Masculinity and the Muslim Experience
by DMahendra
As many of you know, I am currently trying to explore the dimensions of Muslim masculinity. I thought I would share a series of open-ended questions, and responses I came up with recently when trying to dig deeper into these issues.
1) What makes Muslim men uniquely who they are?
- Economic background: poverty/wealth, blue/white collar work, old/new/no money
- Family dynamics: nuclear/extended, provincial/transnational, fathering/mothering
- Sex/Sexuality: homo/hetero/queer spectrums, sexual history, sex education
- Education: (non)patriarchal academics, level of education, textbooks
- Networks: Religious/secular friends and colleagues, provincial/transnational
- Geographies: urban/rural, homo/heterogeneous, (im)possible “dual life,” access to different spaces, mid-ethnic/transitional, migration, agriculture, male-female ratio
- Politics: manhood (un)tied to franchise/representation, masculinity and political expediency
- Environment: Gender & food/nutrition, architecture
2) Which life events might be crucial?
- Loss: parent(s)/family members, job, significant other, virility (impotence), political/social rights, natural disasters
- Psychological/Physical traumas: military/law enforcement brutality, abuse by family/friends/intimates, displacement/refugees, witness male role models commit violence/neglect, starvation, paralysis/mental impairment, developmental issues (physical/cognitive),
- Foundations of hegemonic masculinity: peer reinforcement, success through patriarchal action/oppression, media of hegemonic masculinity, religious/political authority granted over women, microagressions from men/women regarding masculinity
3) What types of interventions might result in more gender egalitarian thinking?
- Middle school/high school men’s awareness building
- public advocacy (PSAs in Muslim publications, mosque advocacy)
- better sex education
- addressing all-male peer groups (basketball teams, clubs, men’s religious organizations)
- encouraging religious scholarly discourse on masculinity
- including women’s scholarship more prominently in the Muslim community
- media (music, movies)
- Arts and Culture (books, visual art exhibits, dance, public art, museum partnerships)
- Internet (online campaigns)
Just some thoughts…but how to narrow it down?
How I Met My Mother
I have gotten to know her growing up, but I remain blind to many things.
I have spent quite a bit of time in Boston this weekend talking about my gender violence work and how I feel personally connected to it. Whether it was friends, colleagues, or loved ones, I was compelled by knowing of these women’s lives to shed light on broader gender dynamics that cause shock but not action resulting from violence against women. I would like to share an “aha” moment which caused me to step back and deal with a reality I had neglected.
