Patriarchy in Practice - by Nikki Van Der Gaag & Amir Massoumian & Dan Nightingale (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This collection covers a diverse and multi-disciplinary range of topics on how masculinities might be re-imagined outside of patriarchal power structures. Crucially, the book highlights the lived complexity of both patriarchies and masculinities as plural and situated, exploring questions of how they are constructed, negotiated and re-negotiated in daily practice; of how performative regimes interact, contradict and overlap with each other across a range of contexts.

Contributors engage with theoretical frameworks engaging with feminist theory, contemporary politics of gender, bodies and marginalised experiences of masculinites. Global case studies are wide-ranging and include analysis of masculinity among communities such as drag artists, InCels and e-sports enthusiasts, as well as in the context of the body, for instance in relation to alcoholism and physical disability.

In an era of resurgence of typically hegemonic patriarchal figures in the form of 'strong men' leadership, this book seeks to uncover what an alternative vision of masculinity could look like - one that is firmly rooted in a gender equality and feminist discourse.

Review Quotes

Patriarchy in Practice is an essential read for anyone intrigued by the complexities of gender, patriarchy, and the pressing need to explore meaningful alternatives to patriarchal masculinities. This book successfully challenges us to envision a world where masculinity is not inextricably linked to patriarchy, offering inspiration for a more equitable future.
Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture

Patriarchy in Practice is an excellent, welcome and sobering contribution to ethnographic scholarship on contemporary masculinities. It reflects a refreshing appreciation of the remarkable adaptability and resilience of patriarchy, and it feels attuned to the zeitgeist of the present era. Whilst offering a rich, dynamic and complex diversity of fascinating studies on contextualised masculinities drenched in local flavours, the editors manage to introduce these with an excellent and accessible framing of masculinity in relation to patriarchy. They also conclude deftly with a thoughtful synthesis of insights from the studies whilst proffering some hopeful reflections for work with men on masculinities to resist and transcend the toxic injustices of patriarchy.
Jerker Edström, Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Programme Director for 'Countering Backlash: Reclaiming Gender Justice'

Patriarchy is sometimes presented as an overarching and somewhat abstract set of structures and processes of societal domination by men. Here, however, in this book patriarchy is very much about what happens in practice, and what happens in the everyday - how patriarchy is done. The writing is fast-paced, accessible and diverse, across countries, sites and subjects, in both senses. Patriarchy in Practice brings together diverse ethnographies written for a wide and non-specialist readership, and neatly organised and edited. In so doing, it makes a strong and grounded contribution to the current revival of interest in contemporary patriarchies and patriarchal masculinities in action. Read on and "enjoy"!
Jeff Hearn, Professor, Hanken School of Economics, Finland and author of Men of the World

About the Author

Nikki van der Gaag is former Director of Gender Justice and Women's Rights at Oxfam GB (2016 - 2019). She is now once again an independent consultant and writer who works primarily on gender, with a particular focus on girls and on masculinities. Her previous books include Feminism and Men (Zed, 2014) and the No-Nonsense Guide to Women's Rights (2008).

Dan Nightingale is a Digital Anthropology PhD student at University College London, UK.

Amir Massoumian is a social anthropologist based at SOAS University of London, UK. His work focuses on anthropological approaches to the far-right ideology, political exclusion, nostalgia, gender, body politics, and research ethics.