Masculine Role Research Articles

Jane Austen et le questionnement des genres

If Jane Austen admits in her correspondence that she was eventually pleased with Thomas Gisborne’s Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex (1797), the Anglican theologian nonetheless endorsed the prejudices shared by most eighteenth-century moralists towards novels. Now, in Northanger Abbey, a novel filled with literary allusions, Jane Austen’s narrator bravely takes the opposite view by launching into a bold defence of the genre. Besides resorting to a biting irony to scrutinize her society’s axioms, rules and power relations, her novels notably question Manichean representations of masculine and feminine roles. Jane Austen’s choice to distance herself from the strictly gendered models inherited from conduct books, sentimental, or gothic novels, further combines with her questioning of generic conventions. This article thus aims at exploring how Jane Austen engaged with these representations while articulating her subtle didacticism. Her aim was not merely to raise the respectability of the novel genre, but also to provide a possible answer to the crisis of values that was threatening the very foundations of the political and social order.

Masculine gender role stress and self-stigma of seeking help: The moderating roles of self-compassion and self-coldness.

Many college men express stigma of seeking psychological help, possibly due to masculine gender role socialization proscribing help seeking. However, not every man who buys into restrictive masculine roles expresses self-stigma of seeking help, suggesting the presence of potential moderating variables. The present study examined self-compassion and self-coldness as potential moderating variables on the associations between men's masculine gender role stress and self-stigma of seeking help. College men (N = 777) were recruited via e-mail to participate in a brief online survey. Structural equation modeling revealed that masculine gender role stress was positively associated with self-stigma and self-coldness but was negatively associated with self-compassion. Both self-compassion and self-coldness were significant moderators. Men with low levels of self-compassion evidenced the strongest positive associations between masculine gender role stress and self-stigma, whereas men with low (but not high) self-coldness evidenced positive associations with self-stigma. These findings highlight differences between self-compassion and self-coldness and suggest that high levels of self-compassion may be a protective factor in reducing the associations between rigid masculinities and men's stigma of seeking help. By contrast, men with extremely negative and critical self-views may be likely to report stigma of seeking help regardless of their endorsement of rigid masculinities. Intervention and prevention implications include helping men enhance their self-compassion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

“Brave men” and “emotional women”: A literature review on gendered norms towards patients with pain

Abstract Background More women than men report chronic pain but despite the large body of research on sex differences there is a lack of knowledge on the influence of social and cultural gender. As gender norms can lead to gender bias in health care it is important to raise awareness about them. The purpose of this study was to illustrate gendered norms about men and women with chronic pain in scientific journals, and to analyze how societal norms are reproduced in health care. Methods A literature search of the databases PsycINFO, CINAHL and PubMed was conducted, January 2000 to April 2015, with the search term chronic pain combined with femininity, masculinity, gender bias, gender stereotypes and gender roles. A total of 77 articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed qualitatively. The integrative approach enabled a review of articles from both social and medical sciences, and to include qualitative and quantitative research. The material was sorted into theoretical categories and further coded into substantive categories. Results The included articles showed a variety of gendered norms about men’s and women’s experience and expression of pain, their identity, lifestyle and coping style. Women were described as emotional and hysterical, constantly dealing with mistrust from health care. Men were pictured as brave, stoic and struggling with their sense of masculinity. Prevailing societal norms are consolidated in health care, positioning the masculine man as the ideal patient. Conclusions Gender stereotypes are reproduced in healthcare, which can lead to gender bias in the treatment of patients with pain. The findings were used to develop a tool, “the pain cube”, aimed to improve health care providers’ consciousness about gendered norms. Key messages Men and women with chronic pain are depicted in a stereotypical way in scientific articles. Increased awareness about gendered norms can support health care professionals in providing equitable care.

