Extreme Masculinities 1 is a special issue that emerged out of the international conference Extreme Masculinities, which I have organized on behalf of the Extreme Anthropology Research Network (www.extreme-anthropology.com) at the University of Vienna between 28th September and 1st October 2017. This is the first of two special issues of JEA devoted to the topic.
In this issue, you will find a range of articles on exciting and thought-provoking topics. Henrik H. Mikkelsen explores the dynamics of headhunting among the Bugkalot in the Philippines, showing how empathy can paradoxically allow violence to achieve its transformative power. Graham Roberts draws us into the Russian fashion world and the politics of style. Lisa Nike Bühring thinks through aging of men under neoliberalism and The Expendables. Marco Pedroni explores the lives of gamblers in Italy through the notion of excess. Jukka Jouhki offers us an analysis of online poker ads and the hyperreal. Adina R. Sverdlin draws us into the impoverished neighborhoods in Western Mexico City, and traces the life trajectories of the members of bandas, under the city’s neoliberal transformations over the last decades. Fabian Hartwell explores the convergence of masculinity, terrorism, and the Indian state, through the case of the Kashmiri separatist Burhan Wani. Udith Dematagoda offers us an insightful review essay of the recent book on the alt-right, Kill All Normies by Angela Nagel. I contribute a book review of The Rise of the Right by Steve Hall, Simon Winlow, and James Treadwell, a brilliant book analyzing the English Defence League within the political and socio- economic context of the transformation of the last decades. Finally, Henry Moncrieff closes this issue with a photo essay on cockfighting in Venezuela. We hope you enjoy reading this issue!