Reaction to R.W.Connell's Understanding Men: Gender Sociology and the New International Research on Mascudinities

As a doctoral student in the Sociology progranl at the University of Kansas, I have been privy to several lectures and panel discussions by leading scholars in my field. The 2001 Clark Lecture (Social Thought &Research, 2002, Vol. 24, 1& 2)was no exception to this trend. For the first time in my life, I was able to listen to a presentation given by one of my scholarly heroes, Robert Connell. Based on this lecture given by such a prominent scholar in the field of gender, I now have the distinct privilege-or harrowing curse, depending on how you look at it-ofcomposing a reaction piece based on Connell's lecture, Understanding Men: Gender Sociology and the New Intemational Research on Masculinities