Gender bias and stereotypes in Australian, Singaporean and Turkish mathematics textbooks

This cross-national study aimed to examine gender bias and stereotypes in Australian, Singaporean and Turkish elementary mathematics textbooks. Content analysis approach was used to provide descriptive statistics about the number of male/female and gender-neutral characters in the textbooks. Findings indicated that total frequencies in textbook contents including no gender bias was under nine percent in all textbooks. No gender bias was more prevalent across the grade levels in Australian textbooks. Singaporean mathematics textbooks had more discrepancy between the percentages of boys’ and girls’ representations than the representations in Turkish and Australian textbooks. In terms of math-gender stereotypes, all textbooks across grade levels were generally neutral. Social roles in mathematics textbooks across the countries had more variation for men than women with higher frequencies in all countries. The masculine roles were commonly attributed to men with more technical and intellectual tendency while domestic roles were ascribed to females.

DETERMINANTS OF FEMINIZATION OF MIGRATION IN TSHOLOTSHO DISTRICT OF ZIMBABWE

Tsholotsho District is one of the most significant contributors of migrants in Zimbabwe. Until recently, many of these migrants have been males, with females remaining behind assuming both feminine and masculine roles. Of late, however, females are increasingly venturing in migration expeditions. Why is this the case? Are women taking up economic roles in a society that has largely relegated them to familial responsibilities? What determines their increasing participation in a male dominated practice? These questions are answered in this paper based on a research conducted in Ward 5 of Tsholotsho District in 2016 as well as continued interaction with interlocutors till present day. The results indicated that reasons for feminized migration cut across different realms such as fleeing unfavourable economic conditions, to unite with their migrant spouses, to contribute towards diversifying household income sources, and fleeing unhappy marriages and burdensome familial controls among others. This led the researcher to firmly conclude that feminization of migration is a new reality and future of Tsholotsho’s migration trajectory, one that will be accompanied by resultant problems and opportunities. It will require therefore, careful migration management systems in the country to harness the benefits of this migration typology while offsetting the possible problems.

Bringing fear into focus: The intersections of HIV and masculine gender norms in Côte d'Ivoire.

This qualitative research study explored the role of masculinity in men’s engagement in the HIV care continuum in Côte d’Ivoire. The researchers conducted 73 in-depth interviews and 28 focus group discussions with 227 Ivoirian men between November and December 2016 across three urban sites. Participants in the study expressed that fear was the primary barrier to HIV testing and treatment. These men described five value domains–health, sexuality, work and financial success, family, and social status. Men saw HIV as a direct threat to their agency and strength with respect to each of these value domains, thus shedding light on their reluctance to discover their HIV status through HIV testing. With this data, the researchers created the Masculine Values Framework, a descriptive framework of masculine values that can be applied to better understand the behavior men exhibit in Côte d’Ivoire in the face of HIV. The Masculine Values Framework offers practical guidance for developing gender-sensitive HIV-focused social and behavior change programming in Côte d’Ivoire and similar contexts to reach the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets.

Prosthetic Memories in <em>The Sopranos</em>

Prosthetic Memories in <em>The Sopranos</em>

SOCIAL GENDER ROLES IN PERCEPTION OF FEMALE AND MALE POLISH STUDENTS

The aim of the study was to reveal social gender roles in the perception of male and female Polish students. The social gender roles have been examined in the context of cultural consensus.
 The Cultural Models Scenario has been used with 223 participants. The research method is based on series of brief scenarios that were created with an anthropological methodology. After in-depth interviews in Polish society, basic social roles were described in scenarios. In the first phase the group of respondents (N = 104) evaluated the gender social norms in the scenarios. In the second phase the following group with similar socioeconomical characteristic (N = 119) answered the questions while the opposite sex were introduced into the scenarios.
 The results revealed that women were valued higher compared to men in, both stereotypical and non-stereotypical social roles. This confirms the consideration of Polish culture as female. Although women were assessed higher in the least valued social roles and most of the valued domains related to work – what prompts the masculinity of a culture. The masculine social role turned out to be perceived as clearly traditional – mostly limited to financial resources, particularly in the women’s perspective. The least recognized social role with strong negative social consensus was a 40-year old single man. A single man turned out to be the least socially approved which may explain the poor psychological functioning of single men in the context of social consonance.

"A Normal Amount of Masculine Hardness": Representations of Male Nurses in 1960s West Germany.

