Checking Privilege at the Door: Men’s Disruption of Hegemonic Masculinity in Women’s and Gender Studies Courses

• In Event: 035 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 17. Identities and Attitudes

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experiences of men who have taken Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) courses at Midwestern universities. Though men are typically in the numerical minority in these courses, they also possess a gendered perspective that is crucial to achieving gender equality. As such, this study aims to explore how a group of men (n=15) experienced WGS courses through a phenomenological lens capturing their lived realities. There is a paucity of research that qualitatively investigates the perspectives of men in WGS courses. Emergent findings reveal that men who take WGS courses may work to actively deconstruct the stereotypical tenets of hegemonic masculinity. By allowing these men to share their stories, future men may be encouraged to enroll in WGS courses, which would ultimately broaden the scope of feminism through a wider dissemination of its tenets.

Authors

• Rachel Marie Schmitz, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Elizabeth Anne Richardson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln