Geir Henning Presterudstuen provides an ethnographic account of how men in the multicultural urban centres of Fiji perceive, construct and perform masculinities in the context of rapid social change. Theoretically informed by critical feminist theories, postcolonialism, R.W. Connell's work on masculinities and a Bourdieuan conceptualization of the body, this book explores how notions of masculinity, manhood and the male body are shaped by the conflicting social forces of Fijian tradition, modernity, commercialization and urbanization.
The book provides a timely intervention, from the grassroots level in the global south, into an ongoing discourse about men and masculinities that has long been dominated by voices from Europe and the US. Combining classic ethnography with innovative social analysis, Presterudstuen's book is suitable for students and academics with an interest in gender and social change, and for scholars across a variety of disciplines
including anthropology, gender studies, sociology, pacific studies and international development.
Review
βThis book takes on an important topic in both Masculinities/gender studies and the Anthropology of the Pacific region. Not only is the book going to be of interest to scholars working across several disciplines, but it will also be accessible to students and a more broadly interested public.β βJohn Taylor, La Trobe University, Australia
βAn important study of modern experiments with masculinity in Fiji, which makes for a nuanced ethnography of gendered bodies, practices and power in diverse contexts such as villages, nightclubs gambling and religious venues.β βKalissa Alexeyeff, The University of Melbourne, Australia
βThis is a well-researched, ethnographically sensitive, historically informed study of emerging sexualities and genders in two distinct, but historically and culturally entangled, ethnic communities in Fiji.β βAletta Biersack, University of Oregon, USA
βThis book is at the cutting-edge of the anthropology of masculinity, and focuses in innovative ways on overlooked topics that matter.β βMatt Tomlinson, Australian National University, Australia
About the Author
Geir Henning Presterudstuen is Lecturer in Anthropology at Western Sydney University, Australia. He has conducted long-term fieldwork in Fiji since 2009 and has published widely on issues of gender and social change.
