Bio: (1944-) Australian sociologist. Reawyn Connell holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, where she also spent most of her academic career. Connell is best known for her contribution to the sociology of gender, but her work is also dedicated to the study of politics, classes, and education, especially in the context of Australia. Connell presented her theory of gender relations in the books Gender and Power (1987), Masculinities (1995), and The Men and Boys (2001). She believes that approaches that explain gender roles through biologically innate predispositions are wrong. On the other hand, those approaches that emphasize the impact of socialization do not fully explain gender relations, identities, and roles.

Individuals can reject, accept or change the social patterns that shape gender roles. Deviations from traditional gender roles may be overt and complete, and may contain minor deviations, but may also be disguised when the deviation occurs in secret or may occur only in the imagination. In her approach, Connell integrates the concepts of patriarchy, masculinity, and femininity into the general theory of gender relations. Masculinities and femininities are always present and interconnected, and together they form a key part of the gender order. There are different forms of masculinity and femininity, even in the same society, and they function at different levels, from the individual to the institutional. Both patterns serve to maintain male dominance over women.

Gender order and gender relations are the product of everyday interactions and practices that are reproduced over time but are also subject to change. Gender order almost always contains inequalities in three areas: work, power, and personal relationships (cathexis). These three areas are interconnected and changes in one area cause changes in the other two areas. The field of work refers to the gender division of labor in the household and at work. Unequal relations of power are expressed through the relations of authority, violence, ideology, institutions, state, etc. Inequality in personal relationships appears in marriage, sexuality, and in the raising of children. Each gender order contains a large number of gender relationships.

The concept of “gender regime” refers to the structure of gender relations in specific institutions (family, state, neighborhood). Connell sees the gender order in a dynamic context because it is subject to change due to the actions of actors (human agency). In modern Western societies, there is a "gender crisis" that manifests itself on three levels. The first level is the crisis of institutions because there is a change in legal regulations concerning marriage, divorce, domestic violence, and economic relations. The second area is the crisis of sexuality because forced hegemonic heterosexuality ceases to function. The third area is the disintegration of traditional masculinities, especially through the emergence of the masculine pattern of a caring and dedicated father who cares for children and the home.

Connell also introduces the concept of "gender hierarchy" into her theory. This concept refers to a hierarchy of different forms of masculinity and femininity. At the top of the hierarchy is "hegemonic masculinity" which is associated with physical strength, firmness, and heterosexuality, but also with a well-paid job. This type of masculinity is achieved by a minority of men, but it benefits other men who exhibit "complicit masculinity" because they also enjoy the privileges of the patriarchal order. The lowest form of masculinity is homosexual masculinity. All femininities are below hegemonic masculinity. Emphasized femininity that reflects the classic image of a woman - beautiful, takes care of appearance, listens to men, raises children - is a complement to hegemonic masculinity. Femininities that deviate from the emphasized femininity - feminists, lesbians, prostitutes, manual workers - are isolated and silenced. This form of femininity she calls "resistant femininity."

Connell discusses the globalization of the gender order in her book Gender: in World Perspective (2009). She concludes that transnational corporations, international organizations, international media, and global markets of capital, goods, services, and labor, represent new areas of reproduction of the patriarchal gender order, but now on a global scale.                                         

Main works

Politics of the Extreme Right: Warringah, 1966  (1967);

Ruling Class, Ruling Culture: Studies of Conflict, Power and Hegemony in Australian Life (1977);

Class Structure in Australian History (1980);

Making the Difference: Schools, Families and Social Division (1982);

Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics (1987);

Masculinities (1995);

Male Roles, Masculinities and Violence: A Culture of Peace Perspective (2000);

The Men and the Boys (2001);

Southern Theory: The Global Dynamics of Knowledge in Social Science (2007);

Gender: In World Perspective (2009);

Confronting Equality: Gender, Knowledge and Global Change (2011);

The Good University: what Universities Actually do and Why its Time for Radical Change (2019).