Masculinity at Work: Employment Discrimination through a Different Lens
Ann C. McGinley
Abstract
Masculinity at Work is a theoretical disposition and a practical guide for lawyers and judges on the interpretation of sex and race discrimination cases. It argues that fact finders should consider social science research about masculinity when determining whether an employer has engaged in illegal discrimination in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The book educates the reader about the invisibility of masculine structures and practices, how society constructs concepts of masculinity, and how men (and sometimes women) perform masculinity in different ways depending on their ... More
Masculinity at Work is a theoretical disposition and a practical guide for lawyers and judges on the interpretation of sex and race discrimination cases. It argues that fact finders should consider social science research about masculinity when determining whether an employer has engaged in illegal discrimination in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The book educates the reader about the invisibility of masculine structures and practices, how society constructs concepts of masculinity, and how men (and sometimes women) perform masculinity in different ways depending on their identities and the context of their situations. The book features the story, among others, of Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito of the Miami Dolphins to illustrate how harassing behavior can occur because of sex even though the gendered nature of the harassment is invisible to onlookers. After more than a year of ongoing harassment on the Miami Dolphins, Jonathan Martin left the team and checked himself into a mental health institution. The book explains the difficulties Martin would have suing the Dolphins under Title VII because of the hidden gendered behaviors. It encourages lawyers representing plaintiffs in sex and race discrimination suits to use experts in masculinities to educate both judges and juries. It criticizes the courts’ and juries’ undue reliance on their common sense to interpret behaviors alleged to have occurred because of sex and demonstrates through vivid, real-life examples how masculinities studies can offer a more accurate interpretation of the behaviors of employers and employees in workforces.
Keywords:
common sense,
experts,
fact finders,
invisibility,
Jonathan Martin,
masculinity,
Richie Incognito,
sex and race discrimination,
social science research,
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2016 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780814796139 |
| Published to NYU Press Scholarship Online: January 2017 |
DOI:10.18574/nyu/9780814796139.001.0001 |
