Raewyn Connell

The publication of twenty-one books and over 150 research papers has established Raewyn Connell as a primary figure in contemporary sociology. Based in Australia, she is recognized for founding the field of masculinity studies and developing the concept of hegemonic masculinity, as well as for her extensive critique of Northern-centric bias in global knowledge production.

Academic Trajectory

Born in Sydney in 1944, Connell pursued her education at the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney. Her career involved several significant faculty appointments, most notably as the founding professor of sociology at Macquarie University, where she worked from 1976 to 1991. She later served as a visiting professor of Australian studies at Harvard University and taught sociology at the University of California Santa Cruz. In 2004, she was appointed University Professor at the University of Sydney, a position she held until her retirement in 2014, when she became professor emerita.

Gender and Masculinity Studies

Connell’s research in the late 1980s, particularly in her 1987 work Gender and Power, argued that gender constitutes a large-scale social structure rather than a matter of individual identity. She categorized this structure into power, labor, and emotional relations. As a co-founder of masculinity studies, her 1995 book Masculinities remains widely cited. Through this work, she explored how gender expectations vary globally and challenged the sex-role theory, which she argued obscured underlying structural inequalities and power dynamics.

Southern Theory and Global Sociology

In her 2007 book, Southern Theory, Connell addressed the global dynamics of intellectual production. She argued that mainstream social science often suffers from a metropolitan or Northern bias, failing to account for the social realities of the global South. By analyzing theoretical work from thinkers like Paulin Hountondji, Ali Shariati, Veena Das, Ashis Nandy, and Raúl Prebisch, she challenged the field to integrate perspectives that exist outside dominant academic centers.

Intellectual Identity and Practice

A self-described hardline feminist, Connell transitioned late in her career. Before 2006, her work was published under the name R. W. Connell. Her methodological approach emphasizes the historical nature of social reality, often utilizing biographical interviewing to examine education, family, and workplace dynamics. She has been an active participant in labor movements, currently maintaining membership in the National Tertiary Education Union, and continues to contribute to the editorial boards of academic journals such as Signs and The British Journal of Sociology.

Fast facts

• Born: 1944, Sydney, Australia
• Primary Fields: Sociology, gender studies
• Education: University of Melbourne, University of Sydney
• Notable Work: Masculinities (1995, 2005)
• Significant Concept: Hegemonic masculinity
• Academic Title: Professor emerita, University of Sydney
• Awards: Jessie Bernard Award (2017), honorary doctorate of Pompeu Fabra University (2023)

Questions readers ask

What is hegemonic masculinity?

It is a theoretical concept developed by Connell that critiques how internalized societal expectations of men—such as being powerful and fearless—obscure structural inequalities and power dynamics.

What is Southern Theory?

It is a critique of mainstream social science, arguing that knowledge production is biased toward Northern or metropolitan universities and neglects the theoretical contributions of the global South.

Achievements

• Held posts at Macquarie University and University of Sydney
• Fields: sociology and gender studies