The nursing studies narrative of the role of masculinity can be summarized as follows: hegemonic masculinity prevents men from doing care work. An analysis of public relations efforts to recruit male nurses in West Germany during the 1960s does not provide evidence for such a link. Representing nursing as compatible with hegemonic masculinity was also able to legitimize the existence of male nurses, while the idea of promoting gender equality in nursing was advocated by exactly those institutions that enabled the eventual gender inequality within the profession. Finally, the thesis of hegemonic masculinity as some kind of anti-caregiving agent comes into question because of the success of the civilian service in West Germany, despite the gender shaming used to deter men from enlisting in it.

Governing Global Value Chains: The Role of Masculinities

Despite decades of action and research on labour governance mechanisms to address damaging inequities in global value chains (GVCs), progressive change remains slow. Our critical review proposes co...

Performing Gender, Gender as Performance: Politics, Aesthetics and Performativity in Dacia Maraini’s ‘Barricade’ Theatre

Dacia Maraini’s 1970s dramaturgical oeuvre, which the author has identified as her most ‘barricade’ theatre, evidences an undisputable commitment to the cause of second-wave Italian feminism. While the connection between social protest and women’s self-representation in Maraini’s theatre has amply, and convincingly, been discussed (Sumeli Weinberg 1993; Cavallaro 2000; Mariani: 1998, 2000; Cruciata 2003; Marinelli and Matassa 2008), her use of feminist ideology in disrupting existing aesthetic conventions has received scarce scholarly attention. Current criticism of feminist theatre in general, and of Maraini’s in particular, seems to privilege the dramatic text at the expenses of an equally as important analysis of the visual aspects of the theatrical performance per se. This article acknowledges the dramatic work as an embodied form of narration that, as such, is best analysed by taking into account, also, its aesthetic components. It discusses two plays, Il Manifesto (1969) and La donna perfetta (1974), that are representative of Maraini’s gender politics and theatrical aesthetics at the time they were written. Looking not just at the written text, but also at the original video recordings of the performances, the aim of my study is twofold. Firstly, it assesses the use of theatre in rethinking the representation of women’s gender roles in 1970s. Secondly, it foregrounds the impact of feminist ideology in rupturing existing dramatic conventions. Continuing the line of mimetic rejection inaugurated in the Italian context by Luigi Pirandello amongst others, whilst also distancing itself from the excess of experimentalism of the coeval neo-avant-garde, Maraini’s feminist theatre proves a convincing political tool to restore the voice of women’s long silenced body — with the focus on the theatrical (in the sense of both dramatic and deliberately exaggerated) nature of the gendered identity performed on stage. Starting from the premise that our masculine and feminine roles are not rooted in biology or anatomy, but in codes of behaviour that are learned and then re-enacted on a daily basis (Butler 1988, 1999), the plays discussed here exemplify the way in which feminist performance can become a privileged site through which these reiterations emerge, and theatre the space that makes this emergence possible.

MASCULINITY, ILL HEALTH, HEALTH HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOR AND HEALTH MAINTENANCE OF DIABETIC MALE PATIENTS: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

Background: Literature revealed that men tends to use healthcare services much lesser and visit much later, resulting in poor health outcomes. This is often regarded as a way of exhibiting masculinity. In Brunei, there is an increasing number of mortality resulting from the complication of diabetes mellitus, a non-communicable disease, which arguably can be prevented.
 Objectives: To explore their health-help seeking behavior and health maintenance pattern of male diabetic patients in Brunei.
 Methods: Qualitative research guided by phenomenology research design. COREQ Checklist was used to prepare the report of this study. Individual semi-structured interview on eleven men were conducted from February to November 2018. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed thematically.
 Results: Three themes were developed: “Maintaining health to enable the performance of masculine roles”, “Men delay seeking healthcare services”, and “Maintaining control and self reliance in looking after own sick body”. 
 Conclusion: Health is perceived as important - it enables men to perform their ‘masculine responsibilities’. When men are in ill-health and realized how this could jeopardize their masculine roles, they would actively involve in taking care of their own body. This suggested how masculinity is in fact context –dependent. Level of knowledge and experiences with healthcare services and treatments also influenced men decision in health-help. Despite evidence that suggests how men often decline involvement with health promoting activities and delay seeking health from healthcare professionals, it was found that being able to continue supporting their family act as a legitimate reason for them to access healthcare services.

