Masculinity, gender, and rural policy

This paper explores the operation of gender relations in the context of rur al policy. Framed by debates on new rural governance, it considers how both the content and the culture of recent rural regeneration policy reflect hi ghly masculine values and the maintenance of traditional power relations. N ew forms of decision making in rural areas promote a style of policy making that values and grants priority to male networks in the construction of el ite groups and styles of management, and devalues community participation. We use examples from the United Kingdom to demonstrate the implications of shifts in the mechanisms and practice of policy making and implementation f or men's and Nomen's differential involvement and experience with rural reg eneration. We go on to show how gender relations are also reflected in the content of contemporary rural regeneration policy. Decisions concerning the most appropriate types of initiative are predicated on a male-oriented Vie w of previous economic activity and local labor markets, and represent a hi ghly masculinist approach to regeneration.