Bibliography N

1.5Areas for Future Research

There is also a scarcity of accessible material on work with men in Islamic contexts. The study of gender in Muslim societies has almost always meant a study of women – with the question of the Hijab and the practice of female genital cutting receiving most scrutiny. By contrast, studies of Islamic masculinities are rare (Ouzgane, 2006). At a time when the complex relationship between Islam and gender has never been more critical, more research in this area is critical.

Finally, there remains a persistent focus in the men and masculinities literature on violence and sexual health, which reinforces unhelpful stereotypes of men as inherently violent and blameworthy. The masculinities – and GAD – agenda could fruitfully be extended into more ‘traditional’ realms of development such as the economy, politics and governance. Rather than focusing solely on ‘harm reduction’ – stopping men from infecting women with HIV or battering their wives, for example – issues such as who does the housework, or who gets paid less on account of their gender deserve greater attention. How can gender and development advocates encourage men’s mobilisation around everyday inequities?

Achieving gender equality requires not only shifts in attitudes, but radically transformed power relations between and among women and men (Rogers, in Ruxton, 2004). This is only possible when both women and men work together towards the goal of gender equality, and support each other when they act outside of dominant gender roles or behaviours. We need to stop thinking in terms of a struggle of men and boys against women and girls or vice versa, and start thinking in terms of a struggle of all men, women and children against inequality and oppression (Karkara et al., 2005).

Flood, M. (2005) ‘Mainstreaming Men in Gender and Development’, presentation to AusAID Gender Seminar Series, Canberra, December 2005

Greig, A. (2005) HIV Prevention with Men: Toward Gender Equality and Social Justice, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW)

Harris, C. (2004) Control and Subversion: Gender Relations in Tajikistan, Pluto Press: London

Lang, J. (forthcoming) The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW)

Peacock, D. (2002) Men as Partners: South African Men Respond to Violence Against Women and HIV/AIDS, EngenderHealth

Silberschmidt, M. (2004), ‘Masculinities, Sexuality and Socio-Economic Change in Rural and Urban East Africa’, in S. Arnfred (ed.) Re-thinking Sexualities in Africa, Sweden: Nordiska Afrikaininstitutet

2An Annotated Bibliography

2.1Why Involve Men in Gender and Development?

http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/particip/research/gender/missmen.pdf

Gender and Development (GAD) discourse is peppered with the promise of a new focus, beyond the narrow concern solely with women of the Women in Development (WID) movement. The GAD approach focuses on the category ‘women’, but also on ‘women and men’, in order to highlight the socially and historically constructed relations between the categories. However, a focus on men and their identities, roles, or relations – on men as men – has remained absent from this picture. It is with those missing men that this paper is concerned. The paper explores the ways in which the term 'gender' and 'gender relations' are used in GAD and goes on to examine in more depth how and why men as men are still being missed in GAD, drawing some tentative conclusions. It seeks to explore some of the taken-for-granted assumptions that underlie the polarities on which much of GAD discourse is based. By doing so, it hopes to open up space for reflection about women and men, gender relations and indeed the concept of gender itself, moving the field beyond the static stereotypes that continue to pervade it.

Chant, S. and Gutmann, M. (2000) Mainstreaming Men into Gender and Development: Debates, Reflections and Experiences, Oxfam Working Papers, London: Oxfam GB http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/resources/wp_mainstreamingmen.htm

This collection of Oxfam Working Papers provides a critical review of the desirability, potential, and prospects for a more male-inclusive approach to gender and development (GAD). The collection is made up of six chapters which flag-up some of the key issues and potential controversies surrounding engaging men and masculinities in gender and development work. The chapters review the evolution from ‘women in development’ to ‘gender and development’ policy approaches, and consider reasons for including men in work on gender. It is now widely recognised, for example, that women-only approaches to development have limited impacts on gender relations. Involving men may therefore be a more effective strategy for reducing gender inequalities. Another chapter analyses how far the issue of ‘men in development’ has featured in the actual gender and development practices of development organisations. Moving beyond some of the ‘whys’ and ‘wherefores’, the final chapter considers the ways in which gender and development policy might realistically move towards a more male-inclusive approach. Drawing men together in workshops to discuss gender-based inequality is a potential way forward. Using fathering as a point of entry for involving men in GAD offers another possibility.

http://www.health.columbia.edu/pdfs/men_masculinities.pdf#search=%22greig%20men%20and%20masculinities%22

If the different roles and responsibilities attributed to men and women are not ‘natural’ but are socially constructed, then they can be changed by society, by us. As part of a United Nations’ Gender in Development Monograph Series, this document explores the different meanings given to the term ‘masculinity’ and considers the implications for the effectiveness of development programmes. The paper makes a number of recommendations to support the efforts of development institutions to challenge gender hierarchies in the areas of production and social reproduction, poverty, governance, violence and conflict, health, and the workplace. For example, involving men in work on gender equality and health must look beyond programmes targeted at men’s behaviour. There is a need to initiate dialogues between women and men about the links between inequality and morbidity and mortality, and the role that traditional ideas of masculinity play in maintaining such inequalities.

