Unmasking the Masculine `Men' and `Identity' in a Sceptical Age

Postmodernism and poststructuralism have undermined the assumptions upon which established identities have been constructed, such as the concept of stable bodies and stable selves. Sex, gender, sexuality and race are no longer viewed as merely descriptive aspects of experience but also as constructions of identity.Drawing on current debates in postmodern feminism, feminist philosophy of science, anti-racist/postcolonial studies and queer theory, this book considers the way in which discourse fabricates the 'ideal' male body, sexual identity and sexual politics. Alan Petersen explores the possibilities of developing new models of identity not so closely linked to the sex/gender system and examines the prospects of creating a new or reconceptualized identity politics.