Men and masculinities in modern Britain
A history for the present
Katie Jones editor Matt Houlbrook editor Ben Mechen editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Manchester University Press
Published:16th Jan '24
Should be back in stock very soon

Men and masculinities provides an engaging, accessible and provocative introduction to histories of masculinity for all readers interested in contemporary gender politics. The book offers a critical overview of ongoing historiographical debates and the historical making of men’s lives and identities and ideas of masculinity between the 1890s and the present day. In setting out a new agenda for the field, it makes an ambitious argument for the importance of writing histories which are present-centred and politically engaged. This means that the book engages head-on with ferocious debates about men’s social position and the status of masculinity in contemporary public life. In establishing a critical genealogy for the proliferation of this crisis talk, it sets out new ways of understanding how men’s lives and ideas of masculinity have changed over time while patriarchy and male power have persisted.
An electronic edition of this book is freely available under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.
'Men and Masculinities in Modern Britain brings together a fascinating cross section of the high-quality research being undertaken examining historical masculinities as well as useful reflections on doing the research. Fundamentally, this book should be, and likely will be, a staple for those studying and researching masculinities in the past and in the present for a long time to come.'
Linsey Robb, Journal of British Studies (2025), 64, e52, 1–2
'Two years later, the edited collection’s stated mission of “undoing” masculinity makes this book a more prevalent history for the present than ever. It is an essential read for gender historians and a useful
guide for academics who aspire to use their research to challenge established norms in favour of a more equal society.'
Emma Carson, Social History
ISBN: 9781526174697
Dimensions: 234mm x 156mm x 19mm
Weight: 642g
332 pages