Lads, Machos and Others: Developing ‘Boy-Centred’ Research

Abstract
The theoretical underpinnings of recent research on the emergent masculinities of boys and young men are reviewed and analysed. Particular attention is given to the construction of boys as active subjects in the production of their masculine identities. A coming-together of discursive social psychology and psychoanalysis is observed in this area. Several major studies drawing on, and contributing to, this theoretical perspective are reviewed. Emphasis is given to the potential for understanding masculinities as constructed through discursive strategies fuelled in part by psychodynamic as well as social processes. The danger of continuing to polarize gender categories is discussed.

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