Feminism and Masculinity Crises - Case Study Example

 «Feminism and Masculinity Crises» Before going on to the discussion on development, the gender itself should be discussed. Gender should be understood separately from the concept of sex. “The first question is, "what is gender?" Is it a sociological construct, a biological construct, or both, and what about the research design indicates how gender is being conceptualized?” (Reeder, 1996). Gender as a Social Construct Normally the words sex and gender are used interchangeably while in research both words are accorded different meanings. One meaning is considered from a biological point of view that is male or female while gender is regarded under a social context of masculine or feminine. So, word gender is used because the word does not restrict its connotation in terms of biological differences but it also takes into account psychological, social, emotional and other differences as well. Also experts and critics argue that women and men also can be diverse within their own groups. An educated black female will have different communication style then a female who is a high school drop out. Similarly there could be many variations among males as well. Some men may act in a typical manner but the trend now especially with the changes in media is towards a different behavioral pattern of men towards women as well as towards themselves. (Rolfe, H. 2006) Gender in Relational Context The relationship between men and women should also be seen in social context and should not be strictly defined in terms of stereotyped & physiological characteristics. The relationship between the two groups has evolved both in public and private domains over the years and the process of evolution will continue. The two groups exist with each other and are also interdependent for their survival as well as success. Putting all the emphasis on one leaving the other group does not seem to be feasible idea when two groups cannot be entirely segregated in a social context. Extra focus in women and leaving the perspective of men would not lead to the formulation of a comprehensive development policy. (Blazina, C. & Watkins, E. 2000). Gender & Development Development policies have a history of including women specifically to its goals in the past as women folk have been considered a marginalized segment of the society requiring special attention. Market capitalism not only transformed the global economy but also intensified inequalities in the poorest regions of the world. Therefore, development policies had in the past terms like ‘Women in Development’ (WID) and ‘Women and Development’ (WAD). However, with the passage of time, the terms changed into ‘Gender and Development’ (GAD) more geared towards gender equality. Despite this change a new wave of criticism has emerged that highlights that the development goals seem to sideline men and focus heavily on women. Men are generally ignored in the discussion on development and most of the time it’s the men who are seen as an impediment in the development of and empowerment of women. (Chung, S,2005) The Stereotyping Menace The issue of stereotypes has not only affected women but it has also created an adverse impact on policy decisions related to men. Self-centered, impolite, promiscuous, aggressive, drunkards and patriarchal are some of the conception or rather generalization about men. Even though women were given opportunities to work but the docile, weak and shy stereotypes also affect the kind of work given to them while the stereotypes of men being strong and decisive get them prominent positions. Some works are given to men and are considered too manly for women to do. For example, women could be given quality control work or simple tasks of packing etc. while men are assigned more mechanical works. Women are generally restricted to the non-technical jobs while technical fields are open for men. Sometimes cultures themselves pose big problems in development. Some cultural aspects in their historical background have also been problematic. The change in cultural ideas is a big development challenge. )Blazina, C. & Watkins, E. 2000.) Feminism & Masculinity Crises Feminism has traditionally focused itself on a certain aspect of masculinity and has succeeded in raising the issues of women to the front. The changes brought about by feminism and feminist activism also cannot exclude women, as women or feminists for that matter do not want to exclude men rather they want men to change. In order to facilitate this change, .men cannot be ignored completely in all matters related to policy, politics and development. Men have to be made the part of the whole even for the success of feminist agenda. Men on the other hand demand to recognize them as men and accept them wholeheartedly. A group of men might be in favor of the pro-feminism movement but not all men respond positively to the extreme views. It is also a misconception that all gay men are in favor of feminism and support its cause whereas in reality only a group of homosexuals may be true pro-feminists. Even this group is diverse in the way they behave but the group of gay men is also stereotyped. (Blazina, C. & Watkins, E. 2000.) Labor Development If we look at the labor policy from development point of view then we find that most hard labor in the