“You Would Make a Good Spy”: Men, Masculinities and Reflexive Practice

The work on men, masculinities and gender identities has exploded across the social sciences and in feminist and pro-feminist geography since the 1980s. In this paper I draw on studies I have conducted with young men both in the UK and Canada over the past ten years. I outline what I have learned from these studies and how I have contributed to this field. In part, I focus on how young men’s masculinities are performed across a variety of educational and leisure spaces. I argue that expectations and transitions to adulthood are framed through geographically and historically shaped class and gender codes. In specific post-industrial contexts, is it these codes were underpin expectations of manhood, and there are consequences for those young men whose performances of masculinity deviate from what is deemed as socially acceptable. Finally, I explore my reflections on appropriate displays of masculinity and how this impacts on rapport building during qualitative research and explore the concept of ‘Researcher as Vampire’.

Dr Michael R.M. Ward, Swansea University, UK

Dr Michael R.M. Ward is lecturer in Social Sciences and Programme Director for Education at Swansea University. He joined the Department of Public health, Policy and Social Science in October 2016. His work centres on the performance of working-class masculinities within and beyond educational institutions. He is the author of the award-winning book From Labouring to Learning, Working-class Masculinities, Education and De-industrialization (Palgrave MacMillan) and the editor of Gender Identity and Research Relationships (Emerald) and Higher Education and Social Inequalities (Routledge). Mike is also the co-convener of the British Sociological Association Education study group and annual conference stream chair.