How is men's conformity to masculine norms related to their body image? Masculinity and muscularity across western countries

Previous research has suggested that men's conformity to masculine norms (CMN) is an important correlate of men's drive for muscularity. The present study aimed to further delineate the relationship between masculinity and men's body image by examining various dimensions of CMN in relation to various dimensions of men's body image (muscularity, leanness, and fitness) in a cross-national sample. Participants comprised young men from the United States (n = 192), the United Kingdom (n = 141), Australia (n = 160), and Sweden (n = 142). Multigroup path analyses showed that CMN was related to drive for muscularity, leanness, and fitness in all 4 countries, but there were differences across countries in which dimensions of CMN predicted men's body image. Whereas conformity to the masculine norm of winning was a salient predictor across the 4 countries, conformity to the norm of risk-taking was linked to Australian men's body image, and conformity to the norm of violence to British men's body image. The findings support previous research suggesting that men's endorsement of the male gender role plays a significant role in their desire for an ideal body, but the results uniquely document that this relationship may differ across countries.

The Effects of Age, Ethnicity, Sexual Dysfunction, Urinary Incontinence, Masculinity, and Relationship with the Partner on the Quality of Life of Men with Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer, the leading cause of cancer in men, has positive survival rates and constitutes a challenge to men with its side effects. Studies have addressed the bivaritate relationships between prostate cancer treatment side effects masculinity, partner relationship, and quality of life (QOL). However, few studies have highlighted the relationships among prostate cancer treatment side effects (i.e., sexual dysfunction, urinary incontinence), masculinity, and relationship with the partner together on QOL in men. Most studies were conducted with predominately Caucasian sample of men. Miami is a unique multiethnic setting that hosts Cuban, Columbian, Venezuelan, Haitian, other Latin American and Caribbean communities that were not represented in previous literature. The purpose of this study was to examine relative contributions of age, ethnicity, sexual dysfunction, urinary incontinence, masculinity, and perception of the relationship with the partner on the quality of life in men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Data were collected using self administered questionnaires measuring demographic variables, sexual and urinary functioning (UCLA PCI), masculinity (CMNI), partner relationship (DAS), and QOL (SF-36). A total of 117 partnered heterosexual men diagnosed with prostate cancer were recruited from four urology clinics in Miami, Florida. Men were 67.47 (SD = 8.42) years old and identified themselves to be of Hispanic origin (54.3 %, n = 63). Findings demonstrated that there was a significant moderate negative relationship between urinary and sexual functioning of men. There was a significant strong negative association between men’s perceived relationship with partner and masculinity. There was a weak negative relationship between the partner relationship and QOL. Hierarchal multiple regression showed that the partner relationship (β = -.25, t (91) = -2.28, p = .03) significantly contributed overall to QOL. These findings highlight the importance of the relationship satisfaction in the QOL of men with prostate cancer. Nursing interventions to enhance QOL for these men should consider strengthening the relationship and involving the female partner as an active participant.

Challenging masculinity in CSR disclosures:silencing of women’s voices in Tanzania’s mining industry

This paper presents a feminist analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a male-dominated industry within a developing country context. It seeks to raise awareness of the silencing of women’s voices in CSR reports produced by mining companies in Tanzania. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and women are often marginalised in employment and social policy considerations. Drawing on work by Hélène Cixous, a post-structuralist/radical feminist scholar, the paper challenges the masculinity of CSR discourses that have repeatedly masked the voices and concerns of ‘other’ marginalised social groups, notably women. Using interpretative ethnographic case studies, the paper provides much-needed empirical evidence to show how gender imbalances remain prevalent in the Tanzanian mining sector. This evidence draws attention to the dynamics faced by many women working in or living around mining areas in Tanzania. The paper argues that CSR, a discourse enmeshed with the patriarchal logic of the contemporary capitalist system, is entangled with tensions, class conflicts and struggles which need to be unpacked and acknowledged. The paper considers the possibility of policy reforms in order to promote gender balance in the Tanzanian mining sector and create a platform for women’s concerns to be voiced.

Book review: 'Neo-mateship' in the 21st century : changes in the performance of Australian masculinity. Karina J. Butera, Deakin University 2008.

This article argues that 'traditional mateship', as the everyday practice of men's same-sex friendships, is a dying mode of relating in Australian culture. Using Goffman's dramaturgical model, the views of three generations of men are used to qualitatively explore three proposed sites of transformation in men's same-sex friendships. First, the shift from unquestioning group loyalty to individualistic, transient and contingent relationship choice; second, the move from guarded levels of disclosure to open expressiveness and willingness to display vulnerability; and finally the evolution from expecting and giving only practical support to providing both practical and emotional support. The narratives of the middle-aged cohort are used to illustrate the various role-distance strategies that were used to resist and rework gender scripts. The article concludes that, although the parameters of acceptable gendered behaviours in Australian men's friendships are expanding, they have not yet reached the breadth and depth found in 'pure' friendships, but could be described as a new type of mateship: neo-mateship.

