Doing, Redoing, and Undoing Masculinity in Environmentalism

Abstract

Conventional and traditional visions of masculinity idealise and glorify, violence, aggression, and destruction while undermining more caring traits such as altruism, empathy, and compassion. These gender scripts inform men’s perception of themselves, others, and the world around them as they seek to adhere to and fit in with the surrounding culture. These notions of masculinity are subject to extensive academic and media attention, while comparatively less attention is paid to the men who challenge or reject these harmful traits. Traditionally masculine values stand in tension to environmentalism, prioritising money, power, and profitability above care and respect for nature. Previous research suggests that traditional ideas of masculinity can be a deterrent to pro-environmental behaviours due to a perceived link between ‘green behaviours’ and femininity. But as of yet, there is a dearth of empirical research on those men who overcome such barriers to engage with environmentalism. This study therefore draws on in-depth interviews with 14 pro-environmental men from across America, Britain and Canada, to understand their experiences navigating the gendered terrain of environmentalism. This research complicates our understanding of performativity within environmentalism, as the men in this study show both complicity and resistance to hegemonic gender structures within the scope of their environmentalism.