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Playing the Man:
New Approaches to Masculinity was a postgraduate conference held at the University of Sydney in November
1998, and the eponymous Pluto Press publication promises much. It contains eighteen papers by postgraduates from
throughout eastern Australia and Adelaide, on subjects as diverse as Buddhist symbolism, the feminisation of Martin
Bryant, eighteenth-century discourses of masturbation, and the representation of homophobia in Jean Genet's novels.
However, after reading the introduction, I felt somewhat dubious about the whole slick project.
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I couldn't help but be annoyed by the self-indulgent waffle that the editors/conference organisers chose to include
in their unnecessarily lengthy introduction (sixteen pages). Twelve pages are devoted to how difficult and
frustrating it was to organise this conference -- which was publicised in a full-colour spread on page 5 of the
Sydney Morning Herald; funded by three University of Sydney bodies; supported by numerous local businesses,
and boasted the support of Moira Gatens and a keynote address by filmmaker David Caesar of Idiot Box fame.
Yeah, sounds hellish. Although the computer with most of their work on it was stolen (a genuine crisis, I would
suspect), I was left with the impression that the trio was far more troubled by having to answer emails from "weird"
people, and early morning telephone calls. Four pages are devoted to printing their own emails to each other,
leaving enough room for them to summarise the papers and make the grand claim that "we interrogated masculinity; we
brought it into account, we tested its limits. We recognised the compendium of powers and performances that the
term "masculinity" contains. We saw our role as editors of this work as instigators, motivators, facilitators and
provocateurs" (16).
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After reading the introduction, I was more than keen to rubbish this book just for the hell of it, but convinced
myself that it was too easy to be critical of 'The Adventures of Tom, Dave and Katherine' (interestingly, mostly
those of Tom and Dave), and that such a review would not do justice to the thoughtful and illuminating papers that
follow. I do take issue with what appears to be the uncritical use of sporting terminology to structure the book
(Pre-Match Entertainment, The Kick-Off, Fields of Play, Dangerous Tackles, Reckless Behaviour), when there are only
a couple of passing references to sport in the collection as a whole. Likewise the introduction's use of a
tongue-in-cheek 1997 photograph of Ian Roberts dressed as a football yob, clad in stubbies, singlet, terry-towelling hat
and thongs, clutching a XXXX, and giving an "up yours" gesture -- all very amusing, but raising issues that were never
explicitly addressed (and as homosexuality, intersecting/oppositional subject positions, and discussion of
alternative, non-hegemonic masculinities were largely missing from the collection, they were never implicitly
addressed either).
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The stand-out papers included Melissa Harper's on George Morrison, a nineteenth-century Australian man who, as an
exemplar of imperial masculinity lacking a war in which to prove "his physical strength, his pluck, his manliness"
(116), instead took the archetype of intrepid explorer as his blueprint, and embarked on several lengthy, solo
walking excursions throughout Australia. Morrison deliberately attempted to model himself on Henry Morton Stanley,
but seemed to rue that his longest walk, from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Melbourne, was "only a pleasure excursion"
(124). Also impressive is the paper by Alexander Soucy, which explores the influence that hegemonic masculinity in
the patrilineal society of Vietnam has on the religious practices of old and young men. He notes that visits to the
pagoda, which tend to be mainly for the purpose of requesting divine assistance, are equated with weakness and thus
femininity, and that older men who become increasingly involved in Buddhist ritual are repositioned as wise, rather
than strong. Illuminating too, is Robert McGregor's discussion of the threat posed to British masculinity after the
Seven Year War (1756-1763) by the Macaronis. The precursors of the dandy, Macaronis were young men who adopted
extravagant European fashions and a lifestyle of leisure. They were mercilessly lampooned by contemporaries, with
one regarding them as "noxious vermin", but as McGregor notes, they nevertheless represented a valid alternative
masculinity.
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It is the fact of there being a threat to hegemonic masculinity, primarily by perceived notions of femininity, that
stands out in these papers, rather than evidence of new or alternative approaches being taken by contemporary men
and boys. A notable exception is Simon French's fascinating paper on a primary school programme which is succeeding
in reducing playground violence, and through which children gain a "sophisticated understanding of power relations
and violence, and the language and opportunities to discuss incidents of violence" (148). "New Approaches" may be
taken instead to mean those of the contributors, such as Laila Ellmoos's study of oral histories of waterfront
workers, or the use of written submissions to the Joint Select Committee on Certain Aspects of the Operation and
Interpretation of the Family Law Act 1975 as ethnographic data by Jeanne Ellard.
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What was alluded to with the photograph of Ian Roberts in his portrayal of stereotypical Australian masculinity is
unfortunately left under the surface. For me one of the most rewarding and valuable pieces in this book was the
keynote address, in which David Caesar swiftly and astutely makes mention of two issues crucial to notions of
(hegemonic) masculinity which do not seem to be addressed or challenged in much detail in the rest of the book. His
beautifully candid comment that "when I was playing rugby league, I knew who I was" (21), is the most incisive
reference to masculinity and its dependence on, and relationship to, physicality that I have found in Playing the
Man. His remark that "the masculine icon in films never really changes ... they always do stuff" (22), is
similarly incisive and under-explored. I also felt that the notion of masculinity as masquerade, as disguise, as
act and construction, an obvious connotation of the title, is not consistently addressed.
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It is easy to be critical, but this book and conference has given postgraduates a much-needed space in which to
begin to discuss and explore concepts of masculinity. The "Playgirl Executive" chapter by editor Tom Sear was
reprinted in the Financial Review, indicating that the book is reaching a wider audience than just the
academic community. Although for me Playing the Man failed to deliver what it promised, it's a good start.
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Details
Playing the Man: New Approaches to Masculinity. Eds. Katherine Biber, Tom Sear and Dave Trudinger.
Annadale, NSW: Pluto, 1999. ISBN: 1-86408-065-8; RRP: A$ 24.95.
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Citation reference for this article
MLA style:
Kathryn Goldie. "Missing the Mark: 'Playing the Man: New Approaches to Masculinity'." M/C Reviews 11 Oct. 1999.
[your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/words/playing2.html>.
Chicago style:
Kathryn Goldie, "Missing the Mark: 'Playing the Man: New Approaches to Masculinity'," M/C Reviews 11 Oct. 1999,
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/words/playing2.html> ([your date of access]).
APA style:
Kathryn Goldie. (1999) Missing the mark: 'Playing the man: new approaches to masculinity'. M/C Reviews 11 Oct. 1999.
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/words/playing2.html> ([your date of access]).
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![[image]](http://media.socialchange.net.au/pluto/images/play_man.jpg)