Synopsis What it means to be a man-in word, flesh, deed and affect-in the various arenas of social life in South Asian societies is the thread that runs through the essays in this volume, the first of its kind on masculinity. These essays deal with different planes of experience, and various modes of expression: popular films, national history, ethnography and literature are examined within a range of methdological and theoretical orientations. Regional differences as well as similarities between the societies of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are carefully observed and insightfully analysed. Representations of masculinity and its performance in the relationships of men with women, and other men, are analysed with a view to understanding the engagement of the particular with the national or the iconic. This volume brings together theoretical elaborations of concepts such as hegemony in gender relations, as well as a wealth of ethnographic material that will act as a stimulus to further research and discussion. A unique and significant contribution to gender studies in South Asia.