The View that Masculinity is in Crisis in the U.K. Today

The View that Masculinity is in Crisis in the U.K. Today

Today men and masculinities are talked about as problematic. Frequent

questions that are asked are: What is a man? How do men maintain

power? Is there a crisis in masculinity? What is the future of men?

Before World War 2, there were separate roles for a man and a woman in

a marriage. The husband was the provider, earning the money, while the

wife took care of the family. Patriarchy made sure men were considered

more important and powerful than women. Employment was the main source

of identity for men and back then a job was for life, which created

security.

During the War, women were recruited into employment, which they were

unable to do before. When the War ended, women wanted to be able to

choose to work. This invaded the strongholds of masculinity. It wasn’t

until the 1970’s that women began to make significant advancement into

past male dominated jobs.

Feminism saw male patriarchy as fundamentally unjust and called for

changes in the way we live, and with the rise of the women’s movement

through the 1970’s and 80’s, there were great changes for men in

relation to women, the labour market and at home. The long standing

male and social economic dominance was undermined by feminisation and

by female competition at work. Jobs that were just suitable for men

were now accessible for both men and women.

Since the 1970’s, working class men in particular have suffered from

economic changes. In the manufacturing industry, high paid, skilled

jobs were lost permanently. During the 1980’s industries were put out

of production permanently, which made men feel like they were being

discarded. Their chance of finding another skilled job with equal pay

was extremely low and ex-miners who found work following the pit

closures lost about 30% in wages.

A man would find it hardest being redundant because so much of their

identity came from their jobs, rather than as a parent or husband. In

losing their job it resulted in reduced economic power, as well as