matt maycock understanding masculinity 27th jan 2014

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Understanding masculinities

Dr Matt Maycock

Gender and Health Team, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow

29th January 2015


Session overview

• Theories of masculinity

• Hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 1995)

• Inclusive masculinity (Anderson, 2009)

• Examples of the application of these theories

• Masculinities and bonded labour in Nepal (PhD)

• Masculinity within Scottish prisons (post-doc)

• Practical application of theories of masculinity to a

health promotion resource


Hegemonic Masculinity

• “hegemonic masculinity” - a form of masculinity that is

dominant in society, establishes the cultural ideal for what

it is to be a man, silences other masculinities, and

combats alternative visions of masculinity.

• Hegemonic masculinity’ is a concept that draws upon the

ideas of Gramsci. It refers to the dynamic cultural process

which guarantees (or is taken to guarantee) the dominant

position of men and the subordination of women.

• hegemonic masculinity - rejection of the idea that all men

are the same


Hegemonic Masculinity Cont…

• a change from the concept of masculinity to the concept

of masculinities

• allows meaningful distinction between different

collective constructions of masculinity and identification

of power inequalities among these constructions.

Masculinities:

• Are actively constructed (not biologically determined)

• Are dynamic- change over time

• Have negative impacts- be tough don’t cry, can lead to

disengagement, health problems, aggression, overwork and

lack of emotional responsiveness.


Criticisms (V. Seidler)

• Leaves gender roles, and in particular patriarchy unchallenged

• Leaves out personal and emotional perspectives- emotional

lives of men ignored.

• “There is a danger of creating a fixed category of ‘abusing men,’

rather than learning how pregnancy invokes unresolved

emotional feelings in men”

• Is often applied to research quite uncritically


Inclusive Masculinity


Criticisms


‘Ethnographic turn’ in masculinity studies“…men do masculinity according to the social situation in which they find themselves.” (Messerschmidt, 1993, 84)

In Masculinities (1995, 2005), Raewyn Connell talks about a ethnographic turn in masculinity studies, what does she mean by this?

Ethnographic studies of masculinity tend to:

• Assume masculinities are multiple (both locally and globally).

• Unpack the ways in which masculinities are socially and culturally constructed and performed.

• Examine how masculinities impact on each other.

• Examine the ways in which masculinity is constructed in relation to subordinate women and

femininities.

• Be ‘micro’ level in focus.

• Undertaken in both urban and rural contexts.

• Consider ‘positive’ masculinities and subvert the idea of men as a [or the] problem.


Ethnographic studies of masculinity have:• Illustrated the cross-cultural variance in performances and modes of masculinity.

• Proven that there is no single masculinity.

• Showed that masculinities can and do change.

This was important in overcoming the tendency in the mass media and popular culture to treat ‘men’ as a

homogenous group ‘masculinity’ as a fixed, ahistorical entity.

• Identified the importance of intersectionality of gender with class, caste, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age

etc…

• Consolidated men and masculinities as a world-wide field of knowledge.

• A significant amount of the research at the beginnings of this turn focused on discourses of hegemonic and subordinate masculinities (following Connell).

• More recently a number of studies have focused more on intricate studies of social practice, with a focus on ambiguity and context specific performances of masculinity.

• Collections of micro-research and applied studies of masculinity exist for practically every continent or culture-area.

Consequences of the ‘Ethnographic Turn’ in Masculinity Studies


Until relatively recently masculinity has not received significant explicit attention, despite the gender ‘awareness’ of the NGO and academic sectors. For example, in South Asia:

“For a long time, South Asian men have been treated as universally given, ungendered objects and have rarely been examined as gendered.” (Sharma, 2007a: 33)

There is an unresolved tension between [western] theories of masculinity and local performances I have studied.

I am still unclear of the utility of of hegemonic masculinity within ethnographic research on masculinity.

How has this shaped my research?


