A View and Vision of Feminist Studies on Men and Masculinities

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to present a view and vision of feminist studies on men and masculinities through a critique of men's studies by male researchers and the studies of men by female researchers in Japan. This critique is carried out from a feminist perspective.
To critique men's studies, we discuss four ideas presented by them : “masculinity as armor, ” “oppression on men, ” “diversity of masculinity, ” and “symmetry of men and women.” Consequently, it was revealed that men's studies do not focus on matters concerning institutions and systems as much as mentality and the individual. To critique studies by women on men, we point out the uncertainty of their “positionality.” They do not seem to consider how women study men and masculinity without the experience of being male.
Finally we present two points based on feminist studies of men and masculinities : (1) We should focus on the advantage provided for men without regard to diversity of masculinity. (2) We should judge whether oppression against men is unrelated to their privileged position in society. According to this view, we briefly discuss the vision of feminist studies on men and masculinities.