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Coming Back Across the Fence: Masculinity and the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture *
Author(s) -
Peter Gregory,
Bell Michael Mayerfeld,
Jarnagin Susan,
Bauer Donna
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1549-0831.2000.tb00026.x
Subject(s) - masculinity , dialogic , openness to experience , sociology , agriculture , citizen journalism , gender studies , sustainable agriculture , social psychology , psychology , political science , geography , pedagogy , archaeology , law
In this paper we explore the social construction of agricultural masculinity and its role in the transition to sustainable agriculture. We draw our evidence from a participatory qualitative study comparing members of the sustainable agriculture group Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) with their non‐PFI neighbors. On the non‐PFI farms, men more often represented what we call monologic masculinity , a conventional masculinity with rigid and polarized gender expectations and strictly negotiated performances that make a clear distinction between men's and women's activities. The male farmers belonging to PFI, on the other hand, more often represented what we call dialogic masculinity , characterized by different measures for work and success than in monologic masculinity, less need for control over nature, and greater social openness. Although both are present to some extent in all male participants, we argue that acceptance of a more dialogic masculinity helps promote the transition to sustainable agriculture.