An exploration of the links between male identity and the
development of the field of men’s community education in
Ireland
Owens, Antonia
(2004)
An exploration of the links between male identity and the
development of the field of men’s community education in
Ireland.
PhD thesis, Dublin City University.
Social, economic, legislative and technological developments ongoing since the 1970s
have culminated in profound change in the structure and form of work and of family
life today. This changing socio-economic structure has implications for ways in which
gender roles and relationships are understood and enacted; and this study is concerned
with the impact of such change on men’s, particularly marginalised men’s,
understandings of masculinity. While men’s studies as an academic discipline has
been developing in the international arena since the 1970s, there is a dearth of
scholarship in Ireland on the topic of masculinity; indeed it has only recently emerged
as a topic in public discourse. The 1990s witnessed a new social phenomenon in Irish
society - the emergence of men’s groups in local communities, some o f which receive
funding within the community education sector. Across three research sites, two
men’s groups and one practitioners’ network, this qualitative study explores emergent
models of practice as well as understandings of masculinity and gender relations at
play in these sites. This study is therefore located at the interface of two nascent fields
of inquiry in Irish research; the question of male identity and the role of men’s groups
in combating male isolation, social exclusion and educational disadvantage.
The study opens with an overview of the historical development of men’s movements,
men’s groups and masculinity politics in the international arena from the 1970s
onward; and discusses the more recent emergence of men’s groups in Irish society. It
draws on theoretical perspectives from the inter-disciplinary field of men’s studies in
tracing the historical development of gender identity in Ireland, and in analysing
dominant themes in contemporary public discourse on masculinity and gender
relations. Findings from the men’s groups are presented in case study format wherein
idiographic analyses and interpretations are placed in dialogue with theoretical
perspectives drawn from relevant academic discourses.
Based on its understanding of the study participants’ experiences and perspectives and
the project’s overall observations, learnings and findings placed in dialogue with a
critical analysis of the literature, this thesis proposes a conceptual framework to
underpin the development of men’s community education through the medium of
men’s groups in Ireland.