Transcript Slide 1

Masculinity:
Key to Improving Life Outcomes for
Young Men of Color
Reconnecting
Research  Giving  Practice
Copyright TrueChild, Inc. 2010
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TrueChild
• Research and action center partners w/ CBOs to improve program
outcomes by integrating a focus on gender norms
• Esp. concerned w/ at-risk/disadvantaged youth (of-color or LGBT)
Copyright TrueChild, Inc. 2010
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Gender?!*#
Gender Identity
An inner sense of one’s self as masculine or feminine, male or
female [Examples?]
Gender as Trait
Degree to which one displays physical or emotional characteristics
considered feminine or masculine [Examples?]
Gender Roles
How each sex is subject to different expectations and pressures,
which results in feminine or masculine behaviors and attitudes
[Examples?]
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Gender Norms/Stereo
Social Constructionists (1990s): Internalization of
norms, scripts, expectations that organize thoughts and
feelings and motivate, behavior
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Gender Norms/Stereo
• The “Man Box” [Examples?]
• Byron Hurt “Beyond Beats & Rhymes”
We’re in this box, and in order to be in that box, you have to be strong, you
have to be tough, you have to have a lot of girls, you gotta have money, you
have to be a player or a pimp, you gotta to be in control, you have to
dominate other men, and you know if you are not any of those things, then
people call you soft or weak or a pussy or a chump or a faggot and nobody
wants to be any of those things. So everybody stays inside the box.
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Ford Foundation
“Gender roles influence the way young
men of color understand and engage
educational opportunity, limit conceptions
of opportunity, and expose them to
victimization, abuse and violence.”
Why We Can’t Wait: A Case for Philanthropic Action
– Opportunities for Improving the Life Outcomes for
African-American Males
Littles, Bowers & Gilmer, Frontline Solutions 2005
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Reproductive Health
Masculinity Ideology linked to:
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Less intimate sexual relationships
More sexual partners
More unsafe sex
Lower condom use
Stronger belief in sexual relationships as adversarial
Weaker belief in responsibility to prevent pregnancy
Stronger belief in pregnancy as validating manhood
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Reproductive Health
Young Latinas & Machista femininity
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Docile, unassertive
Deferential to male sexual prerogatives
Venerate virginity, sexual purity
Reverence for motherhood and maternity
Don’t carry condoms
Don’t discuss sex (esp. w/ men)
Tolerate male infidelity, sexual coercion
Gender, culture, and power: Barriers to HIVprevention strategies for women. CA Gomez & BVO
Marin. Journal of Sex Research, 1996 -
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Educ. Underachievement
• Black vs. white peers (age 9-10) – gender intensification period
• Grade points begin to drop, drop-out rates climb
• More likely to deny, devalue, forgo intellectual interests to avoid
ridicule, shame of academic success. (Harris, 1995)
• “Acting White” -- Popularity decreases w/ GPA in integrated
schools (note: M E Dyson’s “urban myth”)
• Estab. dominance hierarchies thru behaviors – public risk-taking,
fighting, earning/enduring punishment, defying adult authority
figures – most likely to disrupt educ engagement & increase
interaction w/ criminal justice system
Roland Fryer, Harvard University from National Longitudinal Study of
Adolescent Health in Stuart Bucks’ Acting White: The Ironic Legacy of
Desegregation (2009)
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Other Areas
Other Areas?
• Fatherhood
• Infant and maternal health
• School/Gang Violence
• Intimate Partner Violence/Girlfriend Abuse
• Physical health
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Under-resourced Communities
• Gender codes esp. narrow & harsh
• Strong peer pressure on “the street”
• “Gender culture” tolerates strong punishment
• Few resources to enact constructively display
masculinity [Examples? Counter-Examples?]
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Hortensia Amaro
Sexuality research models…
• Overly focused on individual & assume sexual acts under full,
conscious, individual control
• Ignore social construction of gender in sexual behavior
• Continues overlooking social & contextual factors crucial to
understanding adolescent sexuality.
