Liberating Masculinities

2016 | Gender Studies

In Liberating Masculinities, Kopano Ratele posits that all masculinities are working models, and some models might be more unworkable given the prevailing structural conditions. The more models of masculinity we have access to, the higher the likelihood that some will be workable, even liberating. Instead of a singular, ahistorical and property that comes with having a penis, the book opens up a view where masculinities are culturally constructed relational models. Covering a range of topics, from clothes and violent death, through a better sexual life and tradition, to race and feminism, Liberating Masculinities presents ways to understand the contestations around masculinity and gender relations. Ratele offers both theoretically rich and psychologically insightful analyses to liberate men, as well as those who are involved in the making of men, from oppressive and injurious models of masculinity.

Kopano Ratele (Author)