Example 1 - PhD research far-west Nepal

Masculinity, Modernity and Bonded Labour: Continuity and Change amongst the Kamaiya of Kailali District, far-west Nepal (School of International Development, UEA, Norwich)


PhD fieldwork far-west Nepal 2009Yearlong fieldwork in Nepal:

• Three month language training and key informant interviews

• Nine months in two fieldsites

My thesis addressed the the following research questions:

• How have the links between Kamaiya bodies and Kamaiya masculinities changed following freedom?

• How are working patterns changing following freedom, and what implications does this have for Kamaiya masculinities?

• What are the Implications of modernity for Kamaiya masculinities in family settings?


Methods

• Household survey

• Life History interviews

• Participant observation

• I wore clothes similar to my research participants and made a conscious effort not to display conspicuous signs of consumption.

• I tried to behave like the men of my age at both fieldwork sites as far as possible. On occasion this involved doing the work that the men in Kampur were involved in, although this did not include driving a rickshaw as the rickshaw drivers found the idea ridiculous.

• I took part in various agricultural and hunting activities.

• I took part in the social life, which posed various difficulties for me.


Positionality

• As Reinharz (1997) indicates, researchers have multiple identities apart from those associated with being a researcher; mine include being white, Welsh, heterosexual, male and, at the time, unmarried.

• My positionality through the various identities I brought to the research – my gender, race, class etc. – influenced both how I collected data and its interpretation (Mullings, 1999)

• My position constituted both an advantage and a disadvantage. West (2003) found that being positioned as an ‘outsider’ brought certain benefits in his research with victims of torture in Mozambique’s war for independence. It allowed some of his research subjects to discuss issues that they found it difficult to speak about with members of their community.


My home for nine months…


Participant Observation - Going ‘hunting’


Migration in Nepal

• In 2001, 760,000 people had officially migrated out of Nepal, 77 per cent of whom had gone to India (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2002).

• Migration is strongly gendered in Nepal, around 90% of those who migrate are men

• Seddon et al (2000) estimate that between 0.5-1.3 million Nepalis temporarily migrate to India.

• Data in South Asia is problematic – particularly between Nepal and India due to the open border


Masculinity and Mobility prior to 2000

• Movement severely restricted.

• Masculine references similarly constrained (cf. Connell, masculinities being relational).

• Extremely clear occupier of the hegemonic position.

• Problematic labourer/landowner relationship.

• The system undermined the notion of a Kamaiya male breadwinner and the ability of Kamaiya men to protect their families.


Experiences of Migration and masculinity • Facilitates new performances of (Indian) masculinity

• In the place where men migrate

• Also in villages when men return

• Potential for mimicry and the learning of new masculine styles and performances

• Money

• Diversification of income

• Migration and ‘breadwinning’

• Certain aspects of (sexual) freedom

• Exciting and new

• Anonymity


Problems associated with migration• Frequent exploitation and mistreatment

• Isolating – often no or limited support network

• No group history of movement

• Low and instable pay

• Pressure of remittances

• Familial expectation to move as they were men

• ‘Success’ through migration difficult to achieve

• Migration has not questioned the link between hard work and successful manliness amongst the Kamaiya


The example of Ram I use in my paper, highlights some of the joys and difficulties of migrating as a man.

Freedom has corresponded with a increased diversity of Kamaiya masculinities. I.e. there are more ways to be a Kamaiya man, but there are also more ways to fail.

Migration is contradictory process in relation to Kamaiya masculinities

• Migration for Kamaiya men is both liberating and restrictive

Following freedom in 2000, migration has become an important marker of being free as this is something that wasn’t possible previously.

Critically, moving is becoming a marker of being a (young) Kamaiya man.

Conclusions


Example 2

Prison masculinities in Scotland (post-doc)


Can FFIT be adapted to attract men to positive lifestyle change in a prison?

