of migrant youth in shaping their identities abroad.Offering a nuanced exploration of the Jat Sikh identity, Hegemonic Masculinity, Caste, and the Body highlights its resilience, complexities, and vulnerabilities amidst changing socio-economic landscapes, thoughtfully invoking wider conversations around gender, culture, and self-perception.

Foregrounding children’s agency and voices, Debating Childhood Masculinities brings together cutting-edge interdisciplinary scholarship to examine how childhood masculinities are constructed, experienced and regulated in different parts of the world.Adopting a gender-inclusive approach, authors in this edited collection embrace a variety of anti-racist, feminist, neomaterialist and queer frameworks to showcase an international and interdisciplinary body of scholarship that explores the way childhood masculinities in today’s world are being negotiated and lived out in the context of wider social change across gender relations and masculine ideals. Grounded in the premise that childhood masculinities are not biologically determined, chapters outline how children’s understanding and enactment of masculinity are culturally conditioned, historically contingent, social-material constructions that are produced at the intersection of generational and gendered relations.Providing an impactful and ground-breaking contribution to the fields of childhood and masculinity studies, this expert collection leads the academic conversation on masculinities into new and productive directions. The fresh insights offered here will be useful to childhood practitioners, educators and policy makers who are committed to gender equity and democratisation.

Conversations about masculinity are evolving, yet the nuanced experiences of men navigating intersecting identities often remain overlooked. Among traditionally circumcised Xhosa men in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa, the interplay of physical disability and manhood challenges dominant narratives, offering a profound lens through which to examine broader themes of embodiment, identity, and cultural tradition.Xhosa Masculinities and Manhood in South Africa: Exploring Disability, Embodiment and Identity provides an interdisciplinary exploration of what it means to be a traditionally initiated Xhosa man with a visible physical disability. This work addresses critical gaps in the literature by centring the body as a site of analysis and integrating African-centred theories of masculinities. Employing qualitative methods, including interviews, group discussions, and auto-ethnographic reflections, this unique study presents a rich tapestry of lived experiences. It challenges Western-centric paradigms of hegemonic masculinities and posits new theoretical frameworks grounded in African philosophy, sociology, and anthropology. Through its innovative approach, this volume contributes to the growing scholarship on intersectionality, embodiment, and identity in non-Western contexts.Offering invaluable insights for scholars in masculinities studies, disability studies, and African-centred philosophy, this work is an essential resource for those interested in understanding the complexity of manhood in contemporary cultural and sociological landscapes.