Guide to Promoting Gender Equality: The Role of Men, Tesis de Biología Humana

¡Descarga Guide to Promoting Gender Equality: The Role of Men y más Tesis en PDF de Biología Humana solo en Docsity! MEN, EQUALITY AND NEW MASCULINITIES G U I D E gizonduz Collaborator: 5 INDEX PRESENTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1 . EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2 . REASONS FOR THE CHANGE IN MEN TOWARDS EQUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 3 . SOCIALISATION AND MASCULINITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4 . HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4 .1 . Men and Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 4 .2 . Men and Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 4 .3 . Masculinity and the Culture of Risk Taking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 5 . THE PROBLEMS OF GENDER FOR MEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 6 . MALE VIOLENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 6 .1 . Violence against women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 6 .2 . Some myths about violence against women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 6 .3 . Micro machismos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 6 .4 . The ideal of romantic love and partner relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 7 . MEN FOR EQUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 7 .1 . Some data related to changes at the symbolic level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 7 .2 . Some data relating to real change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 7 .3 . So, what’s happening to equality? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 8 . CHANGE IN MEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 8 .1 . Work groups for the liberation of men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 8 .2 . Men for equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 9 . SOME IDEAS FOR CHANGE IN MEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 RESENTATION The social and personal benefits which equality affords has lead to the fact that an in- creasing number of men, with an ever increasing degree of influence have created new egal- itarian models relating to different forms of masculine identity . These latter are what are known today as new masculinities . These new masculinities bring many positive conse- quences to bear on men in the area of personal development and in their private lives . Fur- thermore, they contribute greatly to the construction of a more egalitarian society and the positive advancement of equality between women and men . Regarding this work many Basque men are participating in the creation and deepening awareness of egalitarian models of masculinity . They take part in discussion groups, per- sonal growth and training or have joined associations of Men for Equality with the objective of implicating themselves socially and politically in fostering equality between women and men in our society . So, with this guide we aim to bring these and other reflections to all men with the inten- tion that they should become aware of the negative consequences of traditional masculini- ties in their own lives, in the lives of women and in society at large and to promote a change in attitudes and behaviours of men that will lead to a greater commitment to equality . The challenge for this century must therefore be the construction of a new social model that is more democratic, fairer and egalitarian . To this end it is imperative that men are ever more willing to question the traditional model of masculinity and to engage actively along- side women in the quest for a world that is better for all and facilitates integrated human development for both men and women . María Silvestre Cabrera Director of Emakunde The Basque Women’s Institute 1. QUALITY OF WOMEN AND MEN 2. EASONS FOR THE CHANGE IN MEN TOWARDS EQUALITY 17 The lack of awareness, involvement, and sometimes the evasion and plain refusal on the part of men to consider issues of equality has come to impede both social and personal progress of women, men and society as a whole . For public policies of equality it represents a societal limitation that will be difficult to overcome . There are political, ideological and ethical reasons why society should expect, demand and encourage that many more men should foster attitudes, perceptions and practices of equality . These reasons have to do with the fact that equality is a value of coexistence and indeed, a human right . Changes in men towards equality are of direct benefit to the women closest to them . For example, switching from a situation of unequal sharing of the burden of care to one of equal involvement may allow them more time and opportunities to progress personally and pro- fessionally . At the same time equality has direct benefits for men too . To become a man conscious of issues relating to equality signifies the shouldering of responsibilities regarding not only the care of others but also the care of oneself with concomitant advances in self-esteem, greater potential for personal growth, better relationships with women and fellow men, among many other advantages . There are also practical reasons and direct benefits of the change in men towards a more egalitarian outlook which are enjoyed by the whole of society . In fact, countries with a higher index of human development, which is to say, with greater respect for freedom and develop- ment of the capacities of individuals are by nature, more egalitarian . But it is very likely too that countries with greater equality or greater achievements on equality of men and women develop more rapidly and increases the quality of life of their citizens . This is due to the fact that equality is a powerful tool against welfare dependency and the economic burden im- posed by cultural exclusion and marginalization . 