Unpacking the Man Box makes five vital contributions to our knowledge of men’s conformity to masculine norms and the impacts of this conformity.
The first two contributions help us to map men’s patterns of conformity and non-conformity to traditional masculine norms.
Gender-inequitable norms of masculinity are widely recognised to sustain the disempowerment of women and girls, underpinning inequalities in gender-based access to economic opportunities and decision-making power, as well as harmful practices such as gender-based violence. Dominant forms of masculinity also undermine boys and men’s wellbeing, with particular harm to their physical and psychosocial health.
While empowering women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals remains a cornerstone of gender-based violence (GBV) work, boys and male-identifying youth also play a key role in the prevention of GBV. Providing boys and male-identifying youth with opportunities to explore their identities, reflect on their own understandings of masculinity, and advocate for gender equality are some of the ways they can be allies in advocating for transforming social norms.
Large proportions of the population in Australia have perpetrated domestic or sexual violence. If 1.6 million women (17%) and 548,000 men (6.1%) in Australia have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or previous cohabiting partner since the age of 15, then in turn, large numbers of people are the perpetrators of this violence.
Traditional models of how to be a man face growing criticism in the twenty-first century, with increasing attention to the harms they cause among men, women, and communities. Social norms regarding manhood are diverse across cultures, history, and within any one society. But one version of manhood increasingly is seen as a problem, the version in which men are expected always to be tough, aggressive, risk-taking, stoic, heterosexual, homophobic and transphobic, emotionally inexpressive, hostile to femininity, and dominant.
The concept of caring masculinities emerges from critical scholarship on men and masculinities, where a group of men is identified who express masculinities that seek to break with the most rigid and hegemonic gender mandates, rejecting male domination and adopting, instead, a set of values derived from the ethics of care. By taking responsibility for caring for other people, they also adopt practices that reveal a path towards a balanced division of tasks based on gender.
Men in politics as agents of gender equitable change is a research project that examines why men in politics decide to support gender equality, how they explain and frame their work in this area, and how their actions are perceived by women politicians, activists and students.
What are the links between masculine norms and men’s health outcomes globally?
What implications do these links have for efforts to improve men’s health – alongside efforts to improve the health of women and children – and as part of broader efforts to create healthier, thriving societies?
Programs that engage men and boys in health promotion and violence prevention are proliferating. Many aim to foster “healthy masculinities”, using education and support to involve men and boys in adopting more positive or gender-equitable forms of selfhood and relating.
This paper offers a critical stocktake of 15 'healthy masculinities' programs in one state in Australia, assessing them against common standards for gender-transformative programming among men and boys.
