Mapping Masculinities in Portugal: The Observatory on Masculinities Journey Towards Care, Equality and Social Transformation

Chapter 1: Where the Journey Begins: Why the Observatory Was Born?

What kind of societies do we want to build? And what role do masculinities play in it? These questions lie at the heart of the Observatory on Masculinities (Observatório Masculinidades.pt), from the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra (CES-UC). Since its creation in June 2022, the Observatory, coordinated by Tatiana Moura, has been committed to contributing to a more caring, empathetic, and socially just future for all. A future in which masculinities are understood not as fixed identities or restrictive gender roles, but as plural and transformative expressions of gender that can foster care, empathy, equity, and collective wellbeing.

The Observatory emerged from a growing recognition that understanding masculinities is essential for addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing contemporary societies, in an increasingly complex global context. Across the world and generations, patriarchal understandings of masculinity continue to shape power relations, influence political decisions, sustain inequalities, and affect how individuals relate to themselves and to others. It was through the dialogues, debates, and critical reflections fostered by ongoing research on masculinities, gender equality, care, and social justice, combined with years of engagement in national and international projects, partnerships, and collaborative networks, that the foundations for the Observatory on Masculinities were laid.

More than a hub for studying masculinities, it seeks to create spaces where knowledge, practice, and critical collective reflection can come together to challenge harmful gender norms and imagine alternative ways of being, relating, and caring.

Grounded in interdisciplinary feminist perspectives, the Observatory proposes new forms of engagement between academia, professionals working across diverse fields, and wider publics, developing and supporting gender-transformative approaches, while contributing to the analysis, promotion and strengthening of innovative, equitable and inclusive public policies in Portugal. 

Chapter 2: Setting the Direction: Why Care is the Key?

Care occupies a central and non-negotiable position in the Observatory's vision and action. For too long, care has been treated as a private responsibility, almost exclusively limited to the domestic sphere, disproportionately carried by women across the world, and often overlooked and undervalued in political, economic, and social debates. Yet care is what sustains families, communities, and societies. It is also one of the most powerful lenses through which to rethink masculinities.

The Observatory approaches care not simply as a set of practical, near-industrialised set of tasks, but as an ethical and political commitment, and a powerful tool for social change. In a social system where masculinity is commonly associated with control, emotional restraint, competition, or violence, caring masculinities emerge as a powerful alternative. By challenging dominant patriarchal norms, they open space for boys and men's emotional expression, co-responsibility, mutual support, non-violence, and social empathy. At their core lies a simple yet transformative premise: care does not diminish masculinity, but enriches it. Caring masculinities recognise care as a shared human responsibility and affirm men's right to care, to be cared for, and to care for themselves, others, and the world around them.

This perspective informs all dimensions of the Observatory's work. Whether addressing fatherhood, education, youth, media representations, sport, violence prevention, or public policy, the central question remains the same: as a patriarchal society characterized by persistent inequalities, and rigid gender norms that influence people's identities and life trajectories from an early age, how can we create the conditions for more equitable, caring, and non-violent ways of being, relating, and living together?

Chapter 3: Laying the Groundwork: Building Knowledge for Change

The Observatory was established on the understanding that social transformation requires robust evidence, critical reflection, and sustained engagement with society. Its work unfolds across five areas (Childhood and Youth; Fatherhood and Care; Media and Masculinities; Masculinities, Peace, and Violence; Work and Employment), bringing together a team of experts from sociology, international relations, education, communication and media studies, law, human rights, social work, sexuality studies, peace studies, and violence prevention, feeding the adoption of a multidisciplinary approach to understanding how masculinities are shaped, experienced, and transformed across different social contexts. 

Over the years, this work has evolved through a growing portfolio of research projects, educational resources, training programmes, public campaigns, scientific publications, and collaborative networks, all connected by a common commitment: advancing more caring, equitable, and non-violent futures for all. 

The First Steps: PARENT and KINDER

The Observatory's trajectory was shaped by years of research and collaboration that predated its formal creation. Two landmark European projects played a particularly important role in making the Observatory's first footprint at the European level, each addressing a distinct but complementary dimension of gender studies and masculinities: the PARENT and KINDER projects.

PARENT (Promotion, Awareness Raising and Engagement of Men in Nurture Transformations) was centred on men's active engagement in caregiving and co-responsible parenting. Led by CES and developed through partnerships involving Portugal, Italy, Lithuania, and Austria, it examined how fathers and other men can be more fully involved in nurture, care, and family life, while also contributing to broader cultural shifts around parenting and responsibility.