developing countries as well as developed countries is heavily occupied by men. Also, child labor and street children is mostly also represented by the masculine gender. Women labor work force is also there but to ignore the other group and their problems and travails would be a great injustice. Men in labor have their own issues of health, wages as well as working environment. Child labor and street children in particular are affected by various issues specific to male gender that includes violence of both physical and sexual nature. The health concerns of the men involved in hard labor is also important and should not be ignored in focusing totally on the issues specific to women work force. In this context development policies with respect to men can not simply be ignored and their issues and problem can not be sidelined as they are also of grave importance. (Mccluskey, K. May 1997) Emotional & Psychological Aspects The perception has been developed that women alone face the emotional and psychological traumas at the hands of family members, or community. When talking about oppression of women in society we tend to forget that men can also face some kind of trauma in their lives. They may also lose parents, experience divorce or death of spouse. They may also be kidnapped tortured, or may also face sexual violence and problems. While making policies and projects experts and psychologists and social workers concentrate mainly on women and tend to forget gender. The gender related problems can be with both the sexes. Men and more specifically boys suffer a lot. Hence, policy makers can not forget about the emotional and psychological aspects of the other sex. Gender related policy making with respect to issues of trauma and emotional problems should focus on gender rather than women. (Blazina, C. & Watkins, E. 2000) Poverty, Unemployment & Economic Development Poverty is the phenomenon that affects families comprising both men and women. Men as well as women can be equally exposed to the menace of poverty. Though statistics suggest that women generally suffer from the economic inequality but it is not essentially the case always. Men at times may also be at the receiving end of poverty. “Poverty is experienced differently by men and women. A full understanding of the gender dimensions of poverty can significantly change the definition of priority policy and program interventions supported by the PRS. Evidence is growing that gender-sensitive development strategies contribute significantly to economic growth as well as to equity objectives by ensuring that all groups of the poor share in program benefits. Yet differences between men's and women's needs are often not fully recognized in poverty analysis and participatory planning, and are frequently not taken into consideration in the selection and design of poverty reduction strategies” (Brym, Chang et al. 2005). Similarly, unemployment problems are also faced by men in general and within this broad category, men belonging to certain class as well as race or minorities, also get affected. Also, unemployed men when seek help are given ‘women’s work’ as an alternative which is also about stereotyping work. While this stereotyping is fast receding from the work environment but in cases of unemployment women are not given certain ‘men’s’ kind of work while men can easily do anything and that includes anything which is typically feminine. These divisions in employment and unemployment scenarios should also be an important concern as some sectors suffer severely because of gender imbalances. “Men account for only 2 or 3 per cent of childcare and early years workers, justifying the Equal Opportunities Commission's description of the sector as a 'gender ghetto' (EOC, 2003, p. 3). Some research has suggested that the sector's traditional reliance on young women with low qualifications is becoming increasingly unsustainable as they both become fewer in number and seek other employment opportunities (Cameron et al., 2001a). Therefore, the recruitment of men is seen as a matter of necessity, so that the sector can expand to meet demand, rather than of ensuring equality of access to employment opportunities” (Rolfe 2006). With changing employment scenario where increasingly women workforce has made its presence felt, men are not necessarily the sole bread winner in the changing economic equation of the family. In this context, men are facing the ‘crises of masculinity’ as economic equations change and as equal employment opportunities are available to women as well almost all over the world. The new position and role of equality has in some circumstances resulted in aberration of masculine behavior in the form of promiscuity or violence. At the same time it has resulted in more positive developments where men are bracing the change in economics of the two groups and are becoming partners in public and private spheres with the women of their household. This new and changing role of men has to be considered in the development framework. They are now the equal partners and should be given representation instead of marginalizing them. Women-only economic uplifting projects ignoring totally the male counterparts may not be the solution and may also result in new problems. (Mccluskey, K. May 1997) Population Population explosion has been the