Managing masculinities: dynamics of offshore fishing labour in Vietnam

Abstract

Vietnam’s offshore fishing industry remains a space dominated by men, with fish work being tied to notions of what it means to be a man. This paper uses interviews data and participant observation to assess the ways in which masculinities shape and are shaped by labour relations in offshore fishing in Southern Vietnam. Findings show that labour relations are maintained through an emphasis on the abilities of men to do difficult physical work, behavioural expectations associated with masculine norms, and a homosocial bonding culture at sea, in addition to a bonding culture on land that involves drinking and women as entertainment. Multiple masculinities are identified with varying degrees of fluidity as informed especially by class and with dynamics differing at sea versus on land. In a context of fish stock decline and international pressure for strict fisheries reform, efforts to sustain an offshore fishing workforce rely, in part, on the reproduction of a particular local hierarchy of masculinities.