KINDER (Tackling gender stereotypes in education and early childhood: building a Gender-Responsive Pedagogy in Children´s Education) focused on challenging gender stereotypes from the earliest stages of life, with particular attention to education and early childhood settings. Headed by CES in partnership with organisations from Spain and Croatia, it explored how gender norms are formed and reproduced in educational contexts, and how more gender-responsive pedagogies can support change.

Together, these projects addressed two interconnected challenges: while KINDER focused on how gender stereotypes are formed and reproduced from the earliest stages of life, PARENT explored how these same norms continue to shape expectations around caregiving, parenting, and the division of responsibilities within families. Taken together, they highlighted the importance of transforming gender norms across the life course, from childhood to adulthood, while promoting more equitable and caring social relations.

Beyond research, both initiatives generated practical tools and methodologies designed to support change across educational, family, and policy settings. Their legacy includes resources such as the PARENT European Manual, the book BE KINDER: Unravelling Paths to Address Gender Stereotypes in Education and Early Childhood, educational toolkits, policy recommendations, training programmes, and awareness-raising campaigns. The projects also gave rise to initiatives such as #I ’mAFather (#EuSouPai) and #I ’mAMother (#EuSouMãe), which challenged traditional assumptions about parenting roles and promoted more equitable distributions of care responsibilities, as part of the PARENT initiative. Also, within the KINDER project, the Let’s Talk? (Vamos Conversar?) conversation cards were produced in collaboration with the Global Boyhood Initiative, encouraging dialogue with children and young people about gender, emotions, relationships and care.

These initiatives helped establish a defining characteristic of the Observatory's work: the ability to connect scientific knowledge with practical tools capable of generating social change.

Broadening the Horizon: New Fields of Research and Action

As the Observatory grew, so too did the diversity of themes and contexts through which masculinities were explored and comprehended by our team.

The X-MEN project (Masculinities, Empathy and Non-Violence) represented an important milestone. Developed with international partners from Spain and Croatia, it focused on violence prevention among youth at risk (in Portugal, across all Youth Detention Centres), promoting empathy, emotional literacy, and caring masculinities. The project developed training programmes, policy recommendations, and educational resources, including the toolkit “X-MEN: Masculinities, Empathy and Non-Violence” and the publication of the book “Lives on Hold: Masculinities, Empathy and Non-Violence: A Study with Youngsters in Portuguese Youth Detention Centres”.

Other initiatives broadened the Observatory's engagement with different social spheres. IgualPro, coordinated by CITE (Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment), addressed gender segregation in educational and professional pathways by challenging gender stereotypes that shape career aspirations and educational choices from an early age. DeCode/M, also led by CES, became the first comprehensive study on media and masculinities in Portugal, analysing how masculinities are represented, consumed, and contested across traditional and digital media environments.

Meanwhile, the Engaging Men in Nurturing Care Initiative (EMiNC), coordinated by the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) in partnership with Centro per la Salute del Bambino (Italy), Observatório Masculinidades.pt/CES-UC (Portugal), CONEXUS and Plural Centre de Masculinitats (Spain), reinforced the Observatory's long-standing commitment to fatherhood and caregiving. Through training programmes for pre and in-service education and health professionals, policy engagement activities, and the development of a Roadmap for practitioners and decision-makers, the project aimed to promote men's involvement in childcare and early childhood education. Among its key outputs was the report State of Southern European Fathers 2024, which examines fathers' participation in caregiving across Italy, Portugal and Spain, highlighting both persistent inequalities and the transformative potential of men's greater engagement in care.

Deepening the intersections between gender equality, masculinities and sport, EQUI-Champions (Promoting Inclusion, Gender Equity and Non-Violent Models of Masculinities in Sports Environments), coordinated by CES-UC in partnership with Status M (Croatia), Luta Pela Paz (Brazil), and Fútbol Más (Spain), explored how sporting environments can foster inclusion, respect, and non-violent masculinities. Combining research and training activities with sports students and professionals, the project produced a Toolkit, a digital campaign called Our Shared Values, and a free online gamified course to equip sports professionals with knowledge and practical tools on how to create safer and more gender-equitable sporting environments.

Current projects continue to expand these conversations through different areas of intervention. Carers for a Day: For a Lifetime Experience. Transforming Masculinities to Drive More Men into the Care Sector, led by the Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment (CITE) in partnership with CES-UC, APPDI (Portugal), Status M (Croatia) and Fundación Iniciativa Social (Spain), seeks to challenge gender stereotypes in care professions. Combining research on the State of Boyhood, school-based interventions, job-shadowing experiences, and policy advocacy, the project encourages boys and young men to consider care-related careers while contributing to the reduction of occupational gender segregation.

