What About the Children! takes up the important task of examining the role of hegemonic masculinities in propping up a normative social order in which children are constructed as the property of adults. By examining adult-child relations in the context of a wide range of family forms and social contexts, the book provides some hard answers to questions relating to what exactly are the best interests of children, and how they should be determined. The book responds by suggesting that there is a pressing need to recognise the capacity of children to voice their own desires and needs, and that in failing to recognise this all adults (and men in particular) only serve to further perpetuate a possessive logic that, at least in part, gives rise to the mistreatment or abuse of children. Covering topics such as the experiences of foster fathers, gay adoptive fathers and sperm donors, and exploring phenomena such as books on raising boys and movies about gay parents, the book offers important insights as to the operations of hegemony in the lives of a broad range of men. Importantly, the book moves beyond simply identifying the operations of hegemony in relation to possessive investments in children, and goes on to propose a ‘non-indifferent’ approach to understanding adult-child relations that at its heart examines the operations of power that produce children as supposedly docile subjects (and only certain adults as capable of caring for them). As a result, the book makes a significant contribution to setting an alternative agenda for child protection both within Australia and internationally by asking the question ‘protection for whom?’.

Why is child sexual abuse committed primarily by men and male adolescents, unlike other forms of child abuse? Is child sex offending, rather than being a deviant masculine sexual practice, related to normative masculine practices, that is, practices structured on dynamic and changing relations of power? Using a practice-based sociological approach, the relationship between masculinities, sexualities and child sexual abuse is analysed and the power/powerlessness theory is developed to explain the predominantly male problem of child sex offending. The theory postulates that, because the social construction of masculinities involves the construction of dynamic and changing relations of power between men, men's lives are characterised by a combination of power and powerlessness. The book argues that an offender's experiences of powerlessness as a result of his relationships with other men is the key to understanding child sex offending, since sexuality is a key social practice for the alleviation of experiences of powerlessness and for establishing relations of power with other men. In particular, the theory argues that a man's particular attachment to the link between sexuality and experiences of masculinity and power will be a key factor for determining how he does sex and whom he chooses as a sexual partner. In the final chapter, the theory is tested through a re-analysis of offender interviews.

Progressive Black Masculinities brings together leading black cultural critics including Michael Eric Dyson, Mark Anthony Neal, and Patricia Hill Collins to examine an alternatively demonized and mythologized black masculinity.

Popular culture is awash with discussions about the difficulties associated with being a man. Television talk shows, media articles and government press releases discuss not simply the problem of men, but have more recently focused on the problems of being a man. The Conundrum of Masculinity challenges highly advertised beliefs that men are in crisis and struggling to hold onto traditional masculine habits whilst the world around them changes. Indeed, whilst there is a range of valuable contributions to the field that examine how men live out their lives in different contexts, there are few accounts that examine in detail the building blocks of masculinity or how men are really ‘put together’. Thus, this innovative and timely volume seeks to provide a systematic exploration of the different aspects of masculinity – in particular hegemony, homosociality, homophobia and heteronormativity. An original approach to the field of masculinity studies, this book ultimately presents a critical synthesis that brings together disparate approaches to provide a clear and concise discussion to address the true nature of masculinity. The Conundrum of Masculinity will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in fields such as Gender Studies, Masculinity Studies and Sociology.

Cases of sport-related child sexual abuse have received increasing news coverage in recent years. This book documents and evaluates this important issue through a critical investigation of the research and theory on sexual violence and child sex offending that has emerged over the past thirty years. Based on life-history interviews with male and female ‘survivors’ of child sexual abuse in sport, this text offers a deeper appreciation for the experiences of those who are sexually victimized within sports and school-sport settings. Drawing on a wide range of sources, it also provides a new theoretical framework through which child sexual abuse in sport may be explored. Offering a critique spanning psychology, sociology and criminology, this book challenges existing theories of sex offending while advocating an alternative epistemology to help better understand and address this social problem. Presenting an original sociological approach to this field of study, Sexual Abuse in Youth Sport is important reading for any researcher, policy-maker or practitioner working in youth sport, physical education, sports coaching, sport policy, child protection or social work.

LGBT-Parent Families is the first handbook to provide a comprehensive examination of this underserved area. Reflecting the nature of this issue, the volume is notably interdisciplinary, with contributions from scholars in psychology, sociology, human development, family studies, gender studies, sexuality studies, legal studies, social work, and anthropology. Additionally, scholarship from regions beyond the U.S. including England, Australia, Canada, and South Africa is presented. In addition to gender and sexuality, all contributors address issues of social class, race, and ethnicity in their chapters.

This book takes an unrelenting look at the hidden worlds of young children's sexualities.