Who Are Those Guys? Constructing the Oilfield’s New Dominant Masculinity

Slippages between dominant-nonhegemonic masculinities and hegemonic masculinities obscure and confuse the importance of these masculinities for understanding the hierarchal gender order. This article uses in-depth interviews ( N = 22) with oilfield workers, and observations at drilling sites to clarify how men can construct a socially dominant-nonhegemonic masculinity and subordinate a previously hegemonic masculinity. This study shows how a recursive relationship between industry and organizational safety policies enable men to construct a new dominant masculinity predicated on safety at work, while socially dominant men remain complicit with hegemonic masculinity in the domestic sphere. The discussion underscores the importance of distinguishing between dominant-nonhegemonic and hegemonic masculinities, which promotes our understanding of the hierarchal relationship among masculinities, femininities, and the struggle for gender dominance.