Intertwined Refractions: The Mutual Constitution of Gender Style and Class Fraction in a Deindustrialising Australian Town

Abstract

Based on fieldwork among urban working-class Australians, I divide the dominated class into two fractions, dominated and dominant, and use this as a basis for analysis of the multiple gender styles which have been observed in working-class Australia. I argue that masculine style and class-fraction location are mutually constitutive. I also explain why feminine style is not as diverse as masculine style, nor is the location of women within working-class fractions as definite as that of men. Finally, I suggest that not only within the working class, but also between classes, gender style and class location are mutually constitutive.