The concept of hegemonic masculinity relates to Connell's pioneering work, in which he incorporated gender into Gramsci's and Althusser's concept of hegemony. Connell has defined hegemonic masculinity as "a social ascendancy achieved in a play of social forces that extends beyond contests of brute power into the organization of private life and cultural processes." This study perceives male-dominated crime and crime control as cultural practices that regulate the legitimate and illegitimate use of force within domains of masculinity. This study examines crime rates, victimization, and media reporting as indicators of the visibility of interpersonal violent crimes. The impression of a substantially higher rate of interpersonal crime in Australia compared to Germany and Japan is supported by the findings of a recent international crime survey. The extreme visibility of Australia's "uncontrollable and dangerous" men as portrayed in its media and reflected in the public's fear of "stranger" crime can be interpreted in the context of a wider social, cultural, and economic crisis in Australia. The author concludes that it could be the long-standing tradition of Australian maleness, the necessary use of force against nature under the conditions of the outback, the use of force against competitors in the work force (immigrants), in the mating market short of female partners, and the "tyranny of distance" that contributes to the crisis of Australian masculinities in the concern about rape and other crimes committed by men. 3 figures, 13 notes, and 53 references