Presentation focusing on masculinity given at Queen Margaret University as part of the Gender Health and Development MSc

1. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Understanding masculinities
Dr Matt Maycock
Gender and Health Team, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health
Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow
29th January 2015

2. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Session overview
• Theories of masculinity
• Hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 1995)
• Inclusive masculinity (Anderson, 2009)
• Examples of the application of these theories
• Masculinities and bonded labour in Nepal (PhD)
• Masculinity within Scottish prisons (post-doc)
• Practical application of theories of masculinity to a
health promotion resource

3. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Hegemonic Masculinity
• “hegemonic masculinity” - a form of masculinity that is
dominant in society, establishes the cultural ideal for what
it is to be a man, silences other masculinities, and
combats alternative visions of masculinity.
• Hegemonic masculinity’ is a concept that draws upon the
ideas of Gramsci. It refers to the dynamic cultural process
which guarantees (or is taken to guarantee) the dominant
position of men and the subordination of women.
• hegemonic masculinity - rejection of the idea that all men
are the same

4. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Hegemonic Masculinity Cont…
• a change from the concept of masculinity to the concept
of masculinities
• allows meaningful distinction between different
collective constructions of masculinity and identification
of power inequalities among these constructions.
Masculinities:
• Are actively constructed (not biologically determined)
• Are dynamic- change over time
• Have negative impacts- be tough don’t cry, can lead to
disengagement, health problems, aggression, overwork and
lack of emotional responsiveness.

5. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Criticisms (V. Seidler)
• Leaves gender roles, and in particular patriarchy unchallenged
• Leaves out personal and emotional perspectives- emotional
lives of men ignored.
• “There is a danger of creating a fixed category of ‘abusing men,’
rather than learning how pregnancy invokes unresolved
emotional feelings in men”
• Is often applied to research quite uncritically

6. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Inclusive Masculinity

7. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Criticisms

8. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
‘Ethnographic turn’ in masculinity studies
“…men do masculinity according to the social situation in which they find
themselves.” (Messerschmidt, 1993, 84)
In Masculinities (1995, 2005), Raewyn Connell talks about a ethnographic turn
in masculinity studies, what does she mean by this?
Ethnographic studies of masculinity tend to:
• Assume masculinities are multiple (both locally and globally).
• Unpack the ways in which masculinities are socially and culturally constructed and performed.
• Examine how masculinities impact on each other.
• Examine the ways in which masculinity is constructed in relation to subordinate women and
femininities.
• Be ‘micro’ level in focus.
• Undertaken in both urban and rural contexts.
• Consider ‘positive’ masculinities and subvert the idea of men as a [or the] problem.

9. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Ethnographic studies of masculinity have:
• Illustrated the cross-cultural variance in performances and modes of masculinity.
• Proven that there is no single masculinity.
• Showed that masculinities can and do change.
This was important in overcoming the tendency in the mass media and popular culture to treat ‘men’ as a
homogenous group ‘masculinity’ as a fixed, ahistorical entity.
• Identified the importance of intersectionality of gender with class, caste, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age
etc…
• Consolidated men and masculinities as a world-wide field of knowledge.
• A significant amount of the research at the beginnings of this turn focused on discourses
of hegemonic and subordinate masculinities (following Connell).
• More recently a number of studies have focused more on intricate studies of social
practice, with a focus on ambiguity and context specific performances of masculinity.
• Collections of micro-research and applied studies of masculinity exist for practically
every continent or culture-area.
Consequences of the ‘Ethnographic Turn’ in
Masculinity Studies

10. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Until relatively recently masculinity has not received significant explicit attention,
despite the gender ‘awareness’ of the NGO and academic sectors. For example,
in South Asia:
“For a long time, South Asian men have been treated as universally
given, ungendered objects and have rarely been examined as
gendered.” (Sharma, 2007a: 33)
There is an unresolved tension between [western] theories of masculinity and
local performances I have studied.
I am still unclear of the utility of of hegemonic masculinity within ethnographic
research on masculinity.
How has this shaped my research?

11. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Example 1 - PhD research far-west Nepal
Masculinity, Modernity and Bonded Labour: Continuity and Change
amongst the Kamaiya of Kailali District, far-west Nepal (School of
International Development, UEA, Norwich)

12. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
PhD fieldwork far-west Nepal 2009
Yearlong fieldwork in Nepal:
• Three month language training and key informant
interviews
• Nine months in two fieldsites
My thesis addressed the the following research questions:
• How have the links between Kamaiya bodies and Kamaiya
masculinities changed following freedom?
• How are working patterns changing following freedom, and
what implications does this have for Kamaiya masculinities?
• What are the Implications of modernity for Kamaiya
masculinities in family settings?

13. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Methods
• Household survey
• Life History interviews
• Participant observation
• I wore clothes similar to my research participants and made a
conscious effort not to display conspicuous signs of consumption.
• I tried to behave like the men of my age at both fieldwork sites as
far as possible. On occasion this involved doing the work that the
men in Kampur were involved in, although this did not include
driving a rickshaw as the rickshaw drivers found the idea ridiculous.
• I took part in various agricultural and hunting activities.
• I took part in the social life, which posed various difficulties for me.

14. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Positionality
• As Reinharz (1997) indicates, researchers have multiple identities
apart from those associated with being a researcher; mine include
being white, Welsh, heterosexual, male and, at the time, unmarried.
• My positionality through the various identities I brought to the
research – my gender, race, class etc. – influenced both how I
collected data and its interpretation (Mullings, 1999)
• My position constituted both an advantage and a disadvantage. West
(2003) found that being positioned as an ‘outsider’ brought certain
benefits in his research with victims of torture in Mozambique’s war
for independence. It allowed some of his research subjects to discuss
issues that they found it difficult to speak about with members of
their community.

15. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
My home for nine months…

16. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

17. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Participant Observation - Going ‘hunting’

18. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

19. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

20. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

21. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Migration in Nepal
• In 2001, 760,000 people had officially migrated out of Nepal, 77
per cent of whom had gone to India (Central Bureau of
Statistics, 2002).
• Migration is strongly gendered in Nepal, around 90% of those
who migrate are men
• Seddon et al (2000) estimate that between 0.5-1.3 million
Nepalis temporarily migrate to India.
• Data in South Asia is problematic – particularly between Nepal
and India due to the open border

22. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Masculinity and Mobility prior to 2000
• Movement severely restricted.
• Masculine references similarly constrained (cf.
Connell, masculinities being relational).
• Extremely clear occupier of the hegemonic position.
• Problematic labourer/landowner relationship.
• The system undermined the notion of a Kamaiya male
breadwinner and the ability of Kamaiya men to
protect their families.

23. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Experiences of Migration and
masculinity
• Facilitates new performances of (Indian) masculinity
• In the place where men migrate
• Also in villages when men return
• Potential for mimicry and the learning of new masculine styles
and performances
• Money
• Diversification of income
• Migration and ‘breadwinning’
• Certain aspects of (sexual) freedom
• Exciting and new
• Anonymity

24. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Problems associated with
migration• Frequent exploitation and mistreatment
• Isolating – often no or limited support network
• No group history of movement
• Low and instable pay
• Pressure of remittances
• Familial expectation to move as they were men
• ‘Success’ through migration difficult to achieve
• Migration has not questioned the link between hard work and
successful manliness amongst the Kamaiya

25. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
The example of Ram I use in my paper, highlights some of the joys and
difficulties of migrating as a man.
Freedom has corresponded with a increased diversity of Kamaiya masculinities.
I.e. there are more ways to be a Kamaiya man, but there are also more ways to
fail.
Migration is contradictory process in relation to Kamaiya masculinities
• Migration for Kamaiya men is both liberating and restrictive
Following freedom in 2000, migration has become an important marker of being
free as this is something that wasn’t possible previously.
Critically, moving is becoming a marker of being a (young) Kamaiya man.
Conclusions

26. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Example 2
Prison masculinities in Scotland
(post-doc)

27. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Can FFIT be adapted to attract men to positive lifestyle change in a
prison?
Football Fans in Training (FFIT) has helped overweight and obese men
lose weight, improve diet, and increase physical activity (Hunt et al,
The Lancet, 2014)

28. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
p-FFIT masculinity and prison sensitisation
Context
Prisons are largely
all-male
environments
p-FFIT delivered to
men-only groups
Content
Info about science of
weight-loss presented
simply
Role of alcohol in
weight management
FFIT logo branding
Delivery notes
adapted to take
account of prison
context
Style of delivery
PEIs have detailed
knowledge of
prison context
Participative and
peer-supported
learning
Encouraged male
banter to facilitate
discussion of
sensitive topics
Testing feasibility of delivering an adapted version of FFIT, p-FFIT was
delivered in two prison gyms over course of 12 and 15 weeks

29. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Methods
Prison A
Delivered to 18 prisoners by
prison Physical Education
Instructors (PEIs)
Data collection
Observations of all 15 sessions
Interviews with participants who
completed programme (n=9)
Interviews with participants who
did not complete (n=3)
Focus group with PEIs (n = 1)
Delivered to 21 prisoners by
community coaches from a
professional football club
Data collection
Observations of all 12 sessions
Interviews with participants who
completed programme (n=9)
Interviews with PEIs and staff
(n=3)
Prison B

30. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Health in prison contexts
Context-specific challenges to
prisoners’ mental and
physical well-being
The prevalence of overweight and
obesity among male prisoners in
the UK is ‘unacceptably high’
(Herbert et al, 2012)
Many prisoners do not take given opportunities to eat healthily and
exercise regularly and are less likely to achieve recommended
minimum PA guidelines (Herbert et al, 2012)

31. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Prison masculinities
• In (largely male) prisons environments, there are specific performances of
masculinity that are structured in hierarchical ways in reference to both
orthodox/hegemonic' and 'inclusive' masculinities
Inclusive
masculinity
Orthodox/
hegemonic
masculinity" inclusive form of masculinity
based on social equality for gay
men, respect for women, and
racial parity and one in which...
men bond over emotional
intimacy" (Anderson, 2008, 604)
"masculine performance labeled as
orthodox attempts to approximate
the hegemonic form of masculinity,
largely by devaluing women and
gay men." (Anderson, 2005, 338)
(Bourdieu, 1998) (Connell, 1995)

32. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Prison masculinities
Prison is an ultramasculine world
where nobody talks about
masculinity. (Sabo et al 2001, 3)
…a hegemonically defined
hypermasculine and
heteronormative environment with
an abundance of alpha males,
sexism, and violence. (Jenness and
Fenstermaker, 2013, 13)
…places of great humour and playfulness,
of friendship and camaraderie, of
educational enlightenment, of successful
therapeutic intervention. (Jewkes, 2013,
14).
in their mutual support and
encouragement, it was also possible to
discern sublimated forms of intimacy.
Certainly, the vivid and joyful ways in
which prisoners engaged in collective
exercise, and the sheer amount of physical
horseplay among younger prisoners,
pointed to submerged emotional
Inclusive masculinityOrthodox or hegemonic
masculinity

33. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Orthodox masculinities in the context of
the p-FFIT programme
I can understand aboot guys
being apprehensive an’ that,
ken I think when, especially
wi’ everybody else in the hall,
ken, an’ you’re goin’ and
they’re goin’ “aye, goin’ tae
fat club,” an’ a’ this carry on,
ken whit I mean? So I could
imagine people being
apprehensive aboot it, eh.
(Prison A - P2)
I was hammering everybody
fae the word go.I'm the sort o'
person, see once I get up there
I don't like anybody beating
me, you know? Determined an'
that, you know? (Prison B -
P11)Ken what I mean? I’ll par—ken, I’ll... I’ll
take—I’ll partake in anythin’ eh? And as
I say when, ken when I got there I was
like that, ‘right, fair enough.’ I mean
you’re only putting your view forward. I
mean we’re in a hostile situation here,
eh? And people dinnae want tae speak
forward in case the boy, two boys doon
does like that, “he’s a fucking idiot,”
excuse my French. (Prison A - P11)

34. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Inclusive masculinity within the context
of the p-FFIT programme
I think it was a part of—it
was being a part of a group.
On the outside I’m a lone
person. I’m no’ part of any
group. So see learning in a
group, and interacting wi’
people, and speaking to
people in the group that kept
me motivated as well. (Prison
A - P11)
it was important for me tae, for
me tae do my thing and for me
tae tell people that they was
doing good at their thing, and
encouraging them and pushing
them and stuff like that.
(Prison A - P3)
Well you’re having a laugh wi’ people
and it’s like yous are losing a wee bit o’
weight an’ you’re kinda like, it’s just
you’re no’ coming an’ you’re no’ like if
you’re coming tae the gym, it’s like
you’re no’ the fattest person in the gym.
So you’re here and yous are all kinda fat,
yous are all here for the same reason.
(Prison B - P3)

35. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Embodied masculinity - The gym,
muscularity and weight
You’ve gottae get big, aye,
you’ve got a group, your
group o’ guys, that’s what
they’re intae, their
bodybuilding an’ they’re
strength things like that.
(Prison A - P8)
You want everybody tae go
intae a prison an' they all
want tae dae the weights,
they a’ want tae get big an'
strong. That's what they all
want tae dae. (Prison B P11)
I actually get people that go like that, “oh
how long did it take you to get that
[large] size?” And this is the first time
I’ve ever trained in my life! Know what I
mean? And I’ve just worked hard at it,
and worked hard, and I explain that to
guys. I just, know what I mean? Guys
were all wanting to get like me, and like
as big as me kinda thing. (Prison B-P1)

36. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Changes to bodies and appearance
I think people in general do
take a lot more care of
themselves nowadays and it
happens more in prison. So
you're not automatically in
inverted commas 'a poof' if
you use face cream and keep
yourself clean and... yeah.
(Prison A - P4)
When I lost weight I kind o'... I
like tae keep my strength up
an’ I felt as if when I was
losing my weight that I was
losing my strength as well,
that my strength was falling
away. (Prison B - P11)
Some people don't care
aboot themselves 'cause
they're in the jail, they've
hit rock bottom.
(Prison A - P7)

37. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Orthodox to Inclusive masculinity -
Group dynamics
I think it was a part of—it
was being a part of a group.
On the outside I’m a lone
person. I’m no’ part of any
group. So see learning in a
group, and interacting wi’
people, and speaking to
people in the group that kept
me motivated as well. I mean
I enjoyed the group. It’s one
of the biggest things I’ll take
away fae it has been involved
in the group. (Prison A - P11)
...you dinnae want tae be yourself,
‘cause you just single yoursel’ oot,
ken whit I mean? As I say you
can put yourself the gither as a
team an’ you take it on as a team,
ken whit I mean? An’ you support
each other through it. (Prison A -
P2)
Yeah, there was two lads in particular that
were like really taking the piss an’ I
didn’t enjoy that bit. No-one had control
over them. D’you know what I mean?
But other than that everything went
really, really well. (Prison B - P5)

38. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
p-FFIT Conclusions
• Masculinity has
• An approach to men's health similar to that taken by FFIT has the potential to be
successfully adapted for secure settings.
• A gender and context sensitised health promotion intervention has the potential
to facilitate engagement with a cohort of hard to reach and disadvantaged men
in a secure setting.
• Performances of both hegemonic/orthodox and inclusive forms of masculinity
were evident amongst men who took part in the p-FFIT programme.
• Programmes such as p-FFIT have the potential to enhance more inclusive forms
of masculinity.
• There are many, often contradictory implications for masculinities in taking part
in programmes to enhance health and wellbeing.
• The embodiment of masculinity within secure institutions necessitates a careful
consideration of the sorts of bodies that are seen as desirable in prison, when
developing health interventions in this context.
• The p-FFIT programme was successful in attracting some men to positive lifestyle change, but there
are important barriers to making and sustaining change in within secure institutions

39. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Practical exercise
In twos think about a health promotion resource in the
form of a leaflet that will communicate men or boys about
health.
• Consider how the theory/s of masculinity you
• Consider how you will design the leaflet
• Consider about what subjects you will cover

40. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Masculinity and health – the Haynes Man Manuals
Men&Work
Warning:
Reading this may
seriously improve
your health

41. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
matthew.maycock@glasgow.ac.uk
www.matthewmaycock.com
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