21 Sex is a category associated with biological characteristics which people posses . It es- tablishes the female-male division, a category which does not change over time and across cultures . Gender, however, is a socially and culturally constructed category, which comes to de- fine what is understood in every society and culture as feminine and masculine . It there- fore, limits what values, behaviours and expectations should be specific to men and which are specific to women . The feminine and masculine is, however, learned and can therefore be modified . It is gender which explains gender inequalities between men and women in our society . One learns to be a man or woman, boy or girl, and that definition is determined even be- fore birth (when choosing names, the decoration of bedrooms, clothes which are bought . . .) . Human beings are obliged to learn to be what and who they are and the learning of gender is one of the first and most important lessons taught by the family, school, different religions and by society at large . The importance of learning about gender is enormous since it forms the foundation of our personal identity . The process of internalisation, understanding and acceptance of the rules and collective values which govern our coexistence is known as so- cialisation . The effectiveness of this process resides in the fact that the rules are universal but nuanced by a sexist concept of social structure . It therefore rewards those who comply but punishes or even excludes those who do not . Thus, girls and boys are transformed into women and men through a process of socializa- tion that is responsible for promoting attitudes that are considered appropriate for each sex, or to punish those who do not conform to the established roles and stereotypes . This process does not affect all people equally . It does not reproduce the exact models but gives rise to widespread patterns of behaviour or hegemonies that tend to reproduce the stereotypes attributed to masculine and feminine . In the society and culture in which we live, this process of socialization bears serious consequences for the lives of women and men . Sexism is a natural limiter which reduces the likelihood of people developing their true potential and therefore represents a drag on the individual and collective freedom . Sexist socialization in a patriarchal system discriminates and oppresses women and at the same time limits the capacity of men . 22 Gender stereotypes and how they function: When someone’s behaviour is In girls we say they are… In boys we say they are… Active Nervous Restless Insistent Stubborn Tenacious Sensitive Delicate Effeminate Easygoing Coarse Sure of himself Uninhibited Naughty Likeable Obedient Docile Weak Temperamental Hysterical Passionate Audacious Impulsive Valiant Introverted Timid Thoughtful Curious Nosy Intelligent Prudent Judicious Cowardly Selfish Egotistical Defensive of his own Stubborn Aggressive Strong Changeable ‘moody’ Capricious, Fickle Able to recognise their mistakes Table taken from: Vázquez, Norma . El ABC del género . Asociación Equipo Maíz . The same behaviour is interpreted and valued differently depending on the sex of the protagonist . Furthermore the process of education enhances or discourages certain types of behaviour in distinctive ways . Thus a boy is corrected for being ‘too delicate’ if he departs from the model of strength assigned to the male stereotype . One must bear in mind that this is neither a conscious process nor an individual creation, but the result of sexist socialization process, which aims to ‘naturalize’ gender stereotypes which on being created, shared and supported by the underlying yet dominant social struc- ture are rendered invisible . This gender based process of socialization achieves a high degree of homogeneity in terms of behaviour, concerns, feelings, ways of relating with others or expectations for the future . All this conspires to create a fabric of social expectations and images of what ‘ought to be’ which is a reference system on which we can rely in the development of ourselves be it through acceptance or resistance . This ‘ought to be’ creates gender roles, which are defined as a set of perceived behav- ioural norms, a set of roles and expectations associated with the particular mind set, male or 4. EGEMONIC MASCULINITY 27 When we talk about traditional masculinity we are referring to a set of values, beliefs, at- titudes, myths, stereotypes and behaviours that legitimises and endows men with the power to exercise it . Androcentrism is a partial view of the world that believes that what men have done is what has made mankind or, conversely, that everything that mankind has done is the result of the actions of men . It involves the thinking that what is good for men is good for humanity, and leads to the belief that the male experience includes and is the measure of human expe- riences . In short, androcentrism values only what men have done . We understand patriarchy as a form of political, religious and socio economic organisa- tion based on the idea of male authority and leadership, which grants the dominance of men over women . Traditional masculinity is therefore based on an androcentric vision of the world within a patriarchal social and cultural system based on the idea of male authority and leadership . A system in which there is a predominance of men over women, where the structures of production and reproduction of power is largely grounded in inequality between men and women Why is the traditional model of masculinity maintained? Quite simply because the social structure that maintains it has not in itself changed substantially . There has been only an ap- parent change and abandonment of old norms and structures . Women have taken a step forward in the quest for equality but most men have failed to move towards a more egalitar- ian outlook . 4.1. MEN aND PoWEr The experience of power in men is internalized through the socialization process . Their first reference to what power is and how and by whom it is wielded is to be found in their own patriarchal family . It is worth bearing in mind that our perception of gender structures becomes firmly fixed in our identities before the age of five . The experience, learning and internalization of power in men is therefore profound and very early . Power can be defined as the capacity and potential of people to think, act and develop skills, in other words, the capacity and possibility to exercise control over other people . 30 occurs as a result of risky behaviour is the undesired consequence of attempts to test and affirm their virility1 . Not all models or traditional hegemonic masculinity take their mandates to self-destruc- tive extremes . But in the final submission of the hegemonic model of both femininity (ano- rexia) and masculinity there is a high propensity to risk life in the service of gender affirma- tion, bringing this subjective element to the principal identifying feature of the person . Work- related accidents, car or motorcycle accidents, participation in high risk sports, the acquisi- tion of sexually transmitted diseases or AIDS through unprotected sex, fighting and even the participation in armies and armed conflict, or violent or paramilitary groups, are some of the extreme practices which fall within the model of hegemonic masculinity . 1 Source: Emakunde . Figures on the situation of women and men in Euskadi 2006 . 