The Men and the Monks

Abstract

Abstract This article explores how young novice monks, studying at a Buddhist monastic school in a rural province of northern Thailand, come to understand their developing masculinities. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2021, the article considers the plural forms of masculinity that novice monks are exposed to. In line with dominant strands of theory in gender studies, masculinity here is understood as taking on several potential forms. Forms adhering to normative understandings of how masculinity should be expressed are examined, with a focus on monastic masculinity as it has been described in Buddhist contexts, alongside local Thai lay-masculinities. By examining how novice monks interpret idealized archetypes conforming to each of these masculine forms, the article argues for the value of analyzing youth masculinities in light of normative frameworks.