Race, Ethnicity, Difference

Meaningful engagement with men and boys is increasingly recognized as critical to gender equality and equity, necessary not only for women’s empowerment, but also for transforming the social and gender norms that reinforce patriarchy and inequality and harm both women and men. The primary challenge embedded in this work is how to engage men and boys effectively without instrumentalizing them as a pathway to women’s empowerment on the one hand, or marginalizing women and girls in gender equity work on the other.

This paper explores the essential principles required for the development of an effective violence prevention framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and boys, to reduce and prevent violence against women and children.

There is a small, but growing, literature on men and masculinities in indigenous or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts and communities in Australia. We have gathered some of this literature here. This includes articles and reports on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males' health, indigenous men's involvement in violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health, and other issues. Additions are most welcome.

MY MASCULINITY HELPS explores the role of African American men and boys in the prevention of sexual violence. It shows African American male allies (psychologist, professor, peer educator, attorney, pastor, athlete, middle and high school students, activist) demonstrating understanding and support for survivors of sexual violence. Strategies for assistance and prevention are provided. Survivors also share their stories and what has helped them. The film serves as a counter-narrative to often inaccurate and misleading portrayals of African American masculinity.

In violence prevention, we must move beyond simplistic notions of “white men saving brown women from brown men”. Women from CALD and indigenous communities are not necessarily hapless victims, and nor are immigrant and refugee men any more sexist or violent than their English counterparts. In any context – rich or poor, Anglo or otherwise, newly arrived or fifth-generation – work with men must recognise the intersections of race, class, and sexuality which shape men’s lives.

As one of the first studies on Afghan Masculinities and Gender inequality, the overall purpose of the research is to achieve an in-depth understanding of different notions of being a man in Afghanistan and how they contribute to gender inequality. Results affirmed that being a man refers to social roles, behaviours, and meanings prescribed in a particular context.

The EMERGE (Engendering Men: Evidence on Routes to Gender Equality) project has produced a new policy briefing which makes the case for re-framing policy on gender equality in order to more productively factor in men and boys, and suggests actions and approaches that policy makers can take to do this. The briefing, along with an accompanying practice brief and a conceptual framing paper, is available here.
 

The University of San Francisco Center for Asia Pacific Studies is pleased to announce the call for papers for “Constructing Masculinities in Asia” a conference to be held at the University of San Francisco on Thursday, November 3, 2016 and Friday, November 4, 2016.

That we need to work with men and boys has become a key mantra of health programmes globally, particularly those concerned with HIV, violence and more recently sexual and reproductive health and rights, and yet there is very little known about how effective these programmes are, nor of the challenges, opportunities and politics of this work. A special issue of Culture, Health and Sexuality draws together a number of globally recognised authors to reflect on the field, as well as provide provocative insights into the politics and processes of working with men and boys.