Large numbers of men benefit materially, socially and politically from
patriarchy, but the advantages described as the 'patriarchal dividend' are
not spread equally among men.' In other words, not all men are equally
privileged. In this context, a key issue is how do men negotiate their identities
as men within disadvantaged areas? This raises questions about the
social and economic structures in which they live as well as about their
cultural definitions of masculinities. Connell suggested that, 'Masculinities
are constructed, over time, in young people's encounters with a system of
gender relations," Thus gender 'is something people do' and it varies
across time and place.'