The limits of discourse: masculinity as vulnerability
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Date
2013
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UNISA Press
Routledge
Routledge
Abstract
For many, gender equity being fair to women and men is a zero sum game in which men should be willing to
give up their privileges for the creation of a more equitable and just society. The idea that men might benefit
from gender equity seems, for many, unthinkable. This was brought home a few years ago in a gender studies
test, when students answering a question on what men might gain from gender equality explained instead how
women would benefit. In this Perspective I reflect on the ways in which popular discourses around gender may
inadvertently undermine movement towards gender and social justice. Dismissing my students' answers as the
result of poor teaching or learning misses a key point: It seems to be extraordinarily difficult for most people to
recognise how gender creates masculine vulnerabilities or how gender equity could benefit men. I suggest that if
we are to improve women's lives through the reduction of violence, feminist teachers and activists need to think
creatively about how to help men and boys understand that performances of masculinity deeply compromise
their own lives.
Description
Keywords
Men, Masculinities, Gender equity, Violence, Discourse
Citation
Clowes, L. (2013). The limits of discourse: masculinity as vulnerability. Agenda: Empowering women for gender equity, 27(1): 12-19