Reconstructing violent rural masculinities : responding to fractures in the rural gender order in Australia

Men\u27s violence against women is higher in rural communities compared to urban areas and many writers have identified the increased vulnerability of women in rural areas when addressing men\u27s violence. This article will explore the implications of the emerging scholarship on rural masculinities for understanding how rurality invokes different modes of masculinity associated with men\u27s violence in the context of rural restructuring. While the socio-cultural aspects of rural areas generate stronger enforcement of gender roles that perpetuate gender inequality, rural restructuring challenges dominant forms of masculinity, and this has contradictory consequences for reconstructing masculinities. Consequently, while many rural men are endeavouring to preserve traditional masculinity in the face of the rural crisis, other men are exploring alternative masculinities that are incompatible with men\u27s violence against women.<br /

Encouraging critical reflections on privilege in social work and the human services

Critical reflection is promoted by many progressive social work writers as a process for facilitating practitioners\u27 capacity to reflect upon their complicity in dominant power relations. However. the critical social work literature tends to focus attention on those who are disadvantaged. oppressed and excluded. Those who are privileged in relation to gender. class. race and sexuality etc are often ignored. Given that the flipside of oppression and social exclusion is privilege. the lack of critical reflection on the privileged side of social&nbsp; divisions allows members of dominant groups to reinforce their dominance. This article interrogates the concept of privilege and examines how it is internalised in the psyches of members of dominant groups. After exploring the potential to undo privilege from within. the article encourages social work educators to engage in critical reflections about privilege when teaching social work students about social injustice and oppression.<br /

The politics of gendered emotions : disrupting men\u27s emotional investment in privilege

This paper explores the implications of the neglect of emotions in critical masculinity studies and profeminist masculinity politics. This neglect in part results from feminist and profeminist critiques of the literature on emotional inexpressiveness as a tragedy for men that ignores male privilege and men\u27s social power. To focus on men\u27s emotions is seen by some profeminist commentators as psychologising men at the expense of sociological understandings of men\u27s social power. However, in neglecting the place of emotions in men\u27s lives, critical masculinity studies has overlooked the ways in which men\u27s emotional attachment to privilege can perpetuate oppressive gender relations and male violence against women. By exploring men\u27s emotional investment in unequal gender relations, the article outlines ways in which emotions can also be used as a catalyst to disrupt men\u27s attachment to male privilege.<br /

The other side of social exclusion : interrogating the role of the privileged in reproducing inequality

As the chapters in this book demonstrate, social exclusion is a key concept used to understand various forms of inequality in contemporary capitalist societies. I argue in this chapter that while the concept of social exclusion has been important in illustrating the structural dimensions of unequal social relations and examining the costs of those relations for excluded groups, it has done little to address those of us who benefit most from existing social divisions and inequalities. Nor do most of the writings on social exclusion examine how these inequalities are reproduced by and through the daily practices and life-style pursuits of privileged groups.In this chapter I will interrogate the concept of privilege as the other side of social exclusion and will argue that the lack of critical interrogation of the position of the privileged side of social divisions allows the privileged to reinforce their dominance. I aim to make privilege more visible and consider the extent to which those who are privileged can overcome their own self interest in the maintenance of dominance to enable them to challenge it.<br /

Mothers and sons : using memory-work to explore the subjectivities and practices of profeminist men

In this chapter I will outline the application of memory-work to understanding the subjectivities and practices of profeminist men. Profeminism for men involves a sense of responsibility to our own and other men\u27s sexism, and a commitment to work with women to end men\u27s violence (Douglas, 1993). It acknowledges that men benefit from the oppression of women, drawing men\u27s attention to the privileges we receive as men and the harmful effects these privileges have on women (Thome-Finch, 1992). The research was undertaken as my PhD thesis and it began with questions that have been a personal challenge in my search&middot; to understand my place as a white, heterosexual man who is committed to a profeminist position 1. What does it mean to be a profeminist man? What is the experience of endeavoring to live out a profeminist commitment? What do these experiences tell us about reforming men\u27s subjectivities and practices towards gender equality? I believe that men\u27s subjectivity is crucial to the maintenance and reproduction of gender domination and hence to its change. The purpose of the research was thus to theorize men\u27s subjectivities and practices to inform a profeminist men\u27s practice and to enact strategies that will, in themselves, promote the process of change. So the research was driven by practical concerns as well as by the imperatives of intellectual inquiry.<br /

Engaging men in men&#039;s violence prevention: exploring the tensions, dilemmas and possibilities

What is the role of men in addressing men’s violence against women? In recent years, there have been numerous articles, discussion papers, books, conferences and government policy statements advocating the greater involvement of men in working against men’s violence and towards gender equality. The involvement of men in violence against women prevention movements has become institutionalised in the philosophies and policies of many international organisations. in the Australian context, VicHealth have also noted the recent shift from focusing on men as perpetrators of violence to involving them as partners in primary prevention strategies. A number of writers have argued that in associating men with violence, we should also ensure that men are part of the solution. The aim of this discussion paper is to raise some questions and to encourage debate about the impact on gender equality of increasing men’s involvement in campaigns to end men’s violence against women

Theorising men\u27s violence towards women in refugee families : towards in intersectional feminist framework

Violence against women perpetrated by male partners, or ex-partners. is one of the most concerning and prevalent public health issues in the world today and is a major cause of injury and mental illness among women and children. Violence against women occurs in most societies irrespective of culture, socio-economic status or religion. Nevertheless, it has been identified that immigrant and refugee women are particularly at risk in cases of domestic violence (Easteal 1996: Narayan 1997; Human Rights Watch 2000; Walter 2001: Perilla 2003: Kang Kahler &amp; Tesar 2003:). To make sense of this issue. we articulate an intersectional feminist framework that we used to analyse the results of an empirical investigation of men\u27s violence against women in refugee families in Melbourne. II)Although this research has investigated the complex field of domestic violence, culture. trauma and historical and contemporary disadvantage, it has a fundamental prerequisite standing that regardless of past and current experiences; men must take responsibility for their violence against women. Our concern is to understand how male domination manifests itself within each culture and emerging, changing cultures in the diaspora, to explore the connections with men\u27s violence against women within the unique domain of the refugee experience.<br /

Rethinking the significance of attitudes in preventing men\u27s violence3 against women

The concept of attitudes has been an important component of campaigns to address men&rsquo;s violence against women. Attitudes have been examined in relation to men&rsquo;s perpetration of violence, women&rsquo;s experience of violence and community and institutional responses. In this article we argue that there has not been sufficient interrogation of the limitations of attitudes in understanding and addressing men&rsquo;s violence. We propose a social constructionist approach to attitudes and emphasise the need to locate attitudes within the context of familial, organisational, community and social norms which support violence against women. Furthermore, we argue that to prevent violence against women, we must develop interventions beyond cultural and attitudinal change to encompass changes in structural relations and social practices.<br /