Football Fans in Training (FFIT) has helped overweight and obese men lose weight, improve diet, and increase physical activity (Hunt et al, The Lancet, 2014)


p-FFIT masculinity and prison sensitisation

Context

Prisons are largely all-male environments

p-FFIT delivered to men-only groups

Content

Info about science of weight-loss presented simply

Role of alcohol in weight management

FFIT logo branding

Delivery notes adapted to take account of prison context

Style of delivery

PEIs have detailed knowledge of prison context

Participative and peer-supported learning

Encouraged male banter to facilitate discussion of sensitive topics

Testing feasibility of delivering an adapted version of FFIT, p-FFIT was delivered in two prison gyms over course of 12 and 15 weeks


Methods

Prison A

Delivered to 18 prisoners by prison Physical Education Instructors (PEIs)

Data collection Observations of all 15 sessionsInterviews with participants who completed programme (n=9)Interviews with participants who did not complete (n=3)Focus group with PEIs (n = 1)

Delivered to 21 prisoners by

community coaches from a

professional football club

Data collection

Observations of all 12 sessions

Interviews with participants who

completed programme (n=9)

Interviews with PEIs and staff

(n=3)

Prison B


Health in prison contexts

Context-specific challenges to prisoners’ mental and physical well-being

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among male prisoners in the UK is ‘unacceptably high’ (Herbert et al, 2012)

Many prisoners do not take given opportunities to eat healthily and exercise regularly and are less likely to achieve recommended minimum PA guidelines (Herbert et al, 2012)


Prison masculinities

• In (largely male) prisons environments, there are specific performances of masculinity that are structured in hierarchical ways in reference to both orthodox/hegemonic' and 'inclusive' masculinities

Inclusive

masculinity

Orthodox/

hegemonic

masculinity" inclusive form of masculinity

based on social equality for gay

men, respect for women, and

racial parity and one in which...

men bond over emotional

intimacy" (Anderson, 2008, 604)

"masculine performance labeled as

orthodox attempts to approximate

the hegemonic form of masculinity,

largely by devaluing women and

gay men." (Anderson, 2005, 338)

(Bourdieu, 1998) (Connell, 1995)


Prison masculinities

Prison is an ultramasculine world

where nobody talks about

masculinity. (Sabo et al 2001, 3)

…a hegemonically defined

hypermasculine and

heteronormative environment with

an abundance of alpha males,

sexism, and violence. (Jenness and

Fenstermaker, 2013, 13)

…prison facilities are a

…places of great humour and playfulness,

of friendship and camaraderie, of

educational enlightenment, of successful

therapeutic intervention. (Jewkes, 2013,

14).

in their mutual support and

encouragement, it was also possible to

discern sublimated forms of intimacy.

Certainly, the vivid and joyful ways in

which prisoners engaged in collective

exercise, and the sheer amount of physical

horseplay among younger prisoners,

pointed to submerged emotional

sentiments. (Crewe et al, 2013, 11)

Inclusive masculinityOrthodox or hegemonic

masculinity


Orthodox masculinities in the context of the p-FFIT programme

I can understand aboot guys being apprehensive an’ that, ken I think when, especially wi’ everybody else in the hall, ken, an’ you’re goin’ and they’re goin’ “aye, goin’ tae fat club,” an’ a’ this carry on, ken whit I mean? So I could imagine people being apprehensive aboot it, eh. (Prison A - P2)

I was hammering everybody fae the word go.I'm the sort o' person, see once I get up there I don't like anybody beating me, you know? Determined an' that, you know? (Prison B -P11)Ken what I mean? I’ll par—ken, I’ll... I’ll

take—I’ll partake in anythin’ eh? And as

I say when, ken when I got there I was

like that, ‘right, fair enough.’ I mean

you’re only putting your view forward. I

mean we’re in a hostile situation here,

eh? And people dinnae want tae speak

forward in case the boy, two boys doon

does like that, “he’s a fucking idiot,”

excuse my French. (Prison A - P11)


Inclusive masculinity within the context of the p-FFIT programme

I think it was a part of—it was being a part of a group. On the outside I’m a lone person. I’m no’ part of any group. So see learning in a group, and interacting wi’ people, and speaking to people in the group that kept me motivated as well. (Prison A - P11)

it was important for me tae, for me tae do my thing and for me tae tell people that they was doing good at their thing, and encouraging them and pushing them and stuff like that. (Prison A - P3)

Well you’re having a laugh wi’ people

and it’s like yous are losing a wee bit o’

weight an’ you’re kinda like, it’s just

you’re no’ coming an’ you’re no’ like if

you’re coming tae the gym, it’s like

you’re no’ the fattest person in the gym.