biggest concern with respect to development. As the population increased the demands on the infrastructure and the environment also increased. Problems of living space for families, access to potable water resources, health, education and many other issues come up as a result of unbridled population explosion. Despite growing population efforts have been made to curtail the problems that crop up. In order to attain results tight implementation of family planning programs are made but in most cases the programs focus heavily on women and tend to give rather less importance on men. The preventive measures and even medical preventions are also mainly targeted at women. Women become the focus of most programs. (Chung, S. 2005) Education It is widely accepted fact that men dominate the academia in universities. A large number of men are able to enter the institutes of higher learning and later take dominating positions. Apart from the case of higher education and universities, it has been observed that boys belonging to certain working class are not performing well at school levels. In developing countries that boys belonging to lower and working classes may even not attend schools much less performing well or badly. Surprisingly, in many cases such as GCSE level girls are outperforming boys. Hence, underachievement or under representation of boys should be as important an issue as that of the opposite sex in the policy decisions because low educational attainment of some boys may lead to the low employment rates of some young men and may also create other social problems such as violence or drugs in the later life. It is a definitely a positive sign that girls are catching up in education but boys leaving too far behind should also be a cause of concern. (Halonen, T. 2000) Developing Positive Role Models: In order to create a gender balance and a climate of equality, it is important create positive role models that are balanced in their outlook towards women and society. The extreme views of chauvinism, machismo or even feminism can not bring positive results on all fronts and true development would not be a possibility. It is essential to break the stereotypes associated with both men and women and accept people as themselves and promote co-existence. The positive approach would help the cause of social uplift and development tremendously. (Alfie, K. February 1988) Gender Equality Gender equality is the new thought in the development policy and gender campaign. Despite the rise of new thoughts women still consider gender an exclusive feminine territory. Some women who reluctantly welcome this new thought process are apprehensive that men would again take over the lead in the race of gender from women and the whole cause would suffer a serious set back. The sharing of power as well as resources does not go down well with most women. However, in order to facilitate equity women also have to show flexibility in their attitudes and pave ways for the equality. “Education has enormous potential to advance gender equality, but so many children in the world are deprived of it. Equal rights and opportunities for members of both sexes enable women to make the most of their potential and resources, and it is society as a whole that gains. Both men and women have a role to play in achieving equality between the sexes and changing traditional gender patterns” (Halonen 2000). Conclusions In today’s modern world both males and females contribute to the development of any country. Men as much as women should break themselves free from the menace of stereotypes and demand equally for their rights in the social and economic structure of the society. The focus of all policy frameworks should be on gender and not women alone in the frameworks of all development policies because sidelining them will lead to the attainment of development goals. The change needs to be brought among men all over the world first. Social, political, economic, cultural changes will bring the equality and equity in the gender equation that seems to be lopsided. Both groups have to play their roles in bringing about the positive change for the cause of development. References: Mccluskey, K. May 1997. Gender at Work. Public Management. Volume: 79. Issue: 5. Alfie, K. February 1988. Girl Talk, Guy Talk: Do Men and Women Really Have Distinctive Conversational Styles? Psychology Today. Volume: 22. Issue: 2. Reeder, H. 1996. A critical look at gender difference in communication research Communication Studies. Website: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3669/is_199601/ai_n8738933 Rolfe, H. 2006. Where Are the Men? Gender Segregation in the Childcare and Early Years Sector. National Institute Economic Review. Issue: 195. pp. 103+. Brym, R.. Chung, S. et al. 2005. In Faint Praise of the World Bank's Gender Development Policy. Canadian Journal of Sociology. Volume: 30. Issue: 1. pp. 95+. Separation/Individuation, Parental Attachment, and Male Gender Role Conflict: Attitudes Toward the Feminine and the Fragile Masculine Self. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. Volume: 1. Issue: 2. pp. 126. Halonen, T. 2000. Education's Significance in Gender Equality. Presidents & Prime Ministers. Volume: 9. Issue: 4. pp. 23. ‘Act Now to Stay Ahead of Gender Equality Standards’. 2000. Western Mail. Pp. 25. Read More