Brothers

by Cockburn, Cynthia

• ISBN13: 9780745305837
• ISBN10: 0745305830
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-06-01
• Publisher: Pluto Pr

Summary

Cynthia Cockburn's classic study of masculinity and skill in printing showed newspaper compositors locked in battle with their employers. This new edition adds an Afterword on the final defeat of the men by press owners armed with computer technology and backed by Tatcher's anti-union laws.*BR**BR*Brothers began as a study on the human impact of technological change. It ended as an exploration in the making and remaking of men, showing how work and technology are used by men in maintaining their control over women. It continues to offer an unparalleled insight into men and trade unionism from a feminist point of view.

Author Biography

Cynthia Cockburn is a researcher and writer in the sociology of work and gender at The City University, London

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 1
Introduction	p. 3
Craft, class and patriarchy	p. 14
The pre-capitalist printer	p. 14
Capitalism and the growth of unions	p. 19
A man's craft	p. 23
The iron comp	p. 26
A divided working class in printing	p. 31
Hot metal: craft control	p. 36
The 1950s	p. 37
A generation of hot-metal compositors	p. 43
The hot-metal labour process	p. 46
The balance of power in work	p. 52
The turn of the tide	p. 55
Technological innovation	p. 61
Cold composition crosses the Atlantic	p. 64
Developments in the 'regional' press	p. 67
Desperation on Fleet Street	p. 74
A stay of execution	p. 83
Why new technology?	p. 86
Cold composition: change in the labour process	p. 93
Text input: 'a glorified typist'	p. 95
From metal to paper: 'lick and stick'	p. 104
Integrated working: 'all singing, all dancing'	p. 108
Skill and 'deskilling'	p. 112
A man among men	p. 123
The compositor and the Natty	p. 126
Death throes of craft identity	p. 129
The politics of masculinity	p. 132
Class in turmoil	p. 140
Women: stepping out of role	p. 151
A crusade against women	p. 152
Women's disadvantage in print	p. 159
Women in the NGA: stirrings of change	p. 163
The case against women: then and now	p. 171
'She couldn't do it'	p. 174
'She shouldn't do it'	p. 181
Class and sex: two power systems	p. 191
Seeing a sex/gender system	p. 193
The economics of male advantage	p. 199
There's more to 'material advantage' than money	p. 202
Ideas and their effects	p. 205
Men and the making of change	p. 210
Contradiction: the motor of change	p. 211
Technological innovation as catalyst	p. 216
The family, sexism and the right-wing option	p. 219
The alternative option	p. 223
Afterword	p. 234
References	p. 253
Index	p. 279
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