Bringing together concerns around wellbeing, education, and gender, SafeBot (Supporting Adolescents' Feelings & Emotions Through a Chatbot for a Whole-School Approach to Students' Emotional Education and Well-Being), coordinated by Colegio Ferroviario (Spain) and developed with partners from Spain, Bulgaria, Italy, Belgium, Romania, and Portugal, supports schools in creating emotionally safe and inclusive learning environments. Its main outputs include a Pedagogical Toolkit for teachers, the SafeBot chatbot for student emotional support, and a digital library featuring resources on mental health and wellbeing.

These projects illustrate the Observatory's commitment to understanding and transforming masculinities across the spaces where they are learned, experienced, and negotiated: from childhood, education, and caregiving to youth, sport, media, work, and family life. Rather than treating masculinities as an isolated field of study, we approach them as a multidimensional lens through which we are able to understand and transform uniqual gender norms, power relations, and social structures that shape everyday life.

Chapter 4: Along the Way: Learning, Dialogue, and Collective Reflection

The Observatory has actively sought to create opportunities for learning, exchange, and critical engagement that connect scientific knowledge with everyday realities, fostering the democratisation of knowledge and strengthening dialogue between academia and society. This commitment has taken shape through a wide range of training initiatives, public events, and educational activities.

Among them is the Advanced Training Course “Reimagining the Mask We Live In: Masculinities, Trauma and Care”, first held in 2023, in partnership with the CES-UC Trauma Observatory and the Master’s programs in Sociology and International Relations from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra. The Course brought together researchers, practitioners, and activists to explore critical perspectives on masculinities, care, and social transformation. Following its successful first edition, the course is expected to continue in future editions.

The Observatory has also organised numerous seminars and workshops, including the “Masculinities in Debate” webinar series, creating spaces where academics, professionals, and wider audiences can engage with contemporary discussions on gender, care, violence prevention, and social justice. The most recent edition (2025/2026) focused on the EQUI-Champions project and explored the potential of Sports for Development approaches to promote inclusion, equity, and non-violent masculinities in (and through) sports environments.

Given its significance and scope, it is also worth highlighting the Masculinities in Perspective Forum, developed in partnership with MenTalks association and CIG (Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality). Now in its third edition, the Forum has established itself as a key initiative for dialogue, knowledge exchange and collaboration, bringing together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, activists and civil society organisations to reflect on the challenges and possibilities surrounding masculinities in contemporary societies.

The Observatory's commitment to public engagement also extends to schools, communities, and professional settings. Through initiatives such as CES Goes to School (CES Vai à Escola), alongside educational resources, training methodologies, and participatory activities, it contributes to the democratisation of knowledge and the development of critical literacy on gender, masculinities, and social change.

Chapter 5: Taking the Conversation Further: Communicating Masculinities in the Digital Age

Alongside research and training, science communication has become an increasingly important dimension of the Observatory's work. In a world immersed in digital technologies and rapidly evolving forms of communication, the Observatory has expanded its presence through its website and social media platforms, creating new opportunities to engage wider audiences in conversations about masculinities, care, and social transformation. 

One of the most significant examples of this work is the Men Who Care campaign, developed through the Observatory's role as a regional coordinator of MenCare and developed in partnership with the EMiNC initiative, with support from Equimundo through the Caring Masculinities Fund. The campaign emerged from a simple but powerful premise: caregiving is not a gendered responsibility, but a shared human one. By engaging men and boys across Portugal, through short interviews, in conversations about their experiences and understandings of care, the campaign generated a series of Vox Pop videos that brought these organic reflections into the public sphere. Complementing this work, a series of social media content translated key findings and recommendations from the EMiNC project into accessible and engaging messages for professionals, organisations, policymakers, fathers, and wider audiences. The campaign also gave rise to the podcast Fatherhood Without Borders, creating space for conversations on fatherhood, care, and masculinities through the voices of fathers, contributing to making fathers' perspectives and experiences more visible and relevant in everyday discussions around care.

The Observatory's growing role within international care and gender equity networks was further recognised through its participation in the MenCare Changemakers Summit, held this year in Rio de Janeiro. As regional MenCare coordinators and key stakeholders in the promotion of caring masculinities, Tatiana Moura, co-coordinator of the Observatory, presented the Men Who Care campaign and shared the key findings from the State of Portuguese Fathers, produced as part of the State of the World's Fathers 2026, reinforcing the Observatory's contribution to global conversations on caregiving, gender equality, and masculinities.

Chapter 6: Expanding the Horizon: From Portugal to Europe and Beyond

The Observatory is not confined by national borders. Its work is the product of a collective endeavour, an ongoing collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and civil society organisations. Furthermore, it is reinforced and sustained by a vibrant network of international partnerships, collaborations, and shared learning processes that have enriched its knowledge, broadened its perspectives, and amplified its capacity for social transformation.

