Negotiation of Meanings of Masculinity and the Priesthood among LDS Men at a Midwestern University

• In Event: 308 - Section on Sociology of Sex and Gender Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Masculinity

Abstract

While much research on gender and conservative religious traditions has focused on women, men have largely remained the unmarked category. While conservative religious traditions are often empowering to men, there also may be contradictions between the expectations for masculinity among a religious tradition and that of the secular society. This paper examines the official discourse on masculinity in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the ways in which LDS men at a Midwestern university negotiate masculinity within the two frames of the Church and the college community. Preliminary findings suggest that men deal with these contradictions by investing in the concept of priesthood. LDS men are empowered as priesthood holders, though this empowerment is tenuous due to the emphasis on worthiness in LDS theology. Because of this, masculinity is both grounded in power and anxiety for these men.

Author

• Zachary D. Palmer, Purdue University