Women in the Zulu state

The cult of personality of Shaka Zulu and the conception of masculinity that characterises it, has today become a symbol of the patriarchal nature of pre-colonial states in Southern Africa. These states were supposedly constructed in a way that enslaved women through the system of polygamous marriage, with a form of reverse-dowry known as Lobola, acting as payment for the bride-to-be. However, this narrative relies on two questionable premises. Firstly, that the concept of marriage as defined by the European Christian church is the comparative through which polygamy should be linguistically and culturally translated. And secondly, that the institution of polygamy only placed men in a position of authority and power. This essay aims to explore these premises through questioning the way in which the narrative of Zulu masculinity has allowed for the construction of a historiography that has ignored the political and economic structures of polygamy. Furthermore, I will explore the idea of all-female polygamous unions, and what their role within the centralised state structure of the Zulu state might tell us about the role of women - even prior to Shaka Zulu’s consolidation of power. My aim is to allow for an informed reflection on cause and affect of gender-based inequality and the role of masculinity within post-colonial societies through investigating the pre-colonial past.

Canadian men's health stigma, masculine role norms and lifestyle behaviors.

Men are at high risk for both morbidity and premature mortality from several of the most common serious diseases. Although numerous factors have been identified to explain men's risk, this study focused on the relationship between lifestyle behaviors, health-related self-stigma and masculine role norms. An age and location stratified sample of 2000 Canadian men completed measures assessing five lifestyle behaviors (smoking, alcohol use, sleep, diet and exercise), a screen for depression, and measures of self-stigma and masculine role norms. The results showed that elements of both health-related self-stigma and masculine role norms were associated with increased risk for being above the clinical threshold for four of the lifestyle behaviors and depression. The most frequent and largest relationships were associated with exercise and depression. The total number of lifestyle behaviors for which participants were above the clinical cut-points was also associated with self-stigma and masculine role norms. These findings demonstrate the importance of health-related self-stigma and masculine role norms as potential barriers to men's health and well-being.

Indiscretions of an Italian Lover: Montgomery Clift, Masculinity, and Melodrama

ABSTRACTThis article utilizes production documents found in the David O. Selznick Collection to explore the role of masculinity as it is constructed in Stazione Termini (1953). More specifically, it seeks to reframe Montgomery Clift, the film’s lead actor, as an inetto: an inept masculine character who repeatedly submits to the commands of both Mary, his lover, and her adolescent nephew, Paul. Traditionally an archetype found in Italian comedy, Clift’s performance exemplifies the role of the inetto in the context of melodrama. While the comedic inetto demands centre stage in its film, the melodramatic inetto is instead pushed into the periphery, queering the heteronormative representation of the male leading character and undermining traditional notions of masculinity. The production files reinforce this reading.

Relación entre las normas de género y el consumo de alcohol: una revisión sistemática

There are different profiles of alcohol consumption for men and women, and different courses and prognoses associated with problems caused by alcohol abuse. There is evidence of these differences by sex, but research on their links to differences associated with gender dimensions is scarcer. In order to know what has been researched on the subject, this article reviews the literature regarding the relationship between conformity with gender norms and alcohol use and/or abuse in adults. A systematic review was conducted using the electronic databases of PubMed, PsycINFO and ScienceDirect. Twenty-four articles published in English or Spanish were included and analysed. The main findings were: 1) conformity to norms associated with traditional masculine role (dominance, womanising, aggressiveness, risk behaviours) is related to greater alcohol use; 2) conformity to norms associated with traditional feminine role (interest in home life and family care) is related with lower alcohol use. These findings provide evidence of the relationship between dimensions associated with gender and drinking. It is considered that the possibilities of modifying beliefs and gender patterns linked to risk behaviours is an aspect to be taken into account in the field of prevention, with the development of gender measures a necessary task to further deepen the study of these relationships.