31 5. HE PROBLEMS OF GENDER FOR MEN 6. NU NALE VIOLENCE  37 Violence as a social phenomenon is linked to the construction of male identity in our so- ciety . It forms part of male socialization process to a much greater extent than in women . And although physical violence in our society is diminishing in its legitimacy, we find that its use continues to persist in many men . Violence is used by some men against women and although it takes different forms it is also used as a means of resolving conflicts with other men . It is also used on occasions against oneself . Thus, some men exercise violence on the understanding that it is a legiti- mate and effective tool for resolution of conflicts . Violence between men, nevertheless, does not have the cultural constraints that defines violence against women . 6.1. VIolENcE agaINst WoMEN Violence against women far from being a private problem is a social and political prob- lem, as the preamble to the states of the Organic Act 1 / 2004 of 28 December on Integral Protection Measures against Gender Violence manifests ‘as the most brutal symbol of divi- sion in our society . It is violence that is directed at women by simple virtue of the fact that they are women and because they are perceived by their aggressors as, lacking the mini- mum rights of freedom, respect and decision making .’ In the legal text itself reference is made to a technical definition of ‘battered woman syndrome’, which states that; ‘the assaults suffered by women as a consequence of socio-cultural constraints that act on men and women, placing them in a subordinate position to men and manifesting in three basic areas of relationship; abuse within intimate relationships, sexual assault in social life and harass- ment in the work place’ . According to statistics from the Interior Department of the Basque Government in the Basque Autonomous Community, in 2007 two women were murdered by their partners or former partners . In the State and, according to Interior Ministry figures, between 2001 and 2007, 443 women were killed by their partners or former partners . Murder is the visible part of a much deeper phenomenon and is extended as part of other types of violence . In this regard, in 2007, in the BAC 3223 complaints were filed with the Basque police force for violence against women within partnerships and 274 complaints of crimes against sexual freedom1 . 1 Source: Department of Interior of the Basque Government, February 2008 . 40 6.4. thE IDEal of roMaNtIc loVE aND PartNEr rElatIoNshIPs As a basic institution in our society the family relies heavily on romantic love . This con- ception of love is a social construction of the West which establishes a model of love that when it fails (and it fails a lot) creates frustration and disappointment . Furthermore, it has significant negatives consequences in intimate relationships and even encourages violence against women . Romantic love as presented by the Western culture overcomes many difficulties, impos- sible love, a taste for the misfortunes of love, the idealization of the loved one . . . All this fosters respect and understanding of another person or respect between equals but shows the same love as a passion that implies suffering Film and literature imply that it is the serious obstacles which confront us that magnify a loving passion . All this, coupled with jealousy and a tragic vision of the relationship, are syn- thesized in well known expressions such as ‘I can not live without you’ or ‘I am nothing with- out you’ . This myth of love becomes tangible in our society as an idealised relationship between partners and has clear consequences in everyday life . The ideal of passionate love and en- couraging acts creating a relationship, a particular way of loving behaviour, where sacrifice for the other person is rewarded and at the same time, forget their own lives and personal expectations for personal growth . This idea of love is strengthened especially in the education of women, while in the proc- ess of socialization of men it is of lesser importance . 7. EN FOR EQUALITY 45 Furthermore, when the division of housework is not equal, women are forced to opt for part-time jobs, seek help in the family (mother or grandmother) to care for their sons and daughters, relinquish any hope of having personal free time, or withdraw from the labour market . Another significant finding is that some studies suggest that the presence of a male part- ner in the home increases women’s work by 8 hours per week, generating a similar or even greater amount of work than having another child . This implies that the work they do does not compensate for the amount of extra work they generate . In fact, women who head their families as single parents spend less time on domestic work than those in a relationship . An equal division of domestic responsibilities would promote equality between men and women as it would facilitate similar opportunities for professional development and social and political participation . One might say that there are now 5% of men who can clearly define themselves as egali- tarian, while a third of men would be reactionary or ‘aggressive’ towards changes in favour of women5 . The key would therefore lie with the vast majority of ‘confused’6 men, who as- sume equality as a value and principle but do not practice it on a stable and conscious way . So the challenge to achieving equality is to attract more and more men to adopt egalitarian positions, men who today belong to that silent majority . 5 Bonino, Luis . Men versus change in women, contribution of the Congress ‘Men with the new social order .’ Emakunde . 2001 . 6 Lucas, Manuel . EPS, March 13, 2005 . 8. (MM HANGE IN MEN 50 disarmament’1 of men or, similarly, the critical analysis of self-identity of men . One of the most important characteristics of this movement is the recognition that patriarchy as the basis of a society marred by injustice and inequality, sets men at an unfair advantage by the mere fact that they are men, and thus raises the battle cry ‘be prepared to lose privileges in order to win equality .’ These are therefore some of the axes that different groups of men’s movement for equal- ity have in common: •   The commitment of men for personal change (expression of emotions, frustration man- agement, experience of sexuality, commitment against homophobia . . .) •   The active struggle against violence towards women and gender discrimination. •   Equal assumption of their responsibilities in caring for people •   The  support,  promotion  and  demonstration  of  positive  models  of  masculinity  (male  caregivers, pacifism, sensitivity . . .) •   Men’s commitment to the change in the public sphere (create a critical mass of men to  promote equality, uphold reconciliation strategies, giving up of power so that it might be transferred to women, proposing legislative changes . . .) . 1 Sáez, Hilario . 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