Halberstam, Judith. “[Chapter One:] An Introduction to Female Masculinity.” Female
Masculinity. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998. 1-43.

Halberstam argues that masculinity should not be thought of only in relation to the male body. Culturally, masculinity is easily recognized but not easily defined. “Heroic” masculinities, the dominant cultural forms of masculinity which we eagerly consume and support, suppress other masculinities. Examining female masculinity allows us to see how masculinity is constructed. This chapter looks at the “myths and fantasies” about masculinity that force us to construct masculinity in relation to maleness and also to think of masculinity as an embodiment of power. If the dominant masculinity embodies a “naturalized” relationship between maleness and power, then it doesn’t make sense to examine men in reference to the social construction of masculinity, “Masculinity, this book will claim, becomes legible where and when it leaves the white male middle-class body” (2).