Teacher stories of collusion and transformation: a feminist pedagogical framework and meta-language for cultural gender justice

This article examines data from two different studies concerning issues of social justice, gender and schooling and specifically the practices of secondary teachers, ‘Mr B’, a teacher from a school in Tasmania, Australia, and ‘Mr C’, a teacher from a school in Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom. Both teachers’ practices and relationships with students are analysed within a feminist interpretation of the Productive Pedagogies model of quality teaching and learning. The two different stories are presented as juxtapositions that serve to illuminate the capacities of pedagogy to, on the one hand, work in ways likely to re-inscribe the discourses of entitlement and privilege that perpetuate cultural gender injustice, and on the other, transform these discourses towards more equitable and just networks of multiple and intersecting differences.

Struggles to subvert the gendered field: issues of masculinity, rurality and class

This article explores the complex struggles associated with intersections of class, rurality and masculinity, and the ways in which such intersections work to preserve a gendered status quo within and beyond school communities in Australia. Drawing on the stories of Monica and Phoebe, two teachers who understand schooling as a site of contestation, resistance and possibility for gender justice, the article draws on the theoretical constructs of Bourdieu to make visible the struggles for power arising from the gendered distribution of capital in schools located in low socio‐economic rural communities. In making sense of these struggles, we identify strategies of conservation that seek to reinscribe gender inequities and preserve the field and the taken‐for‐granted understandings of females and femininity as subordinate to males and masculinity within it. We also identify pedagogies of subversion employed by Phoebe and Monica and highlight the potential of these practices to disrupt the field in ways that seek to broaden and transform the gendered habitus of students.

Knightly Masculinity, Court Games and Material Culture in Late Medieval Portugal: The case of Constable Afonso (c. 1480–1504)

This article explores the ways in which gender was used in order to transform an exiled and uneducated illegitimate child into a prince. Our study revolves around a member of the royal family, Afonso (c.1480–1504), who was brought up in hiding by peasants and who later, as a teenager, was reincorporated into the court. We argue that the keys to this process of rehabilitation were, on one hand, family politics centred around different configurations and on the other, his introduction into a court environment marked by the ideals of chivalry. Within this dynamic, material culture played a key role, because it gave the prince all the visual attributes of his new status, as well as allowing him the means to create a new self. We shall briefly introduce Afonso and his family context in order to give an insight into his life within changing political and dynastic contexts. Then, we will analyse the expression of manhood in the Portuguese court, using the spectacles at the court as a basis for observation, thus relating gender to material culture in a courtly environment.

The effect of gender context on children's social behaviour in a limited resources situation : an observational study

Knowing when to compete and when to cooperate to maximize opportunities for equal access to activities and materials in groups is critical to children's social and cognitive development. The present study examined the individual (gender, social competence) and contextual factors (gender context) that may determine why some children are more successful than others. One hundred and fifty-six children (M age=6.5 years) were divided into 39 groups of four and videotaped while engaged in a task that required them to cooperate in order to view cartoons. Children within all groups were unfamiliar to one another. Groups varied in gender composition (all girls, all boys, or mixed-sex) and social competence (high vs. low). Group composition by gender interaction effects were found. Girls were most successful at gaining viewing time in same-sex groups, and least successful in mixed-sex groups. Conversely, boys were least successful in same-sex groups and most successful in mixed-sex groups. Similar results were also found at the group level of analysis; however, the way in which the resources were distributed differed as a function of group type. Same-sex girl groups were inequitable but efficient whereas same-sex boy groups were more equitable than mixed groups but inefficient compared to same-sex girl groups. Social competence did not influence children's behavior. The findings from the present study highlight the effect of gender context on cooperation and competition and the relevance of adopting an unfamiliar peer paradigm when investigating children's social behavior.

The Australian Parliament: A Gendered Organisation

Limited work has been undertaken on the subject of gender and Australian parliamentary institutions. This study of 13 male and 15 female members of the Australian parliament addresses this gap in the literature. Data from the study are used to explore the ways in which the institutions of political office operate as ‘gendered organisations’ (Acker 1990). What emerges from this analysis is the pervasiveness of gender across the processes, practices and discourses of the parliament. This is a space infused with hegemonic masculinity. This gendering is, however, normalised and/or minimised by many of the parliamentarians involved in the study.