So you’re here and yous are all kinda fat,

yous are all here for the same reason.

(Prison B - P3)


Embodied masculinity - The gym, muscularity and weight

You’ve gottae get big, aye, you’ve got a group, your group o’ guys, that’s what they’re intae, their bodybuilding an’ they’re strength things like that. (Prison A - P8)

You want everybody tae go intae a prison an' they all want tae dae the weights, they a’ want tae get big an' strong. That's what they all want tae dae. (Prison B P11)

I actually get people that go like that, “oh

how long did it take you to get that

[large] size?” And this is the first time

I’ve ever trained in my life! Know what I

mean? And I’ve just worked hard at it,

and worked hard, and I explain that to

guys. I just, know what I mean? Guys

were all wanting to get like me, and like

as big as me kinda thing. (Prison B-P1)


Changes to bodies and appearance

I think people in general do take a lot more care of themselves nowadays and it happens more in prison. So you're not automatically in inverted commas 'a poof' if you use face cream and keep yourself clean and... yeah. (Prison A - P4)

When I lost weight I kind o'... I like tae keep my strength up an’ I felt as if when I was losing my weight that I was losing my strength as well, that my strength was falling away. (Prison B - P11)

Some people don't care

aboot themselves 'cause

they're in the jail, they've

hit rock bottom.

(Prison A - P7)


Orthodox to Inclusive masculinity -Group dynamics

I think it was a part of—it was being a part of a group. On the outside I’m a lone person. I’m no’ part of any group. So see learning in a group, and interacting wi’ people, and speaking to people in the group that kept me motivated as well. I mean I enjoyed the group. It’s one of the biggest things I’ll take away fae it has been involved in the group. (Prison A - P11)

...you dinnae want tae be yourself, ‘cause you just single yoursel’ oot, ken whit I mean? As I say you can put yourself the gither as a team an’ you take it on as a team, ken whit I mean? An’ you support each other through it. (Prison A -P2)

Yeah, there was two lads in particular that

were like really taking the piss an’ I

didn’t enjoy that bit. No-one had control

over them. D’you know what I mean?

But other than that everything went

really, really well. (Prison B - P5)


p-FFIT Conclusions

• Masculinity has

• An approach to men's health similar to that taken by FFIT has the potential to be successfully adapted for secure settings.

• A gender and context sensitised health promotion intervention has the potential to facilitate engagement with a cohort of hard to reach and disadvantaged men in a secure setting.

• Performances of both hegemonic/orthodox and inclusive forms of masculinity were evident amongst men who took part in the p-FFIT programme.

• Programmes such as p-FFIT have the potential to enhance more inclusive forms of masculinity.

• There are many, often contradictory implications for masculinities in taking part in programmes to enhance health and wellbeing.

• The embodiment of masculinity within secure institutions necessitates a careful consideration of the sorts of bodies that are seen as desirable in prison, when developing health interventions in this context.

• The p-FFIT programme was successful in attracting some men to positive lifestyle change, but there

are important barriers to making and sustaining change in within secure institutions


Practical exercise

In twos think about a health promotion resource in the form of a leaflet that will communicate men or boys about health.

• Consider how the theory/s of masculinity you

• Consider how you will design the leaflet

• Consider about what subjects you will cover


Masculinity and health – the Haynes Man Manuals

Men & WorkWarning:

Reading this may

seriously improve

your health


[email protected]

www.matthewmaycock.comContacts

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matt maycock understanding masculinity 27th jan 2014

Education

concept of masculinity

public health sciences

masculinity studiesmen

form of masculinity

university of glasgow

inclusive masculinity

health team

health problems