Piero Pierini

I OFTEN SAY SOCIOLOGY IS A MARTIAL ART, A MEANS OF SELF-DEFENCE. BASICALLY, YOU USE IT TO DEFEND YOURSELF, WITHOUT HAVING THE RIGHT TO USE IT FOR UNFAIR ATTACKS.

Connell argues that there are a number of subordinate masculinities and femininities arranged hierarchically underneath the hegemonic masculinity. Among these subordinate forms is homosexual masculinity. If hegemonic masculinity is seen as the embodiment of manhood, then in our gender-ordered society, the gay man is seen as the opposite. Connell is not claiming that gay men are inferior, but he understands that homosexuality is a stigmatized identity and ranks at the bottom of the gender hierarchy for men.

Bourdieu explains that “sociology is a martial art”.

sociology as helping to “unmask domination”

challenging the myth that human behaviour is purely individualistic or driven by biological impulses

MANY PERSONAL TROUBLES CANNOT BE SOLVED MERELY AS TROUBLES, BUT MUST BE UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF PUBLIC ISSUES

concerned with making the public into more engaged citizens

typically contain forms of inequality, stratification and discrimination, and this is not natural.

pick up the rules of the theatre and our prescribed parts as actors,

late 18th and early 19th centuries.