Masculinity at Work
Ann C. McGinley
In late October 2013, the Miami Dolphins’ player Jonathan Martin walked out on his team and checked into a mental health institution. The original story implied that Martin could not take the professional pressure. Within days, the story changed. News sources reported that Martin’s teammates had repeatedly bullied him and as a result, the twenty-four year-old African American player suffered serious depression. The response was skeptical, and many opined the harassment involved was simply locker room banter that all players endure; essentially, that boys will be boys.
Masculinity at Work uses the Jonathan Martin case and others to analyze Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through the lens of masculinities theory. Illustrating how harassment and discrimination can occur because of sex even if the gendered nature of the behavior remains unseen to onlookers, this book educates readers about the invisibility of masculine structures and practices, how society constructs concepts of masculinity, and how men (and sometimes women) perform masculinity in different ways depending on their identities and situational contexts. Using a sophisticated mix of legal, gender, and social science analysis, the author demonstrates how masculinities theory can also offer significant insights into the behaviors and motivations of employers, as well as workplace structures that disadvantage both men and women who do not conform to gender stereotypes. Both a theoretical disposition and a practical guide for legal counsel and judges on the interpretation of sex and race discrimination cases, Masculinity at Work explains how this theory can be used to interpret Title VII in new, liberating ways.
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About Ann C. McGinley
Reviews for Masculinity at Work
Kansas City
A groundbreaking blueprint to achieve meaningful equality. Most significantly, it brings to bear new social science research and theorizing that tackles the difficult and challenging issue of exposing and proving the presence of gender discrimination that is cultural and structural. . . . Engaging and persuasive.
Nancy Dowd,David H. Levin Chair in Family Law, University of Florida Ann McGinley has long been at the forefront of work on masculinity and the law. This book represents pathbreaking work in the gendered dimensions of employment law. It will be of enormous value to scholars, litigators, courts and anyone interested in how the law can better promote gender equality and social justice.
Deborah L. Rhode,E.W. McFarland Professor of Law, Stanford University Putting masculinities social science research together with antidiscrimination law, McGinley not only describes the law as it is now but also develops ways in which masculinities theory can be used to move antidiscrimination law forward towards its ultimate goal: eliminating discrimination.
Michael Zimmer,Loyola University Chicago In sum, I think this book did a wonderful job of accomplishing its goal. It provides sound logic and additional protections for all types of people from gender-based discrimination at work.
Sex Roles
This book could be incorporated into upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in criminal justice, sociology, womens studies and psychology.
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