A useful starting point is

• Chapter 2 in S. Walklate (2004) Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice (Willan).

Though published several decades ago now, the special issue of the British Journal of Criminology published in 1996 (36(3)) introduces the field and although much work has been done since, this captures the main currents of the debate.

This should be read alongside

• T. Jefferson (1997) ‘Masculinities and crimes’, in M. Maguire, R. Morgan and R. Reiner (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, 2nd edn (Oxford University Press).

For the structural approach developed out of Connell’s contribution, a good entry into the field is

• R.W. Connell and J. Messerschmidt (2005) ‘Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept’ (Gender and Society, 19(6): 829–59).

This should be followed up by reading

• J.W. Messerschmidt (1993) Masculinities and Crime: Critique and Reconceptualization of Theory (Rowman & Littlefield).

For an introduction to psychosocial approaches, see

• D. Gadd and T. Jefferson (2007) Psychosocial Criminology: An Introduction (Sage).

For a more accessible and lively overview of the topics covered in this field, see the relevant articles in the Autumn 2003 issue (no. 53) of Criminal Justice Matters, a magazine published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.