Connell’s Concept of Hegemonic Masculinity: A Critique

This article offers a detailed theoretical exposition as well as a critique of the concept of hegemonic masculinity. In the first part, the author shows that the notion of hegemonic masculinity was developed in an attempt to give an account of what the sex role framework left largely untheorized, that is, the questions of patriarchal power and social change. Then he suggests an alternative way of conceptualizing hegemonic masculinity that draws on Gramsci’s concept of historic bloc and Bhabha’s notion of hybridity. He argues that hegemonic masculinity is not a purely white or heterosexual configuration of practice but it is a hybrid bloc that unites practices from diverse masculinities in order to ensure the reproduction of patriarchy. In the third and final part of this article, the author undertakes a brief case study in order to show the contribution of gay masculinities to the formation of the contemporary hegemonic bloc.