Men and Development

'Men and Development: Politicising Masculinities' brings together some of the best-known academics, activists and practitioners in the field to present a comprehensive overview with original case studies from Brazil, India, China , South Africa, Malawi, Uganda and Nicaragua. The expert authors collectively present the central argument that mainstream international development and social policy has had little engagement with either patriarchal privilege or issues of male vulnerability, while within gender and development the 'men as problem, women as victim' discourse continues to hold sway, and work on men and masculinities has failed to engage with efforts to change the structures that sustain gender and sex inequality. Addressing such issues as the relationship between domestic and communal violence and armed conflict, and including accounts of masculinities of men who do not confirm with the hetero-normative notions - straight, as well as gay and transgender, the insightful and groundbreaking new book asks what does it take to break away essentialist understandings of women and men without losing sight of structural inequities and inequalities? The result is a substantive and innovative contribution to current debates on men and masculinities, and an essential introduction and guide.