Gender and Sexual Risk Reduction: Issues to Consider
H Amaro – 1996 - Proceedings of the National Latino HIV/AIDS
Love, sex, and power. Considering women's realities in HIV prevention
H Amaro - 1995 - Cited by 691 Am Psychol. 1995 Jun;50(6):437-47.
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The Disconnect
Hortensia Amaro (“Love, Sex, Power”)
• Overly focused on individuals
• Assume kids’ acts under full, conscious, control
• Ignore social construction of gender in adolescent, teen behavior
• Overlooking social, contextual factors crucial to understanding adolescent
behavior in sexual situations
Gender and Sexual Risk Reduction: Issues to Consider
H Amaro – 1996 - Proceedings of the National Latino HIV/AIDS
Love, sex, and power. Considering women's realities in HIV prevention
H Amaro - 1995 - Cited by 691 Am Psychol. 1995 Jun;50(6):437-47.
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Hortensia Amaro
Astounding as it may seem, the central role
of… gender roles in [reproductive health] has
been largely ignored…”
“Studying sex in a gender vacuum”
Gender and Sexual Risk Reduction: Issues to Consider
H Amaro – 1996 - Proceedings of the National Latino HIV/AIDS
Love, sex, and power. Considering women's realities in HIV prevention
H Amaro - 1995 - Cited by 691 Am Psychol. 1995 Jun;50(6):437-47.
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What it looks like: Programs
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What it looks like: Policy
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What it looks like: Funding
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Reconnect Sex + Gender
Reconnect sexuality w/ gender norms, scripts,
expectations in which sexual acts inevitably enacted
Especially for adolescents
Especially for under-resourced and at-risk youth
Gender+sex connect a central feature of sex ed:
Research
Programs
 Policies
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Reconnect Sex + Gender
Gender Transformative approach
 Make aware
 Challenge
 Redefine
 Address power imbalances
 Role of IPV & reducing all kinds GBV
 Men as change agents, not partners
 Gender equitable attitudes
Geeta Gupta19
Reconnect Sex + Gender
It’s All One curriculum – Population Council
• Comprehensive framework for sex ed. w/ strong gender analysis
• Because sex ed. curricula don’t address gender norms or critical reflection
• But gender norms key to preventing spread
of HIV... bec. they profoundly affect young
people’s ability to make better decisions &
practice safer sex
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Reconnect Sex + Gender
Program H – Promundo
(H for the Homens and Hombres -- men in Portuguese and Spanish)
Helps young men think critically about rigid codes of manhood.
• Higher rates of condom use
• Improved relationships with sexual partners
• Greater acceptance of domestic work
• Lower rates of sexual harassment & IPV
• Latin Am. & Caribbean (Bolivia, Colombia, Jamaica, Peru)
• Asia (India, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam)
• Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Mozambique and Namibia)
• Central America (Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama)
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Reconnect Sex + Gender
MenEngage
Alliance of 400+ NGOs engaging men/boys in reducing gender inequality & promote
health/well-being of women/girls
• HIV/AIDs
• Gender-based violence
• Fatherhood & families
• Male-on-male violence
• Maternal & child health
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Reconnect Sex + Gender
PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)
Male Norms Initiative
• Evidence-based program that address male norms to reduce HIV risk
• Ethiopia, Namibia and Tanzania.
• Collaboration with EngenderHealth, Promundo, PATH
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9 Things You Can Do
1. Read the research at www.truechild.org/ReadTheResearch
2. Bring in a representative from groups already doing the work:
TrueChild Thinking Man Consulting Men Can Stop Rape Promundo MenEngage
3. Host a local community discussion or workshop.
4. Integrate an analysis of gender norms into your research or program development
5. Ask your youth about how codes of manhood/femininity affect them (The "Manbox").
6. Incorporate content about masculinity/femininity into programs, materials, websites.
7. Check out resources like It’s All One, MenEngage, Promundo
8. Bring in a nearby expert: www.truechild.org/ReadTheResearch
9. Drop an email about youth and masculinity/femininity to your listserv, post on your blog
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www.truechild.org
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