Health help-seeking by men in Brunei Darussalam: masculinities and 'doing' male identities across the life course.

Using data collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with 37 adult men living in Brunei Darussalam, this paper explores how masculinities and expectations about male roles across the life course influence men's perceptions, of and attitudes towards health and health help-seeking behaviour. Bruneian men gave accounts that consistently spoke of a series of masculine roles and associated attributes and behaviours, which mapped across the life course. Men described health and the steps that they had taken to protect their health in terms of responsibilities associated with being a breadwinner, provider of support for parents, role model and leader of the family. Whilst adherence to Bruneian norms about masculinity could obstruct men's engagement with health help-seeking, we also found that men mobilised their understanding of Bruneian masculinity such that it provided culturally legitimate way of engaging in health help-seeking. We conclude by considering implications for further development of conceptualisations of masculinities, particularly responding to the call to consider Connell's theory of 'hegemonic masculinity' in the context of the Global South. We also consider the implications of the findings of this research for policy and practice in provision of health promotion and services in Brunei.

A systematic review of adherence to masculinity in men with psychosis

Background Men experiencing psychotic phenomena may struggle with adherence to masculinity norms, but the evidence base has received little attention.Aim To review systematically the available evidence of adherence to masculinity in men with psychosis.Method A systematic search of quantitative studies was undertaken using four databases. A total of 294 articles was identified. After the selection process, nine studies met the full text criteria for the review.Results Seven studies reported males either choosing less masculine roles or scoring lower on traditional masculine descriptive measures compared to controls. One study showed that participants held a masculine disposition, and one study found no significant difference of role preference between the experimental or control groups.Conclusion The review indicated that men with psychosis may be more likely to have a feminine gender identity, but the overall evidence lacked quality, particularly in study design and statistical rigour. New studies using more rigorous empirical methods are needed to revisit questions concerning gender identity.

Smokeless Tobacco and the Rural Teen: How Culture and Masculinity Contribute to Adolescent Use

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Smokeless tobacco (SLT) is primarily used by younger, rural males and often in the presence of other males. This formative study examined how hegemonic masculinity and male norms can lead to initiation and continued use of SLT by rural adolescent males and females. Survey data collected from high school sophomores in 4 rural high schools (n = 293) explores perceptions of masculinity and male norms’ contribution to SLT uptake and use. About 22.5% of total sample reported lifetime use (34.4% male, 13.7% female), 10.9% reported past-month use (20.0% male, 4.2% female). Logistic regressions show a one-unit increase in adherence to traditional perceptions of masculinity more than doubled the odds of ever using SLT and significantly increased odds of 30-day use. Having male household family members who uses SLT significantly increased the odds of lifetime and 30-day SLT use for both genders, while having male family members who smoke cigarettes was not a significant correlate. Recognition of health warnings on SLT packaging was negatively associated with SLT use for both genders. Implications for inclusion of masculinity and male role models in SLT prevention intervention strategies are discussed.

Translating and adapting cinema across borders: American remakes of Italian films in the twenty-first century

Study of global cinematic production shows that filmmakers constantly draw on stories from other cultural and historical traditions, and almost all films are a product of intertextuality: they are all derivative works in some sense. In this article, I focus on a specific kind of cinematic adaptation: remakes. I consider three American remakes of Italian films of the twenty-first century: Tony Goldwyn’s The Last Kiss (2006) from Gabriele Muccino’s L’ultimo bacio (The Last Kiss) (2001); Kirk Jones’ Everybody’s Fine (2009) from Giuseppe Tornatore’s Stanno tutti bene (Everybody’s Fine) (1990); and Rob Marshall’s Nine (2009) from Federico Fellini’s 81/2 (8 1/2) (1963) via Yeston’s stage production Nine (1982). My article illustrates how ‘the foreign’ (Italian cinema) is appropriated and domesticated, to some extent, in American cinema as a means to respond to a cultural crisis about masculinity and male social roles within the status quo. Italian source texts help expand the narrow American definition of male identity and enrich the well-established cinematic subgenre of male melodrama.