As a female gender advocate, I have spent years addressing the challenges women face in achieving equality. Typically, the focus has been on empowering women and advocating for policy changes that dismantle patriarchal systems. However, my recent experience in the training on Positive Masculinity under the MenEngage Africa and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Training Institutes on Gender, Peace, and Security (MATI 2024) provided me with a transformative perspective: “Men must be key allies in the journey toward gender equality”. “While I once concentrated solely on women’s empowerment and resilience within male-dominated systems, I now see the importance of engaging men in the conversation—encouraging them to redefine their own roles and responsibilities in a more positive light.”
Positive Masculinity: A Framework for Change
Positive Masculinity offers a framework for rethinking masculinity in ways that benefit both men and women, creating a more just and balanced society. This concept involves redefining manhood to encourage emotional intelligence, empathy, and respect for others, particularly women. Positive Masculinity challenges the harmful effects of toxic masculinity, which perpetuates the suppression of emotions, aggression, and dominance over women. Scholars like Michael Flood, Dean Peacock, and James Messerschmidt argue that Positive Masculinity fosters a more inclusive and https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X18805555 form of manhood that is supportive of gender equality (Flood, 2020; Messerschmidt, 2018). https://xyonline.net/sites/xyonline.net/files/2022-09/Flood%20and%20Burrell%2C%20Engaging%20Men%20and%20Boys%20in%20the%20Primary%20Prevention%20of%20Sexual%20Violence%202022.pdf. The training at MATI 2024 emphasized these concepts, encouraging participants to embrace traits like vulnerability, empathy, and mutual respect, which are often considered “unmanly” under traditional gender norms.
Men as Allies: Addressing Gender Inequality
One of the most powerful aspects of the training was the focus on men as allies. In many gender equality discussions, men are either framed as the problem or excluded from the conversation entirely. However, the MATI training stressed that men are not just part of the problem—they can, and should, be part of the solution. While men are often perceived as perpetrators of violence and insecurity, they are also victims of societal norms, constructs, and expectations. For example, in Dean Peacock’s presentation on the “Structural Drivers of Conflict and Violence,” he cited a study conducted in South Africa, which found that men who had experienced childhood abuse were five times more likely to use violence than those who had not (Peacock et al., 2020). This finding underscores that men are also victims of a system that perpetuates violence and inequality.
Moreover, literature shows that patriarchal norms, trauma, chronic hunger, unemployment, alcohol abuse, and child abuse are all risk factors for men’s engagement in intimate partner violence and conflict (Gibbs et al., 2020). To address the root causes of negative masculinities, men must also be engaged as allies in the fight for gender equality.
Positive Masculinity in Action
Men, as allies, have the power to use their privilege to dismantle the structures that perpetuate inequality. Encouraging men to reject outdated gender stereotypes that limit their ability to express emotions and engage in nurturing roles is crucial. In doing so, they can model behaviour that promotes equality in both the workplace and the home. Positive Masculinity teaches that household chores, caregiving, and emotional labour should not fall solely on women. By engaging in these roles equally, men can foster a culture of shared responsibility at home. Positive Masculinity reframes gender equality not as a zero-sum game where men lose power but as a collective advancement where everyone benefits.
When men embrace Positive Masculinity, they are more likely to form healthier relationships, experience better mental health outcomes, and contribute to a more equitable society. Men who develop these qualities are better equipped to understand the experiences of women and other marginalized groups, making them more effective allies.
Insights from Hegemonic Masculinity
This shift in my thinking echoes Raewyn Connell’s (1995) work on hegemonic masculinity, which emphasizes that patriarchy not only subordinates’ women but also harms men by imposing restrictive norms that limit their potential. Men, too, are victims of societal constructs. As highlighted in the online preparatory training on edX.org, “Men and masculinities are shaped by global and international events and images, but they also shape global affairs and representations.” This understanding reinforces the idea that the system that has made women vulnerable has not exempted men from vulnerability. Encouraging men to become allies opens possibilities for both men and women to address the societal constructs that have made us all victims and allows for the pursuit of freer, more authentic lives.
Conclusion
The Positive Masculinity training reinforced the idea that gender equality is not solely a women’s issue—it is a human issue that requires the active participation of men. By redefining masculinity in ways that promote empathy, shared responsibility, and emotional intelligence, men can become powerful allies in the fight for gender equality. As a female gender advocate, this training has broadened my perspective on how we can engage men in this essential work, making me more hopeful about the future of gender relations. Promoting Positive Masculinity can create a society where both men and women are free to live authentic, fulfilled lives, unburdened by the constraints of rigid gender norms. In this future, men stand alongside women—not as adversaries, but as true allies.
Readings
- Connell, R. W. (2005) 2nd Ed. Masculinities. University of California Press.
- Flood, M. (2020). Engaging Men and Boys in the primary Prevention of Sexual Violence. Cambridge University Press.
- Messerschmidt, J. W. (2018). Hegemonic Masculinity: Formulation, Reformulation, and Amplification. Rowman & Littlefield.
- MATI 2024. Presentations and materials. Nairobi Kenya.
- Peacock, D., et al. (2020). The case for a more structural approach to countering militarized masculinities and mobilizing men for feminist peace. In Hatcher, A. et al. (Eds.), Structural drivers of conflict and violence (pp. 9-12).
- www.edX.org
By Beatrice Onoja, Ph.D. MATI 2024 Fellow.
