Masculinities

Members of MenEngage Alliance, diverse as we are, work on many issues related to gender injustice. But we share a common interest in understanding patriarchal masculinities — and transforming them. 

What are patriarchal masculinities? What do they look like? How do they work? Where do they show up? In what ways do they affect our communities, relationships, societies, and the world? How can they be dismantled or transformed? 

By asking these kinds of questions, our work aims to place patriarchy at the center of our thinking and actions on difficult and interconnected challenges in the world.

What are ​‘patriarchal masculinities’?

As a term, ​‘patriarchal masculinities’ is a way to refer to a whole range of ideas, norms, values, behaviours, and systems. Specifically, it refers to social norms and systems that create or reinforce power hierarchies based on ideas and behaviours associated with manhood. 

‘Patriarchal masculinities’ can refer to traits that show up on an individual level, such as one person’s attitudes and behaviours. It can also refer to the institutional level, such as in an organisation’s policies or a particular law or regulation. They also show up as part of social and cultural norms, where shared ideas or belief systems shape how men and boys are expected to behave and think in society.

A key feature of patriarchal masculinities is around maintaining a hierarchy over femininity. This means that characteristics that are ​‘coded’ as feminine such as compassion or care are seen as less valuable than characteristics coded as masculine. 

Scholars such as Raewyn Connell popularised the term hegemonic masculinity in the 1980s. This term speaks to how different ideas about being a man can also be seen as hierarchical, with a dominant – or ​‘hegemonic’ – form being seen as more valuable than other ways of being a man.

Transforming patriarchal masculinities

Members of MenEngage Alliance support gender equality efforts by working to dismantle and disrupt characteristics associated with ​‘patriarchal masculinities’. We call this ​‘transforming patriarchal masculinities’.

This means changing social norms, ideas, institutions, and systems. Often, it involves challenging stereotypes about ​‘being a man’ and fostering equitable, non-violent and inclusive ideas of manhood.

It also means working at a cultural and societal level. As feminist thinker bell hooks argued, even if individual men rid themselves of male privilege, this does not automatically lead to patriarchy being dismantled. Patriarchy is currently inherent in individuals of all genders, and the cultural, social, economic and political institutions humanity has built across societies. For this reason, we work to transform patriarchal systems, institutions, policies, and practices, and not only the behaviours and attitudes of individual men and boys.

Ultimately, our work involves dismantling the labels of ​‘masculinity’ and ​‘femininity’ altogether — for a world where people can express themselves without certain traits carrying gendered labels, associations, stigma, or facing violence or oppression.