The rape capital or the most gender-equal country in the world? Masculinity, hybridity and young men’s intimate partner violence in Sweden

Abstract

Feminist scholars have often pointed out that violence is a central tenet of hegemonic masculinity. Due to fundamental changes in gender relations in many Western societies – including increased gender equality and reduced homophobia – masculinity scholars have lately debated whether men’s embracing of ‘inclusive’ values actually results in increased gender equality or if we rather are seeing the emergence of ‘hybrid masculinities’ that incorporate progressive elements while continuing to uphold patriarchal relations and thereby creating new hierarchies between men. Sweden is a case in point as it is considered to be one of the most gender-equal societies. Based on oral and written stories from violent young men, this chapter advocates a poststructuralist and posthumanist approach, where gender equality is seen as a process that deterritorialises masculinity and intimate partner violence, while it territorialises the partner-violent man either as an ethnic Other or as a historical Other. We suggest that young men can combine ‘orthodox’ and ‘inclusive’ practices so that new hierarchies are produced, but not necessarily in novel or strategic ways as argued by the ‘hybridity’ thesis.