Its projects have brought together partners from across Europe, contributing to the development of comparative research, innovative methodologies, professional training programmes, educational resources, and robust evidence-based policy recommendations.

Beyond individual projects, the Observatory actively engages with international networks and alliances such as Equimundo, Brasília University, Maria João Aleixo Institute, Complutense University of Madrid, Observatory on Masculinities from Miguel Hernández University, MenCare Global Campaign, Global MenEngage Alliance, MenEngage Iberia Alliance, Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict, Global Boyhood Initiative, and European Communication Research and Education Association. 

A particularly significant expression of this international engagement has been the Observatory's contribution, alongside Equimundo and MenCare, to landmark global and regional reports on fatherhood. These include successive editions of the State of the World's Fathers (one of the most comprehensive global studies on men's involvement in caregiving and parenting, drawing on evidence from hundreds of studies and datasets worldwide and providing recommendations for governments, employers and civil society organisations), as well as the State of Southern European Fathers 2024: Building Evidence for Engaging Men in Nurturing Care in Italy, Portugal and Spain, developed within the EMiNC initiative. While the former offers a global perspective on how masculinities shape fathers' wellbeing, relationships, caregiving practices, and social participation, the latter examines fathers' involvement in caregiving across Southern Europe, revealing persistent inequalities in the distribution of care while highlighting the transformative potential of men's greater engagement in nurturing care for children, families, and societies. 

These reports and alliances stand as tangible evidence of the Observatory's growing European and global footprint, positioning it as an active contributor to international conversations, evidence-building efforts, and policy debates on masculinities.

Chapter 7: Designing Change: The Observatory's Transformative Approaches

Across all its dimensions of research and intervention, the Observatory adopts a gender-transformative approach that seeks not only to understand gender inequalities but to address their root causes. Rather than focusing exclusively on individual attitudes and behaviours, this approach examines and challenges the social norms, institutional practices, and power relations that sustain unequal social relations. In doing so, they promote alternative ways of relating and organising social life, grounded in care, co-responsibility, equity, and empathy.

A clear example of this gender-transformative approach is Program P ("P" for Pai in Portuguese and Padre in Spanish), developed within the global MenCare campaign and grounded in evidence from the IMAGES study (International Men and Gender Equality Survey). Designed for professionals working in health, education, and community settings, Program P provides practical tools and participatory methodologies to engage fathers and caregivers in critical reflection on gender norms, parenting, caregiving, gender equality, self-care, and violence prevention. By creating safe spaces for dialogue and learning, the programme supports more equitable, caring and involved forms of fatherhood while challenging restrictive gender norms that continue to shape family and social life.

Chapter 8: Leaving a Mark: Publications and Knowledge Production

The Observatory's research has translated into a growing body of publications that contribute to contemporary debates on masculinities, addressing themes such as caring masculinities and engaged fatherhood, empathy and non-violence, gender-transformative education, youth at risk and violence prevention, masculinities and sports, firearms and armed violence, sexual violence, peacebuilding, and feminist approaches to social transformation. 

Recent highlights include the edited volume “Lives on Hold: Masculinities, Empathy and Non-Violence” (2026), which examines the experiences of young people in Portuguese educational institutions, linking life trajectories marked by violence, poverty, and family breakdown to the construction of rigid and unequal masculinities; the article “Under the Sights of Masculinity: The Demand for Firearms in Brazil” in the international collection Give Peace a Chance: Local Experiences for Global Challenges (2026), exploring the connections between masculinities, peacebuilding and social justice; the article "Will Boys Be Boys? Be KINDER: Deconstructing Stereotypes from Childhood. The Case of Portugal" (2024), exploring how gender stereotypes are reproduced from early childhood and how they can be challenged through educational interventions; analysing the potential of sport as a space for fostering caring masculinities, promoting gender equality and preventing gender-based violence among younger generations. 

Final Chapter: The Road Ahead

The Observatory on Masculinities stem from a commitment to building a future grounded in care, equality, and social justice. That commitment remains unchanged. In a world marked by persistent inequalities, growing polarisation, and renewed challenges to gender justice, understanding masculinities and gendered power relations remains essential to imagining and building more equitable futures.

Let us emphasise this premise: gender inequalities do not affect only women and girls; they shape the lives, opportunities, relationships, and well-being of people across all genders, ages, races, religions, etc., albeit in different ways. Understanding gender socialisation, and masculinities in particular, allows us to adopt a more holistic perspective on these unequal dynamics and their impacts across different social spheres, institutions, and identities. Meaningful systemic change towards equity requires recognising the systemic inequalities that continue to structure our societies and how gender norms contribute to their reproduction and conservation. Ultimately, advancing gender equity benefits everyone. And that’s the commitment of the Observatory on Masculinities.

References and Links