Masculinity: Key to Improving Life Outcomes for Young Men of Color Reconnecting Research Giving Practice Copyright TrueChild, Inc. 2010 1

Masculinity: Key to Improving Life Outcomes for

Young Men of Color

Reconnecting

Research Giving Practice

Copyright TrueChild, Inc. 2010 1

Copyright TrueChild, Inc. 2010 2

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)

Gender?!*#

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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?]

Gender Norms/Stereo

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Social Constructionists (1990s): Internalization of norms, scripts, expectations that organize thoughts and feelings and motivate, behavior

Gender Norms/Stereo

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• 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.

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 6

Reproductive Health

Masculinity Ideology linked to: • 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• 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

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Gender, culture, and power: Barriers to HIV-prevention strategies for women. CA Gomez & BVO Marin. Journal of Sex Research, 1996 -

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

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Roland Fryer, Harvard University from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in Stuart Bucks’ Acting White: The Ironic Legacy of Desegregation (2009)

Other AreasOther 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

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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 ConsiderH Amaro – 1996 - Proceedings of the National Latino HIV/AIDSLove, sex, and power. Considering women's realities in HIV preventionH Amaro - 1995 - Cited by 691 Am Psychol. 1995 Jun;50(6):437-47.

The Disconnect

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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


Hortensia Amaro

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Astounding as it may seem, the central role of… gender roles in [reproductive health] has been largely ignored…”

“Studying sex in a gender vacuum”


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

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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: ResearchPrograms Policies


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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 Gupta


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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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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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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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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

9 Things You Can Do

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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

25www.truechild.org

Documents

Masculinity: Key to Improving Life Outcomes for Young Men of Color Reconnecting Research Giving Practice Copyright TrueChild, Inc. 2010 1