Ruxton, S. (ed.) (2004) Gender Equality and Men: Learning from Practice, London: Oxfam GB http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/resources/geneqmen.htm

In international debates on gender equality there is a growing emphasis on men, not only as holders of privileges or as perpetrators of violence, but also as potential and actual contributors to gender equality. Based on examples from a range of countries, this book aims to share knowledge and experience of work with men on gender equality in programmes run by Oxfam GB and other development organisations. A range of key issues are addressed, including the value of engaging men in gender equality and anti-poverty work; the difficulties that are likely to arise – both for men and women – and how they can be overcome; practical evidence from different sectors (for example, in relation to sustainable livelihoods, gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health); lessons about the impact of including men in gender analysis and action; and future strategies and directions for development organisations and practitioners. A consistent conclusion from the book’s contributors is that it is essential to engage men with positive messages that promote their awareness and understanding of gender equality. Other recommendations include the need to identify effective messengers (for example celebrities or sportsmen); create spaces where men can meet in private to talk openly and honestly about their fears and anxieties; and build institutional cultures that are committed to working with men.

In the literature on conflict and HIV/AIDS, African men are often presented in simplistic and explicitly negative terms. It is generally taken for granted that those who use weapons are men whilst those who suffer the consequences of conflict are women, and that men always hold power in sexual relationships whilst women are always powerless. Certainly, African women and girls have been made vulnerable by the behaviour of men and boys in conflict settings and in sexual relationships. Yet the fact that gender hierarchies also oppress some men is seldom discussed. What of the men who are survivors and victims of violence, or who are displaced or orphaned due to conflict? What of the men who are brothers or husbands of women who have been sexually abused during conflict? This paper argues that applying a more sophisticated gender analysis as it relates to conflict and HIV/AIDS is essential in order to understand how both women and men are made vulnerable by rigid ideas of masculinity and by gender hierarchies. References are made to alternative, non-violent forms of masculinity in Africa and to elements of traditional gender socialisation (the process by which individuals learn and teach others about the roles and behaviours that are expected of a women or man in a given society) which promote more gender-equitable attitudes on the part of young men. Included are examples of young men whose stories reveal ways in which men can question and counter prevailing norms of masculinity. A summary is also provided of promising programmes for including men in the promotion of gender-equity.

(Summary adapted from the resource.)

Ouzgane, L. and Morrell, R. (eds) (2005) African Masculinities: Men in Africa from the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Men have tended to be overlooked, taken for granted, or treated as a unified, homogeneous category in much of the existing literature on gender in Africa. This book is made up of an interdisciplinary collection of essays which seek to deepen understanding of how African masculinities are formed in specific historical, cultural and social contexts. The essays are united by two fundamental principles: that you cannot generalise about all men in Africa, and that masculine behaviours in Africa are not unchanging. This suggests the possibility of the emergence of new - and less violent and oppressive - ways of being masculine. The first section considers the influence of context and power on different interpretations of masculinity and questions whether Western feminist concepts are relevant for understanding gender in African contexts. Section two looks at how ideas about masculinity are reinforced or challenged in literature and the popular media. The third section explores the formation of masculinity in different contexts, focusing on gender inequalities, violence and sexuality. Finally, the concluding section examines how different versions of masculinity come about, and shows that the construction of new masculine identities is always associated with contestation. To purchase a copy of this publication contact: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, Tel: +44 (0)1256 329242 or go to:

http://www.palgrave.com/products//Catalogue.aspx?is=1403965870

(Summary adapted from the resource.)

The study of gender in Muslim societies has almost always meant a study of women – with Muslim women's oppression, the question of the Hijab, and the practice of female genital cutting receiving most scrutiny. By contrast, studies of Islamic masculinities are rare. This collection of essays is designed to help fill this gap by exploring key debates about men and masculinities, including issues ranging from the experiences of couples at infertility clinics in Egypt to the trials of Iraqi conscripts. The essays are divided into three main sections: masculinities and religion, masculinities and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and masculinities and social practice. More broadly, they are based on the premise that masculinities are constructed by particular social and historic contexts, thus there is a need to recognise the diversity of masculinities that exist in the Muslim world. They also emphasise the importance of thinking about local realities, religious and political agendas, the consequences of Western colonialism and imperialism, and the marked effects of globalisation. This book is available to buy from www.zedbooks.co.uk . Alternatively hard copies are available from the British Library of Development Studies (BLDS) which offers a document delivery and inter-library loan service, see: http://blds.ids.ac.uk/blds/docdel.html

(Summary adapted from the resource.)