Gordon Walker

Men in Mid-life in a Post-feminist World: Masculinity Crisis or Constructive Adaptation? Gordon Walker

For more than a decade claims that there is a crisis in masculinity have been made both in the popular press and in the writings of academics and therapists. Feminism has resulted in increasing criticism of much traditional masculine behaviour. Men are said to be no longer sure about what it means to be a man and are said to be in crisis as a result. Men in mid-life, who were raised with one set of gender-role expectations and who now find themselves facing different expectations post-feminism, are sometimes said to be most affected. This book reports the study of a group of men in mid-life whose experiences of major life contexts (parental/paternal, vocational, relational and recreational) were described and then interpreted in relation self-efficacy. The overall picture that emerged was one of men engaged in constructive adaptation. Self-efficacy accounted for many of the differences found between these men in the way that they adapted to changes in the contexts of their lives. Greater recognition of the range of individual differences in men's adaptation and change would promote more positive images of masculinity and thereby assist in achieving more equitable gender roles.