Men and the Language of Emotions

Abstract

This book challenges the widely held stereotype that men either have an impoverished emotional life or are inhibited in talking about their emotions. In this major study of middle-aged and older heterosexual men, Dariusz Galasinski demonstrates that they talk about their emotions both indirectly and openly, that masculinity can be constructed in terms of emotions and emotionality in both men's as well as women's discourse. Taking a radically contextual notion of identity, the author argues further for a disassociation of father's identity from biological fatherhood, demonstrating that men can construct themselves as genderless parents. He shows how, faced with unemployment or other difficult experiences, men and women use the same discursive practices in expressing feelings of helplessness. Finally, the book challenges the notion that gender is relevant to all social interactions, concluding that class, ethnicity or employment are fare more significant. (Palgrave Macmillan)